# Mixing ferts to resemble ADA lineup



## notmysign (5 Feb 2019)

Hi everyone.
So for my next scape in trying the ADA substrate system and I am planning on mixing my salts to resemble the ada liquid linup. But I have a hard time trying to find information on what 1ml/20L gives me from these:

Brighty K
Green Brighty Mineral
Green Brighty Iron
Green Brighty Nitrogen

What salts i have to use:
KNO3
KH2PO4
K2SO4
MgSO4.7H2O
CaCl2.2H2O

Anyone willing to help me?
/Daniel


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## dw1305 (5 Feb 2019)

Hi all,





notmysign said:


> But I have a hard time trying to find information on what 1ml/20L gives me from these:


There is an analysis of the ADA fertilisers at the Barr report <"https://barrreport.com/barr-report-resources/old-newsletters/Analysis-of-ADA-liquid-fertilizers.pdf">.

I wouldn't get too hung up on exactly replicating the <"ADA mixes">. Once a K+ ion is in solution it is the same as every other K+ ion, it doesn't matter where it came from.

cheers Darrel


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## notmysign (5 Feb 2019)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,There is an analysis of the ADA fertilisers at the Barr report <"https://barrreport.com/barr-report-resources/old-newsletters/Analysis-of-ADA-liquid-fertilizers.pdf">.
> 
> I wouldn't get too hung up on exactly replicating the <"ADA mixes">. Once a K+ ion is in solution it is the same as every other K+ ion, it doesn't matter where it came from.
> 
> cheers Darrel


Thanks for that analysis but it seems ADA's new ferts is not included.
I was just trying to replicating that 1ml/20L = ppm?? if you understand.


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## dw1305 (5 Feb 2019)

Hi all,





notmysign said:


> I was just trying to replicating that 1ml/20L = ppm?? if you understand.


I do, but ADA won't tell you what the fertiliser contains, so it will all be guesswork.  My only comment is that this is probably the most expensive water on the planet in those bottles, and that the nutrient addition will be a fraction of EI levels. 

Personally I use a different approach, I don't add any nutrients on a regular basis I just use the growth, and leaf colour, of a floating plant to <"estimate nutrient status">. 





dw1305 said:


> Rather than the regular addition of nutrients, I use <"a different approach">. I have a floating plant (usually <"_Limnobium laevigatum">_) and ,<"heavy planting"> of <"easy" plants"> in the tanks. I just watch the <"growth and leaf colour of the floating plant"> (so not CO2, or light, limited), all the time the leaves are green and the plant growing (how ever slowly) I don't add any nutrients (other than whatever arrives via water changes).
> 
> When plant growth (or leaf colour) deteriorates I add some nutrients, once growth has resumed it is back to observing and waiting.


If you want to work out the addition of nutrients from the compounds, that you already have, it is quite straight forward. 

I'll use KNO3, so that dissolves as a K+ and a NO3- ion. The RAM of potassium is 39, nitrogen 14 and oxygen 16, so the RMM of KNO3 is 39 + 14 = (16 * 3) = 101, so ~40% K and 60% NO3. 

When you have one gram of KNO3 you have 0.4g of K and 0.6g of NO3. You can convert grams to milligrams by dividing by 10^-3 and to  micro-grams by dividing by 10^-6. So 0.4g of K is 400,000 micrograms. You can convert grams to kilograms by multiplying by 10^3, and one kilogram of water has the volume of 1 litre (1000 cm3). 

I'll assume your tank is 100 litres (so that I can do the maths easily), when you add 1g of KNO3 you've added 0.4g of K+ ions, which is equivalent to 400 milligrams and milligrams per litre is equivalent to ppm. Divide 400 by 100 and you get 4ppm. 

You have added 4ppm K and 6ppm NO3. If you want to check you can use the calculator at <"Rotala Butterfly">, which will give you a more accurate, 6.13 ppm NO3 and 3.87 ppm K.

cheers Darrel


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## notmysign (8 Feb 2019)

Thanks for everything you have explained. I have come up with a mixture that is exactly like : https://www.advancedplantedtank.com/apt-fertilizer.html
And then i remember about reading about James planted tank all in one : LINK
And this thread : EI all in one
So i have come up with this recipe:




The suggested dosing from Dennis Wong is 4 times/week  1ml/20L water and i have adjusted to 5ml/30L water
What im wondering  is, if i were to make a all in one with my recipe. Can i use the same amount of Ascorbic Acid and Potassium Sorbate that James have suggested? there is not much  of differences in his recipe and mine:
0.5g E300 Ascorbic Acid
0.2g E202 Potassium Sorbate


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## dw1305 (8 Feb 2019)

Hi all,





notmysign said:


> Can i use the same amount of Ascorbic Acid and Potassium Sorbate that James have suggested? there is not much of differences in his recipe and mine:


You can, they are just to acidify the solution (the ascorbic acid) and stop microbial growth (potassium sorbate), so the exact amount isn't important.

