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Dry Fertz


devocole
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I just wanted to let everyone know about my dry fertilizer experience. For 20 dollars i got approx "sour cream" sized containers of each fertilizer from all seasons garden centre just off of white ave. Andre that works there is super nice, very helpful, and gave me doughnuts when i came. I just thought I would let everyone know. Ps. The containers in picture didn't come from the store.

Regards

Devon

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I've bought a bunch of aquarium products online over the last month or so and i've decided i don't like it. Canadian suppliers have been great (mops in particular) but the US ones have been brutal. Bad customer service, takes forever etc. I'm going to try and keep my business local from now on, even if it costs a touch more. I've heard rex has a good deals, i sent him an email about them but then just decided to go pick it up local

Regards

Devon

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I just wanted to let everyone know about my dry fertilizer experience. For 20 dollars i got approx "sour cream" sized containers of each fertilizer from all seasons garden centre just off of white ave. Andre that works there is super nice, very helpful, and gave me doughnuts when i came. I just thought I would let everyone know. Ps. The containers in picture didn't come from the store.

Regards

Devon

I've been thinking about this.

Thank you for posting.

Rick

Edited by Ruadh
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  • 2 weeks later...
I just wanted to let everyone know about my dry fertilizer experience. For 20 dollars i got approx "sour cream" sized containers of each fertilizer from all seasons garden centre just off of white ave. Andre that works there is super nice, very helpful, and gave me doughnuts when i came. I just thought I would let everyone know. Ps. The containers in picture didn't come from the store.

Regards

Devon

I was also in the store that day. Could you please tell me what is in the bottle labeled Trace? I only got N-P-K when I was there, I never knew he had a dry product for the trace elements :(

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It has all the micro elements such as Mb, Fe, and a list of others that i won't try and tell you off the top of my head. If you ask him. He has an information sheet that has the exact amounts of each component in all his dry ferts. I don't have it on me right now.

Regards Devon

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It has all the micro elements such as Mb, Fe, and a list of others that i won't try and tell you off the top of my head. If you ask him. He has an information sheet that has the exact amounts of each component in all his dry ferts. I don't have it on me right now.

Regards Devon

I was wondering if the trace had a brand name or something like that. I will be a long time before I will be able to visit the store again. :(

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I have begun to notice a lot of folks mentioning; and using KH2PO4 (mono potassium phosphate), as a source of phosphate. Straight forward enough. What I don't understand is how to account for different sources. Speaking generally for the moment ,a fertilizer labeled as 10-10-10 appears to have equal measures of P and K. Upon closer examination we find the P @ 44% by volume and the K @ 83%. Fine then, the afore mentioned product is actually 4.4% phosphate. So far so good, I tend to get lost at the part where I whip out my handy slide rule to demystify the age old secret of ...Molar Mass...help!?

Looks as though good old K (potassium) sneaks in every time. Observe KNO3 , in that state we have Nitrogen just edging out K at a ratio of 1.5/1

The problem I have encountered is named "Lilly Millers Super Phosphate" guaranteed analysis

" P2O5....source Treble Phosphate........45% "

Where did K go? in this form all we have is P and Oxygen. Coincidence ? Maybe not.. molecular weight of P2O5 is, you guessed it 44 point something%. This product is in the pure oxide form

If a recipe calls for 1 gram, do I disregard the half gram of oxygen per serving and put in 2? Or perhaps it was accounted for already.?

And now for the scary part. if we have one gram of KH2PO4 that split would prove to be only 44% phosphorus by weight and still half of the remainder is oxygen for a near total of 25% P mass by total weight .

Can the same be said of "Muriate of Potash".......K2O pure @ 60%

I am only very new @ this "green" as it were. From what I have read the danger of one half dose means everything else was a double dosed

How should this be approached?

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And now for the scary part. if we have one gram of KH2PO4 that split would prove to be only 44% phosphorus by weight and still half of the remainder is oxygen for a near total of 25% P mass by total weight .

How should this be approached?

The way I converted these chemicals is into ppm (parts per million). My recipe (for a HIGH light tank...4.7 wpg with pressure CO2+Excel) calls for 1/2 tsp KNO3 so I go the Chucks calculator. There is a download version of "Chuck's Planted Aquarium Calculator" available on the web... somewhere :) The amount of fertilzers depends a lot on lighting, substrate, and CO2.

0.5 tsp (2.8 grams) of KNO3 will add 9 ppm of NO3 and also add 5.7 ppm of Potassium to a 50 gallon tank.

Here is a web calculator that will tell the amount of active ingredient in prepared fertilizers: FertFriend.

To add 9 ppm of nitrogen to a 50 gallon tank (the same amount as 0.5 tsp of KNO3), you would have to add 23 ml of Seachem Nitrogen...

To add 5.7 ppm of potassium to a 50 gallon tank (the same amount as 0.5 tsp of KNO3), you would have to add 24 ml of Seachem Potassium...

There are many guide lines out there for recommended ppm.

NO3= 5 - 30 ppm

PO4= 0.2-2.0 ppm

K = 10 - 30 ppm

Fe= 0.2 - 0.7 ppm

1/8 tsp (0.67 grams) KH2PO4 would add 2.14 ppm PO4 to a 50 gallon tank.

Now if I could just figure out the #@$% trace concentrations I would be :).

Edited by byte
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Aquatic plants have much different nutrient requirements and uptake methods than terrestrial plants. Most garden/yard fertilizer products are very concentrated and unsuitable for aquarium use. That's why you see people using other sources to mix their own fertilizers. And when doing so, they're only using tiny amounts or very dilute solutions in tanks of many gallons.

KH2PO4, etc. can be found at hydroponic gardening centers. If that's not accessible to you, you can find everyday products that will work: Fleet Enema for PO4, stump remover for K and NO3, or salt substitute for K.

The Fertilator at APC also lists some different sources and measurements.

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