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DIY DTPA Trace Mix

FishWorks

Member
Joined
18 Dec 2016
Messages
82
Location
Philippines
Hey All,

I cant seem to find a trace mix where I am from so I decided to make my own.

My tank is 100 gallons while my water is 8.1PH which falls to 7.1PH after CO2 injection.

I was able to obtain DTPA FE 11%. The rest of my mix is comprised of Manganese Sulfate Monohydrate, Zinc Sulfate Monohydrate, Copper Sulfate Pentahydrate, Boric Acid, Sodium Molybdate Dihydrate.

The following table represents my percentage analysis:

Chemical Salt NameElement of Interest Percentage Content in Chemical SaltAmount of Chemical SaltsAmount of Element of InterestPercentage of Element of Interest in TracemixTrace Element Amount in
EI Method
Dosing ½ Teaspoon or 3g
DTPA FE11%290.30g31.75g8.82%0.26g
MnSO4.H2032%27.22g9.07g2.52%0.076g
ZnSO4.H2035%4.99g1.81g0.5%0.15g
CuSO4.5H2O25%1.81g0.45g0.13%0.004g
H3BO317%34.93g5.90g1.64%0.05g
Na2MoO4.2H2040%0.68g0.27g0.08%0.0024g
Total of Trace mix359.93g


Is my dosing a half teaspoon okay (3g)? Or should I use a little less than a teaspoon? Like 2.7g?

Please advise, did I use sufficient amounts of the elements in the trace mix?
 
Is my dosing a half teaspoon okay (3g)? Or should I use a little less than a teaspoon? Like 2.7g?

Please advise, did I use sufficient amounts of the elements in the trace mix?
Hello,
Really, there will not be any discernable difference between half-a-teaspoon and just less than half-a-teaspoon.
Trace element concentrations just have to be non-zero. I don't understand why hobbyists get into the habit of micro-managing nutrients. Just grab your teaspoon, dig in and toss it into the tank. It will make no difference whatsoever and you can never control the nutrient level to that degree of accuracy anyway. That's why it's called "The Estimative Index" and not "The Highly Accurate To The Nearest Milligram Index".

Cheers,
 
Hello,
Really, there will not be any discernable difference between half-a-teaspoon and just less than half-a-teaspoon.
Trace element concentrations just have to be non-zero. I don't understand why hobbyists get into the habit of micro-managing nutrients. Just grab your teaspoon, dig in and toss it into the tank. It will make no difference whatsoever and you can never control the nutrient level to that degree of accuracy anyway. That's why it's called "The Estimative Index" and not "The Highly Accurate To The Nearest Milligram Index".

Cheers,
Thanks Clive!
 
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