They act synergistically, the sorbate is only effective at below pH7.

cheers Darrel


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## notmysign (12 Feb 2019)

Is there any specific order you mix everything?


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## notmysign (13 Feb 2019)

notmysign said:


> Is there any specific order you mix everything?


 Can't seem to find any information about it


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## Jayefc1 (13 Feb 2019)

No I don't think there is just throw it in and shake well let it dissolve job done


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## notmysign (13 Feb 2019)

Jayefc1 said:


> No I don't think there is just throw it in and shake well let it dissolve job done



Ok, cool thanks!


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## Fred13 (15 Feb 2019)

Can we use any potassium we want instead of going with the ADA K? Let's say that we are using the ada substrate system along with their expensive ferts. Can we exchange ada K for another potassium? Is it the exact same thing?


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## dw1305 (15 Feb 2019)

Hi all, 





Fred13 said:


> Can we use any potassium we want instead of going with the ADA K? Let's say that we are using the ada substrate system along with their expensive ferts. Can we exchange ada K for another potassium? Is it the exact same thing?


Yes, any one will do. 

Every single K+ ion is identical, it doesn't matter what compound it came from. Potassium is highly reactive, so it will always form compounds, and all those compounds are soluble. 

If you add potassium metal to water you get potassium hydroxide KOH (and hydrogen evolved). When you have CO2 present you get KHCO3. If you add it to potassium hydroxide to hydrochloric acid (HCl) you get KCl, to nitric acid (HNO3) you get KNO3 etc. 

When you add any of these compounds ("salts") to water they all dissolve into ions  K+ OH-, K+ HCO3-, K+ Cl-, K+ NO3- etc. and each K+ ion is *exactly the same.
*
cheers Darrel


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## Fred13 (15 Feb 2019)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all, Yes, any one will do.
> 
> Every single K+ ion is identical, it doesn't matter what compound it came from. Potassium is highly reactive, so it will always form compounds, and all those compounds are soluble.
> 
> ...



Thank you very much for your explanation Darrel. Any other K source even in liquid form as the seachem potassium is much cheaper than using the ada ..


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## dw1305 (15 Feb 2019)

Hi all,





Fred13 said:


> Any other K source even in liquid form as the seachem potassium is much cheaper than using the ada ..


That's it, fertilisers mixes can have different ratios of nutrients (and for some of the less soluble nutrients different chelators), but they don't have different ions, and plants (even terrestrial ones) can only take up nutrients as ions from solution.

People often use potassium nitrate (KNO3) or dipotassium hydrogen phosphate (K2HPO4) as their potassium source, because of the nitrate (NO3-) and phosphate (PO4---) anions, but it doesn't make any difference to the plant if the  potassium (K+) ions come from potassium chloride (KCl) etc.

The only difference is that you just have a less useful anion.

cheers Darrel


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## sparkyweasel (15 Feb 2019)

This is what happens if you add pure potassium to water;


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## notmysign (15 Feb 2019)

Very satisfying reaction


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## Hanuman (9 Jul 2019)

notmysign said:


> Thanks for everything you have explained. I have come up with a mixture that is exactly like : https://www.advancedplantedtank.com/apt-fertilizer.html
> And then i remember about reading about James planted tank all in one : LINK
> And this thread : EI all in one
> So i have come up with this recipe:
> ...



Curious to know how that formula has been doing for you. Care to share you experience?


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## Hanuman (12 May 2020)

Recently had the chance to test the PH of the ATP Complete formula of Dennis Wong. It came out to be PH 5.5/5.6. The PH meter was calibrated just before to make sure the result was as accurate as possible. I am rather surprised of such high PH.
There is little iron in his formulation (0.03ppm) so I am wandering if there is any correlation there.

