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Alternative to Seachem Equilibrium ?

MichaelJ

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Joined
9 Feb 2021
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Location
Minnesota, USA
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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Time for a DIY remin its so easy and cheap with the IFC calculator
1620112849747.png


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

1620113057798.png

Pick your salts and calculator does all the maths.
1620113284442.png


The new Target Remineraliser I've been working on takes it from a different angle targeting dKH and dGH and Ca:Mg ratios
1620114270850.png

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

1620114836210.png


1620114926600.png
 
Hi all,
I would rather use a mineralizer that contains no or far less potassium if a good alternative is available for raising only GH.
The new Target Remineraliser I've been working on takes it from a different angle targeting dKH and dGH and Ca:Mg ratios
1620114270850-png.png

has more commercial products to clone to and can do remineralising solutions as well when solubility limits allow
and cost analysis/compare
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
 
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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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
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
 
@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.
 
Hi all,
I would go for the teaspoon per 50Litres at WC as @dw1305 suggests
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
 
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.

cheers Darrel

@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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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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