# KS04



## billy boy (24 Feb 2009)

I am needing some more ks04 and had a look on garden direct and it came up with Sulphate of Potash,Will this do the same job as the stuff you get in Aqua essentials? 
As the price difference is big, ie garden direct 3 kg for Â£7.50 and A&E charges Â£7.99 for 500g

cheers james


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## aaronnorth (24 Feb 2009)

billy boy said:
			
		

> I am needing some more ks04 and had a look on garden direct and it came up with Sulphate of Potash,Will this do the same job as the stuff you get in Aqua essentials?
> As the price difference is big, ie garden direct 3 kg for Â£7.50 and A&E charges Â£7.99 for 500g
> 
> cheers james



yes, it is just another name for it.


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## Themuleous (25 Feb 2009)

Yeh its the same stuff, the only issue might be with dissolving it as the garden ferts tend to be bigger grain sizes, but warming the water a bit before adding it should help overcome that  and also keeping the concentration quite low, i.e. not trying to dissolve to much fert in to the water.

Sam


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## billy boy (25 Feb 2009)

Thanks sam, Do you know if it would be ok to put my trace mix in the warm water also or would i be better to wait until the water has cooled off?


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## billy boy (25 Feb 2009)

Just found some on ebay! take a look at this guys picture    He calls it the naked garden fertiliser   

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NAKED-GARDEN-FERT ... 18Q2el1247


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## Themuleous (25 Feb 2009)

Lukewarm water shouldn't be a problem, but trace mix dissolves much easier anyway.

Sam


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## Simon D (25 Feb 2009)

billy boy said:
			
		

> Just found some on ebay! take a look at this guys picture    He calls it the naked garden fertiliser
> 
> http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NAKED-GARDEN-FERT ... 18Q2el1247



Nice boots!


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## Shadow (20 Mar 2009)

billy boy said:
			
		

> Just found some on ebay! take a look at this guys picture    He calls it the naked garden fertiliser
> 
> http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NAKED-GARDEN-FERT ... 18Q2el1247



I though it  is just figure of speech, to my surprise they really naked in the photo


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## a1Matt (20 Mar 2009)

billy boy said:
			
		

> Just found some on ebay! take a look at this guys picture    He calls it the naked garden fertiliser
> 
> http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NAKED-GARDEN-FERT ... 18Q2el1247



That is frakkin hilarious


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## Superman (20 Mar 2009)

I've recently been able to get great bargains for MgSO4 and KH2PO4 from ebay.


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## ceg4048 (20 Mar 2009)

billy boy said:
			
		

> I am needing some more ks04 and had a look on garden direct and it came up with Sulphate of Potash,Will this do the same job as the stuff you get in Aqua essentials?
> As the price difference is big, ie garden direct 3 kg for Â£7.50 and A&E charges Â£7.99 for 500g
> 
> cheers james


Are you sure you need it? If you don't need it then zero is an even better price. :idea:  If you are dosing KNO3 at proper levels then you don't need K2SO4 at all.

Cheers,


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## billy boy (20 Mar 2009)

Are you sure you need it? If you don't need it then zero is an even better price. :idea:  If you are dosing KNO3 at proper levels then you don't need K2SO4 at all.

Cheers,[/quote]


TBH ceg, I dont know if i need it    As EI tends to go in one ear and out the other,  As much as i try i cant seem to get it to stick in the middle  

So to get round this i took the easy option and copied a macro and micro mix.
Which is

My macro nutrient mix is; 
10 teaspoons of Potassium Nitrate
2 and a half teaspoons of Potassium Phosphate
dissolved in 500ml RO/deionised or distilled water

My micro nutrient is; 
3 teaspoons of Trace Element mix
5 teaspoons of Potassium Sulphate 
dissolved in 500ml RO/deionised or distilled water


And i add it at 1 ml per litre(micro) And 0.5 ml (marco)  And i find it works fine for my tank, The only algae i tend to get now is a bit of gsa on the glass but nothing to bad, And i find it easyer adding the 2 solutions daily, Followd by a weekly 50% water change.

cheers james


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## ceg4048 (20 Mar 2009)

Hi James,
             Well, copying a mixture is fine and it really isn't necessary to be Albert Einstein, but what I'm trying to do is to get people to at least look at the mixture content to avoid spending money needlessly and to make viable purchase decisions. For example, just look at your mixture list and count how many times you see the word "Potassium". You've got massive amounts of Potassium Nitrate (KNO3) so why on earth would you need to add more Potassium via Potassium Sulfate (K2SO4)? It's completely pointless because the reason we add Potassium Sulphate in the first place is for the Potassium, not the Sulphate. Then you're also adding Potassium Phosphate as well, so there's not a snowballs chance of a Potassium shortage, is there?

My advice is to forget about K2SO4 because in that mixture of yours it's just costing you money with absolutely zero return. Spend the money on other things like plants or fish or light bulbs - or beer, that's all I'm trying to get across.  

Cheers,


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## Ed Seeley (21 Mar 2009)

billy boy said:
			
		

> My macro nutrient mix is;
> 10 teaspoons of Potassium Nitrate
> 2 and a half teaspoons of Potassium Phosphate
> dissolved in 500ml RO/deionised or distilled water
> ...



That's my mix Billy and I add the extra potassium for two reasons.

First I use RO water remineralised with RO salts and had a problem with pin-holes in some leaves when I switched from Kent's product to another company's.  When I added the extra potassium this disappeared.  Since switching back to Kent's product I haven't seen the need to change my mixture.

Secondly I use Aquasoil and don't dose as heavily as many others on here.  I often forget to dose more than once or twice a week and with the aquasoil as a buffer of nutrients I find this works well for me.  I find the extra potassium does no harm even if it isn't needed.


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## billy boy (21 Mar 2009)

Haveing just bought some K2SO4 and mixed up 1000 ml i will use that up and when that runs out i will cut it out, and just mix up the trace and keep a eye on things to see if there is any changes, If any.
I keep my powders in a air tight tub so if needed i can use it again!  BTW Ed, I knew i copied that mix from someone but couldnt remember who    After trying many other mixs this one works best for my tank, So a big thanks from me for posting that mix.

cheers james


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## Ed Seeley (21 Mar 2009)

billy boy said:
			
		

> Haveing just bought some K2SO4 and mixed up 1000 ml i will use that up and when that runs out i will cut it out, and just mix up the trace and keep a eye on things to see if there is any changes, If any.
> I keep my powders in a air tight tub so if needed i can use it again!  BTW Ed, I knew i copied that mix from someone but couldnt remember who    After trying many other mixs this one works best for my tank, So a big thanks from me for posting that mix.
> 
> cheers james



Thanks mate, glad it works for you.


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