Also, considering the recommended dosage of 1ml for 20L of water adds the following:
NO3=1.5 ppm
PO4=0.7 ppm
K=4 ppm
Mg=0.4 ppm
Fe=0.03 ppm
ATP formulation cannot be done with K2SO4, KNO3, *KH2PO4* and MgSO4 because the solubility rates of KH2PO4 is already over its limit of 11.1g/100ml (@20 degrees Celsius). This leads me to think KCL could be used since it has a solubility of 34.2g/100ml (@20 degrees Celsius) BUT if that is the case then it would add 0.97ppm of Cl per dose. This begs the question, is this amount of Cl acceptable? After a week of dosing one would have nearly 4ppm of Cl.

So in your opinion what is being done in this formulation for it to be stable at such PH and what potassium source is being used to overcome solubility rates?


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## Zeus. (12 May 2020)

Ran it though my fert calculator



so for 300ml solution the same as ATP salts to add



Solubility results for solution



One easy solution is to add a little K2CO3 as a source of K and a little kH at the same time



salts to add



dKH added per ATP (clone) dose



solubility report for solution much better



and cost for you mix per litre - based on cost of buying salts



( some off the features show above have yet to be released on my fert calculator)


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## Hanuman (12 May 2020)

Ok so adding K2CO3 could be an easy way. The total additional ~0.6dKH added by the end of the week is not so great though. If you are working with 100% RO then surely that is not a big deal but if working with partially tap/RO then that will rise the KH to an undesirable level, which is the case I am in. Some of the plants I have are better kept below 2/3dKH and my KH hoovers around 2, sometimes 3, partially due to tap water.

Also, any ideas on why such high PH? Most fertilizers I have tested are between PH3 or PH4 at most.


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## Zeus. (12 May 2020)

Hanuman said:


> Also, any ideas on why such high PH?



Just high enough to hold the minerals/chelates in suspension or interacting and prevent mould etc.


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## X3NiTH (12 May 2020)

You need to be careful with adding Calcium Nitrate to Sulphated solutions because it can react and drop out Calcium Sulphate as a precipitate if you exceed the solubility for Calcium Sulphate in the resultant solution. You do the calculations for resultant doses in the tank volume and then you shove it all in a bottle as a concentrate and which all goes into solution just fine and then 10mins later you go back to check on it and it’s half full of a white precipitate, yup I’ve been there!


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## Hanuman (13 May 2020)

Zeus. said:


> Just high enough to hold the minerals/chelates in suspension or interacting and prevent mould etc.



In my experience PH5 is too high. I have had precipitates in solution of PH4 or slightly less. The thing that might hold everything in solution is the very low iron content of 0.03ppm but not sure of that.


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## Hanuman (13 May 2020)

X3NiTH said:


> You need to be careful with adding Calcium Nitrate to Sulphated solutions because it can react and drop out Calcium Sulphate as a precipitate if you exceed the solubility for Calcium Sulphate in the resultant solution. You do the calculations for resultant doses in the tank volume and then you shove it all in a bottle as a concentrate and which all goes into solution just fine and then 10mins later you go back to check on it and it’s half full of a white precipitate, yup I’ve been there!



Quicky here. Why are you referring to Calcium Nitrate? Maybe I missed something.

Do you see other ways to achieve that ATP formulation without the addition of K2CO3? The only thing I am thinking of is basically making a more diluted solution with a designed dosage of 1ml for 10L of water instead of 1ml for 20L of water. That way we can get over the dilution issue.


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## X3NiTH (13 May 2020)

I mentioned the Calcium Nitrate because @Zeus posted it in the solubility tables and as you can see it’s very soluble, mixing it along with sulphates in a custom mix to get typical nitrate levels for dosing in replacement or supplementation of Potassium Nitrate for me ended up with a pile of precipitates, dosing Calcium Nitrate straight to the total tank volume as a salt no problem, making baggies of dry mixes of mixed salt for dosing even led to a reaction with Calcium Nitrate reacting with Potassium Phosphate and turning into a substance that appeared to have the solubility and hardness of Granite. I just avoid using it in mixes now.

Potassium Chloride is the easy answer but as you say is the Chloride bump acceptable (it’s probably ok), you could use Potassium Hydroxide instead of the Carbonate except the problem is that when you add it into a bottle it will react with atmospheric equilibrium co2 in the water and turn into the carbonate anyway so the preparation needs to be over engineered. You would need to remove any carbon from the mix before introducing the hydroxide, this can be done by boiling RO/DI in an inert atmosphere using a displacement gas such as Nitrogen, add the other elements which will be acidified to a low pH and then add the Hydroxide which will raise the pH back up, then bottle it up. I’ve tested none of this btw so no idea if it would work as anticipated.

