# Do ferts "go off"?



## Tom (5 Apr 2012)

Quick question - do mixed ferts go bad after time?


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## danmil3s (5 Apr 2012)

if mixed i think they go mouldy after 4 weeks or so maybe longer if stored correctly
.


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## Tom (5 Apr 2012)

4 weeks? Sooo, 5 years of TPN+ sitting in it's bottle? There doesn't look to be anything wrong with it - it's not gone mouldy but I was wondering whether the different nutrients were effected over time.


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## GHNelson (5 Apr 2012)

Tom said:
			
		

> 4 weeks? Sooo, 5 years of TPN+ sitting in it's bottle? There doesn't look to be anything wrong with it - it's not gone mouldy but I was wondering whether the different nutrients were effected over time.


Hi Tom
I know what your getting at..that's a question for the experts too figure out.
I wouldn't use it...make up some fresh ferts/trace.
hoggie


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## logi-cat (5 Apr 2012)

i have some trace elements that i bought that "expired in 2010", i still use it though, plants look healthy.


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## Ady34 (5 Apr 2012)

Hi Tom,
this may be in relation to your recent shrimp deaths? 
Ive just been on aquarium plant food uk's website and they suggest a shelf life of 6months for their fertilisers, which may put your 5year old tpn a little past its best.

APFUK quote:
"How Long Is Its Shelf-Life?
I add a pH adjuster to all my mixes, I also add a additive to inhibit mould, but it is advisable to store them in a cool, dark place until you’re ready to dissolve them. Storing them in a refrigerator will significantly lengthen their useful life. Typical lifespan of the APF Plant Nutrition is 6 months after mixing. Supplied in a reselable foil bag."

Hope this helps.
Cheerio,
Ady.


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## dw1305 (6 Apr 2012)

Hi all,
No they don't, the only problem would be if you had a precipitate, this would mean 2 of the ions had reacted together to form an insoluble salt (like the iron phosphate complexes). In this case they would remain as an insoluble precipitate, but in a lot of cases warming would get them back into solution.

If you acidify the solutions (and avoid evaporation) they are good eternally, there is nowhere for the ions to go, and I really do mean eternally. 

The K+, Mg2+ ions etc on the earth have been here since the planets formation, and were created in the nuclear furnace of a massive yellow giant star (it has to be much, much more massive than our sun to make the heavy elements) billions of years ago, before being blasted into space as part of the nebula following a supernova explosion, and then coalescing from the gas cloud to form the nascent planet Earth. 

They don't have a "sell by" date, although they do have a half life. Potassium decays with a half-life of 1250 million years, meaning that half of the K atoms are gone after that span of time, so don't store your solution longer than 1250,000,000 years or you will have to use them at double strength.

cheers Darrel


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## Ady34 (6 Apr 2012)

dw1305 said:
			
		

> Potassium decays with a half-life of 1250 million years, meaning that half of the K atoms are gone after that span of time, so don't store your solution longer than 1250,000,000 years or you will have to use them at double strength.


  
well yours should be ok then!
6 month use by must be another part of ceg's 'Matrix'!  
Ady.


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## Aqua sobriquet (19 Jun 2012)

dw1305 said:
			
		

> Hi all,
> No they don't, the only problem would be if you had a precipitate, this would mean 2 of the ions had reacted together to form an insoluble salt (like the iron phosphate complexes). In this case they would remain as an insoluble precipitate, but in a lot of cases warming would get them back into solution.
> 
> If you acidify the solutions (and avoid evaporation) they are good eternally, there is nowhere for the ions to go, and I really do mean eternally.
> ...



A couple of months old I know but I love this post. Science, plain speaking and humour wrap up 
a wonderfully informative and entertaining reply.     Hats off to you Darrel!

Vic.


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