Dose chemicals dry or in solution? Keep in what condition?

[craynerd]

I have a few questions,

1) What is the negative and positives of dosing ferts in solution or dry? Someone saw i was dosing in solution and told me "Tom Barr advised me to dose dry, straight to the tank" ? I always found solutions easier to dose.

2) I have been told Trace solution should be kept in the fridge. Why is this so?

3) Do any other chemical fertiliser solutions need to be kept in specific conditions such as a fridge?

Regards

Chris

 

[quenton]

Re: Dose chemicals dry or in solution? Keep in what condition?

I will let others do the technical answers.

I use dry -- put fresh water in a bottle, add enough dry for both my tanks, shake, let stand a bit, shake again -- then dose proportionately from the bottle. That way I don't have to worry about it.

My traces are TMG and I have a 5L bottle, which I am told should be fine for a year or two.

I would not expect that solutions would deteriorate in a short time, so I don't see why you could not make up say a month's worth as a solution and use it, then do another one.

 

[craynerd]

Re: Dose chemicals dry or in solution? Keep in what condition?

umm interesting post....anyone else any idea if trace should be kept in the fridge,

Chris

 

[VaughnH]

Re: Dose chemicals dry or in solution? Keep in what condition?

People used to report growths of something in their bottles of trace mix, which led to the recommendation to refrigerate it. When I used a mix I didn't do so, and the only thing I noticed was that the color of the mix gradually changed and it became a bit cloudy as I got near the end of the bottle.

 

[Patrice]

Re: Dose chemicals dry or in solution? Keep in what condition?

I have been told that muriatic acid help to preserve solutions. Does someone know about that?

 

[Tom Barr]

Re: Dose chemicals dry or in solution? Keep in what condition?

Works well also(Frig or HCL), mainly just to reduce fungi that can form.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[JamesC]

Re: Dose chemicals dry or in solution? Keep in what condition?

I found after a few weeks the solution changed colour and became slighty hazy. I was led to believe that this is because the chelator was breaking down. I now add 0.5ml of N hydrochloric acid to my 250ml bottle of trace solution and this has prevented the discolouration. It is also kept in the fridge.

 

[Patrice]

Re: Dose chemicals dry or in solution? Keep in what condition?

Ok for fungi but will the solution last over time? is it ok to use the same solution for more than a year?

and about those fungi, are they bad to have in a solution?

Thx

 

[Tom Barr]

Re: Dose chemicals dry or in solution? Keep in what condition?

I seldom make enough liquid for a year
A couple of months, a week or two etc.


Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[VaughnH]

Re: Dose chemicals dry or in solution? Keep in what condition?

When I started using CSM+B+Fe I mixed it in a cough medicine bottle, which held about 236 ml. The bottle was dark amber colored, and, best of all, it had a little plastic cup with it that held about 15 ml, which I used to measure my doses. I decided I wanted only a month or so of stuff mixed up at a time, so I added about 15 times the amount of CSM+ needed to get to .1 ppm of iron in the tank to the bottle, then I dosed about 15 ml at a time, every other day. That seemed to work fine, but when I read that I could dose CSM dry I started doing that to avoid the mess of mixing the solution every month.

 

[DaveMill]

Re: Dose chemicals dry or in solution? Keep in what condition?

umm interesting post....anyone else any idea if trace should be kept in the fridge,

Chris

I use Flourish. A fresh bottle contains amber colored clear liquid. Even when kept in the fridge, this gradulally turns dark brown and somewhat cloudy. Seachem has said in various forums that this is normal and OK.

 

[DaveMill]

Re: Dose chemicals dry or in solution? Keep in what condition?

I have a few questions,

1) What is the negative and positives of dosing ferts in solution or dry? Someone saw i was dosing in solution and told me "Tom Barr advised me to dose dry, straight to the tank" ? I always found solutions easier to dose.
Chris

I dose dry these days, it's just easier with only two plant tanks. I have KH2PO4, K2SO4 and KNO3 in margarine tubs, I just scoop out the apprpriate amount and drop it in.