There may be an issue with having this mix gaining access to co2 from the atmosphere every time you open the bottle or have it sitting in a dosing container so it could possibly have a short shelf life, a way to reduce the likelihood of this issue is to use IV drip bags instead to store ferts for dosing, I have swapped to doing this a few months ago anyway and decided it made it easier to keep an eye on amounts left and keeping the outside from getting in and causing mould formation, so from now on all my ferts get delivered this way.






I’ve not got round to buying a light safe bag (used to shield chemotherapy fluids as the chelates used are light sensitive) so I’m just using opaque plastic to wrap around it to keep the light out, not very tidy and I need to get rid of the bottle cages. The type of IV bags I am using are the Novelty type used for filling with party drinks for Cosplayers (Vampires, Zombies etc lol).

Going back to the Chloride issue I found this presentation of the composition of water a while ago when looking into water composition and particularly liked the diagram of the Extended Stallard Scheme showing the worlds major rivers and their general composition in relation to TDS, Silicates, Chlorides, Sulphates and Carbonates.


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## Zeus. (13 May 2020)

Hanuman said:


> Do you see other ways to achieve that ATP formulation without the addition of K2CO3? The only thing I am thinking of is basically making a more diluted solution with a designed dosage of 1ml for 10L of water instead of 1ml for 20L of water. That way we can get over the dilution issue.



Yes   , just make a more dilute solution and dose more, I do it all the time just works as an auto top up as well as fert


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## Hanuman (14 May 2020)

X3NiTH said:


> I mentioned the Calcium Nitrate because @Zeus posted it in the solubility tables


I swear to you I looked several times the thread to see where this Calcium Nitrate came from and I could not find it. Now I can see it just right in front of my sorry face. That's sorcery!! @Zeus.  it's your fault I was drown in your excel file looking for nuggets and my brain was melting - lol



X3NiTH said:


> Potassium Chloride is the easy answer but as you say is the Chloride bump acceptable (it’s probably ok)





X3NiTH said:


> Going back to the Chloride issue I found this presentation of the composition of water a while ago when looking into water composition and particularly liked the diagram of the Extended Stallard Scheme showing the worlds major rivers and their general composition in relation to TDS, Silicates, Chlorides, Sulphates and Carbonates.


There is < this post > from @dw1305 saying that less than 2ppm are needed and that's why I mentioned about chloride not being acceptable specially when at the end of a week of dosing one would end up with  close to 4ppm of chloride. Since I am not a chemist or a botanist I have no clue what is acceptable and what not. 



X3NiTH said:


> you could use Potassium Hydroxide instead of the Carbonate except the problem is that when you add it into a bottle it will react with atmospheric equilibrium co2 in the water and turn into the carbonate anyway so the preparation needs to be over engineered. You would need to remove any carbon from the mix before introducing the hydroxide, this can be done by boiling RO/DI in an inert atmosphere using a displacement gas such as Nitrogen, add the other elements which will be acidified to a low pH and then add the Hydroxide which will raise the pH back up, then bottle it up


Yes that sounds a bit too involved. I might pass on that one but I keep it on the back burner for someday if I get a chemistry degree. lol



X3NiTH said:


> I have swapped to doing this a few months ago anyway and decided it made it easier to keep an eye on amounts left and keeping the outside from getting in and causing mould formation, so from now on all my ferts get delivered this way. I’ve not got round to buying a light safe bag (used to shield chemotherapy fluids as the chelates used are light sensitive) so I’m just using opaque plastic to wrap around it to keep the light out, not very tidy and I need to get rid of the bottle cages. The type of IV bags I am using are the Novelty type used for filling with party drinks for Cosplayers (Vampires, Zombies etc lol).


Ok now you're talking.  I guess one needs to be careful not to puncture the bag but beyond that it is just an amazing idea.


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## Hanuman (14 May 2020)

Zeus. said:


> Yes   , just make a more dilute solution and dose more, I do it all the time just works as an auto top up as well as fert


Yeap ultimately that might be the way to go if I can't crack the nut. I am someone who always like to know how things work no matter how difficult they are or how ignorant I am on a specific subject. Call it stubbornness.


