# Alternative to Seachem Equilibrium ?



## MichaelJ (4 May 2021)

Hi,

I recently switched to potassium softened water for my 40-50% weekly 50/50 Tap/RO mix WC water Potassium test?

For mineralizer I use Seachem Equilibrium to target a GH of 6-7.  I noticed that Seachem Equilibrium contains a lot of Potassium already (23% Soluble Potash) Seachem - Equilibrium

Since I am already adding a lot of Potassium with the tap/RO water mix (probably around 30-40 ppm), I would rather use a mineralizer that contains no or far less potassium if a good alternative is available for raising only GH.

I addition, I also noticed that Equilibrium is kind of hard to dissolve in my prep buckets - maybe thats just an inherent property of this particular blend?

Cheers,
Michael


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## Zeus. (4 May 2021)

Time for a DIY remin its so easy and cheap with the IFC calculator





Just target a 'bespoke rem' and enter your target levels so I have used no K below




Pick your salts and calculator does all the maths.




The new Target Remineraliser I've been working on takes it from a different angle targeting dKH and dGH and Ca:Mg ratios 



has more commercial products to clone to and can do remineralising solutions as well when solubility limits allow
and cost analysis/compare


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## dw1305 (4 May 2021)

Hi all,


MichaelJ said:


> I would rather use a mineralizer that contains no or far less potassium if a good alternative is available for raising only GH.





Zeus. said:


> The new Target Remineraliser I've been working on takes it from a different angle targeting dKH and dGH and Ca:Mg ratios
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That one.

You just need the salts "calcium chloride" (CaCl2.2H2O) and "Epsom salts" (MgSO4.7H2O). They are both cheap to buy because they have food/health/marine aquarium usages. I'd add ~5g (a teaspoon) of each compound to 50 litres of water to give you ~6dGH and 2 : 1 Ca : Mg.

<"Workings from James' Planted Tank">:
*Magnesium (Mg)*

1 dGH = 4.3mg/l Mg++
MgSO4.7H2O is ~10% Mg (<"RMM of Epsom Salts = 246.5">) RAM of magnesium = 24.3 and 24.3/246.5 = 9.86% Mg
If you have 10g of Epsom Salts you have 0.986g of Mg which is 986 milligrams and 229 dGH (986/4.3) when added to one litre of water.
If you have 50 litres of water and you add 10g of Epsom salts (MgSO4.7H2O) you've added 4.6 dGH. Half the amount and 5g gives you 2.3 dGH.
*Calcium (Ca)*

1 dGH = 7.2mg/l Ca++
CaCl2.2H2O is ~ 31% Ca (RMM of CaCl2.H2O is 129) RAM of Ca = 40.1 and 40.1/129 = 31.1% Ca
If you have 5g of calcium chloride you have 1.55g of Ca which is equal to 1550 mg and 215 dGH (1550/7.2) when added to 1 litre of water.
If you have 50 litres of water and you add 5g of calcium chloride dihydrate (CaCl2.2H2O) you've added 4.3 dGH
cheers Darrel


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## MichaelJ (4 May 2021)

Thanks @Zeus I like the idea of the IFC Calculator. Looks very comprehensive! Unfortunately I don't have Excel, and somewhat expected for a large sophisticated spreadsheet like this, the Calculator ( IFC_Fert_Cal_v1.08br.xlsx ) didn't quite work with the Numbers app on macOS.

What do you guys think of this: Regen: Liquid GH Booster for Aquarium Plants | NilocG Aquatic Labs  ?   It's supposedly easily dissolved (already in liquid form) and contains zero potassium - not very cost effective though. I might go with the Calcium chloride / Epsom Salt mix as suggested by @dw1305  -  I could probably just premix a big batch in a jug of RO or distilled water and use that for dosing to my GH target - similar to the Liquid GH Booster ?

Cheers,
Michael


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## Zeus. (4 May 2021)

MichaelJ said:


> I could probably just premix a big batch



I would advise against it as large batch the salt can settle, solutions get mould , I would go for the teaspoon per 50Litres at WC as @dw1305  suggests


dw1305 said:


> You just need the salts "calcium chloride" (CaCl2.2H2O) and "Epsom salts" (MgSO4.7H2O). They are both cheap to buy because they have food/health/marine aquarium usages. I'd add ~5g (a teaspoon) of each compound to 50 litres of water to give you ~6dGH and 2 : 1 Ca : Mg.


Solutions are only worth it when the amounts of salts to weight is small to weigh, 5g which is about a teaspoon (it is very salt dependant) 

Post your tank size and what salts you plan to use and target dGH will take a screenshot of the resultant grams to dose


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## MichaelJ (4 May 2021)

@zeus  My two tanks are 40 US gallon each - I reckon the net water volume in the each tank are 37 US gallon or 140 liter.  I change about 56-70 liter per week in each tank. 50/50 Tap/RO (the Tap is "0" GH).  So if I am getting this right, to target the 6 GH I would have to add 5.6 to 7 grams of Epson Salt and 5.6 - 7 grams of Calcium chloride to my WC water.


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## Zeus. (4 May 2021)

so say 60Litre WC
2.0:1.0 Ca:Mg ratio



3.0:1.0 Ca:Mg ratio



and for 70 Litres 3.0:1.0 Ca:Mg ratio


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## MichaelJ (4 May 2021)

@zeus Thanks a lot!

Cheers,
Michael


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## dw1305 (5 May 2021)

Hi all,


Zeus. said:


> I would go for the teaspoon per 50Litres at WC as @dw1305 suggests





MichaelJ said:


> I change about 56-70 liter per week in each tank. 50/50 Tap/RO (the Tap is "0" GH). So if I am getting this right, to target the 6 GH I would have to add 5.6 to 7 grams of Epson Salt and 5.6 - 7 grams of Calcium chloride to my WC water.


I'm <"pretty slap-dash in my approach">, but in this case I think you really don't need to be any more precise than "_a teaspoon_", whether it is 50 or 70 liters.

cheers Darrel


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## MichaelJ (5 May 2021)

dw1305 said:


> Hi all,
> 
> 
> I'm <"pretty slap-dash in my approach">, but in this case I think you really don't need to be any more precise than "_a teaspoon_", whether it is 50 or 70 liters.
> ...



@dw1305 "_sprinkle it into your hand, tip it in the tank_" .... Thats a good one.  Sure, in this case the net resulting GH in the tank won't vary more than perhaps 0.25 GH whether I dose a teaspoon for 56 or 70 liters...  and I never know _exactly_ how much water I replace anyway other than the ballpark range of 40-50%...   but its good to know the dosing numbers as calculated above.

Cheers,
Michael


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## MichaelJ (5 May 2021)

I am going to use this: 

Calcium Chlorides:
Amazon product

and Magnesium sulfate:
Amazon product

Both products are "food grade"... that's it?

Cheers,
Michael


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## dw1305 (5 May 2021)

Hi all,


MichaelJ said:


> I am going to use this:
> 
> Calcium Chlorides:
> Amazon product
> ...



Perfect. They are CaCl2.2H2O and MgSO4.7H2O, whatever they say on the labels.

cheers Darrel


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## MichaelJ (15 May 2021)

I've done two WCs now with this  (exactly as prescribed above) - GH is spot on - very predictable. Its a bit hard to dissolve, so what I do is to mix it in a jar with some of the WC water and shake it vigorously for 30-45 sec - works like a charm...

Cheers,
Michael


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## Zeus. (16 May 2021)

MichaelJ said:


> I've done two WCs now with this (exactly as prescribed above) - GH is spot on - very predictable.


Good to hear


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