CSM+B questions

[Gerryd]

Hi all,

A few quick questions please. I found this note in the EI thread:

1 tablespoon to 250ml water is equivalent to: 20 ml = 1/4 teaspoon of dry Plantex

1. I don't get this comparison. 1 tblspoon is much > 1/4 teaspoon and 250ml is > 20 ml. How can they be equivalent?

2. Do I have to mix with DI water or is tap or tank water okay? Is DI required only for longer term solutions/storage?

I want to switch from TPN and simply want to add X of csm+b to X amount of water to get around 50-60 ml of trace.

Sorry for the stupid questions....

Thanks!

 

[Wet]

Hey Gerry. I think what's going on in 1) is just rounding an approximation.

250ml has 12.5 20mL doses.
1TBL is 3 tsp (so, 1TBL is 12*1/4 tsp)

So, each 20mL dose of the solution (consisting of 1TBL Plantex into 250mL) is about 1/4 tsp pure Plantex...

3 teaspoons Plantex / 250mL * 20mL = 0.24 teaspoons Plantex ~= 1/4 tsp Plantex

2) You don't have to use DI water, but it will help against mold and, if you have alkaline tap/tank water, will help keep Fe in solution longer. 50mL-60mL batches sound like you're looking for short term mixes, and you're right that will avoid mold.

I'd suggest DI anyway though for the peace of mind -- avoiding Fe and free P reacting in the concentrated dosing container, the relatively weak chelator of CSM+B reacting with whatever the water chemistry of the tank is, etc -- fwiw.

Another way to go about the problem is not to clone Tropica but rather just figure out how much traces you're dosing now, then make whatever mix you want in whatever dose you want to reach the same target with Plantex. Various online calculators such as fertfriend will help with the former.

I hope this helps but happy to try again if it doesn't!

 

[Gerryd]

Hi Wet,

So.....if I wanted a SINGLE 20ml dose of plantex, I would add 1/12 of 1/4 teaspoon of plantex to 20 ml of DI water???

I really just want to derive a SINGLE dose 3x per week. I will adjust as needed. I am not trying to DUPLICATE TPN. Just trying the plantex as it is much less expensive that is all.

I assume that I will have to observe for several weeks anyway so I can adjust as needed.

I want to dose about 50-60 ml of trace 3X weekly.

I dose the macros the same way. Make a single dose mixing with water and dump in tank....

I already dose macro/micros on consecutive days, so no worries there...

I really don;t want to store it, but would be willing to make up 1 week's worth...

Fe question:

I also got some of the Iron chelate 13% (EDTA) from planted aquarium fert.com. Do I even need this? If I can use, do I just dose as another micro?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Wet]

You've got it, Gerry, though if you'd like to add 1/4-1/2 tsp of Plantex with each dose, it doesn't really matter if you dissolve it in 20mL or, say, 1L of water before dumping it into the tank.

You can use the extra EDTA Fe as a supplement in near the same proportions (or, say, half) of above. It will not be of much benefit compared to other Fe products since its the same chelator as CSM+B.

I still need to make a PO trip for Dempsey. I can send you some DTPA Fe for your stash 'case you ever want to mess with it later after getting your CSM+B dosing down.