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## Zeus. (14 May 2020)

Hanuman said:


> @Zeus. it's your fault I was drown in your excel file looking for nuggets and my brain was melting - lol



🥳 , Calcium Nitrate (Calcium Nitrate Tetrahydrate -Ca(NO3)2.4H2O) just happen to be on a screen shot of the fert program, I glad it was as we got @X3NiTH detailed experience of using it - so we learned something by sharing



X3NiTH said:


> Potassium Chloride is the easy answer but as you say is the Chloride bump acceptable



Think I have read somewhere (Barr report maybe) about blending 'x'SO4 and 'x'Cl to reach the target 'x'ppm



Hanuman said:


> I am someone who always like to know how things work no matter how difficult they are or how ignorant I am on a specific subject. Call it stubbornness.



Same here, but stubbornness is not giving up at first hurdle also


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## dw1305 (14 May 2020)

Hi all, 





Hanuman said:


> There is < this post > from @dw1305 saying that less than 2ppm are needed and that's why I mentioned about chloride not being acceptable specially when at the end of a week of dosing one would end up with close to 4ppm of chloride. Since I am not a chemist or a botanist I have no clue what is acceptable and what not.


It is going to depend on the fish and plants, but my guess is that you need a fair bit  more of chloride before it becomes a problem.  

If you had hard water then the fish and plants you keep are more likely to be tolerant of raised levels of chloride (Cl-) ions. 

A lot of American fish-keepers regularly add salt (NaCl) to their tanks, and salt addition is a traditional treatment for nitrite poisoning (more Cl- ions in solution reduce the amount of NO2- ions the fish takes up, it is purely a numbers game).  Figures from aquaculture suggest that 100 mg/L (ppm) is an <"acceptable chloride concentration"> for producing Channel Catfish (_Ictalurus punctatus_ ), so I'm not going to worry about small amounts.

cheers Darrel


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## dw1305 (14 May 2020)

Hi all,





X3NiTH said:


> making baggies of dry mixes of mixed salt for dosing even led to a reaction with Calcium Nitrate reacting with Potassium Phosphate and turning into a substance that appeared to have the solubility and hardness of Granite. I just avoid using it in mixes now.


I hadn't really thought of that, but is a  good point. The majority of calcium (Ca) compounds are of very limited solubility, while (nearly) all potassium (K) compounds are soluble.

It is back to @X3NiTH 's other post <"about unintended consequences">.

cheers Darrel


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## Hanuman (14 May 2020)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all, It is going to depend on the fish and plants, but my guess is that you need a fair bit  more of chloride before it becomes a problem.
> 
> If you had hard water then the fish and plants you keep are more likely to be tolerant of raised levels of chloride (Cl-) ions.
> 
> A lot of American fish-keepers regularly add salt (NaCl) to their tanks, and salt addition is a traditional treatment for nitrite poisoning (more Cl- ions in solution reduce the amount of NO2- ions the fish takes up, it is purely a numbers game).  Figures from aquaculture suggest that 100 mg/L (ppm) is an <"acceptable chloride concentration"> for producing Channel Catfish (_Ictalurus punctatus_ ), so I'm not going to worry about small amounts.



Ok so clearly 4ppm is nothing compared to the 100ppm figure suggested by aquaculture. My GH is around 7-10 and KH around 2.
I googled around and <found this> and <also this> which also confirm the above.

So this is telling me that ATP Complete is possibly using Potassium Chloride as a source of K. Any other reasons why this chemical would not be used?
Aslo @Zeus. perhaps adding it to the calculator?


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## dw1305 (14 May 2020)

Hi all,





Hanuman said:


> So this is telling me that ATP Complete is possibly using Potassium Chloride as a source of K. Any other reasons why this chemical would not be used?


My guess would be that any potassium based fertiliser, that doesn't contain any/much nitrogen, will use potassium chloride (KCl) as their potassium source, mainly because it is really cheap to buy.

cheers Darrel


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## ian_m (14 May 2020)

Hanuman said:


> So this is telling me that ATP Complete is possibly using Potassium Chloride as a source of K. Any other reasons why this chemical would not be used?
> Aslo @Zeus. perhaps adding it to the calculator?


Not convinced chloride salts/ions really have a place in aquatics. Why do you think the sea is full of chloride ? (sodium chloride) as there are no major biological consumers of chloride ions, so they all accumulate in the sea. Potassium carbonate would be a better more plant & fish friendly source of potassium, than chloride.


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## Zeus. (14 May 2020)

Hanuman said:


> Aslo @Zeus. perhaps adding it to the calculator?



Makes sense to add it esp for RO water users, will add it to the 'water report wizard' and do a yeild for Cl in the reports etc also . My tap water has a mean 50ppm Cl with the EU limit at 250ppm Cl. Will do some reading on it myself.


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## Hanuman (14 May 2020)

ian_m said:


> Not convinced chloride salts/ions really have a place in aquatics. Why do you think the sea is full of chloride ? (sodium chloride) as there are no major biological consumers of chloride ions, so they all accumulate in the sea. Potassium carbonate would be a better more plant & fish friendly source of potassium, than chloride.



If my research is correct chloride is an essential electrolyte and we usually consume it through ingestion of sodium chloride. I read also that plants absorb it as it plays a role in photosynthesis. Now obviously it's all a matter of proportions. According to my research:

"Seawater has a chloride ion concentration of about *19,400 mg/L*". Fish can still live in it, granted they are sea water fish.
"Rivers have a chloride ion concentration ranging from *45-155 mg/L* and is considered normal". Fish and plants live in them.
"Goundwater have a chloride ion concentration of *35-125 mg/L* and is considered normal." We drink it.

So then I checked the water reports in Bangkok from 2019 and 2020:
Chloride is somewhere between *20mg/l *and *30mg/l* during the year (the limit here is set at *250mg/l)*. It can go all the way up to to 100mg/l depending on the station and season. These higher levels occurre during the hot season due to drought and seawater sipping back into canals and rivers. Two months ago my tap water TDS reading was hitting 1200ppm. Shocked I was. I did notice a salty taste to the tap water. Government got in hot waters as people complained. Dams had to increase discharge volume to allow seawater to go back  where it came from and give people their peace.

Here is a < real time map > of water quality in Bangkok.

In any case the *4ppm* added by a fertilizer are far behind from what is in sea water and even rivers. Not sure at those levels it is toxic.


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## Zeus. (14 May 2020)

Think I will add Sulphates to the Reports/Water Report Wizard' as well just for reference. All the structure is there already in the program, then we can see from the salts and tap water we add what the approximate levels are 
My Tap water has a mean 54ppm SO4 and the EU limit is 250 ppm SO4


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## dw1305 (14 May 2020)

Hi all, 





Hanuman said:


> In any case the *4ppm* added by a fertilizer are far behind from what is in sea water and even rivers.





ian_m said:


> Not convinced chloride salts/ions really have a place in aquatics.


My guess is that they are both true, ideally you want low chloride values, but for most fish and plants it isn't going to make a huge amount of difference. Soft water fish and plants like _Tonina _would be where problems were likely to manifest first as salinity increases.  





Hanuman said:


> It can go all the way up to to 100mg/l depending on the station and season. These higher levels occurre during the hot season due to drought and seawater sipping back into canals and rivers. Two months ago my tap water TDS reading was hitting 1200ppm. Shocked I was. I did notice a salty taste to the tap water. Government got in hot waters as people complained. Dams had to increase discharge volume to allow seawater to go back where it came from and give people their peace.


It is a real issue, even where you don't have intrusion from salt water (<"Sea water intrusion - SWI">) aquifers and surface water are polluted with agricultural fertilisers, sewage and (in northern regions) run-off from road salting. 

Very few water-sheds anywhere are in anything like their pre-industrialized state. 

cheers Darrel


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## Hanuman (18 May 2020)

Hanuman said:


> In any case the *4ppm* added by a fertilizer



Because there was as error in the  Rotala calculator (now corrected) that 4ppm value is incorrect. The correct value is *10.03ppm *(after a week of dosing).
If one is using RO water I don't see much of an issue there but if one is to use tap water that is something definitely to consider.

For the chemist here, is there an easy way to test a solution for the presence of Chloride and it's approximate content in the solution? If that's possible that should provide an indication if Potassium Chloride is actually used in the ATP Complete formula or not.


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## dw1305 (18 May 2020)

Hi all, 





Hanuman said:


> For the chemist here, is there an easy way to test a solution for the presence of Chloride and it's approximate content in the solution?


<"There is"> a way, you can acidify your sample with nitric acid (HNO3) and then add silver nitrate (AgNO3) solution. Silver chloride (AgCl) is formed and that an insoluble white precipitate, and you can then back titrate this mixture with an ammonia solution (of known strength) until the precipitate disappears.  You would need to have chloride standards and make a calibration curve. 

You can also use an <"ion selective electrode"> (ISE), but you are back to the issues with interference from similarly sized monovalent anions.

If I wanted to do this accurately I would definitely go for the solid state ISE.

cheers Darrel


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