GH builder, calcium and magnesium

Hi! How about if I'll use calcium sulfate tablets (purchased in drugstores)? Should I just grind it to powder form and follow the same ratio? I plan to make a premade solution and mix it in 500g water, how much do I need of each? Thanks!

 

I don't think a liquid pre-mix of a "GH booster" will work out well. It is hard to get calcium compounds to fully dissolve, even in the aquarium. Trying to get enough dissolved into 500 ml of water to be able to dose even 100 ml at a time would be difficult. The Epsom salts would dissolve ok, but calcium would be a problem.

I also find it hard to believe that buying calcium sulfate tablets at a drug store could ever be economical compared to buying plaster of paris, for example. I suspect just buying "Barr's GH Booster" would prove to be a lot cheaper. When I looked at this several years ago I was surprised to find that even epsom salts, at the drug store, would cost me more than MgSO4 from Greg Watson. So, if saving money is the reason for the DIY, be sure to actually check the costs first.

 

Hi sir. I wish I could simple make an online order for GH booster, problem is that I lived in a different country and the shipping cost would cost a fortune. If making a pre-mix will be troublesome, can I just dose them separately to achieve the same effect of GH booster? thanks again!

 

If you can mix the powdered ingredients together without a problem, that is a good way to go. My comment was only in reference to making a liquid premix. I have tried to mix Seachem Equilibrium with water before adding it to the tank, and it just doesn't work. I end up mixing it as best I can, pouring off the milky looking water, adding more water and shaking it more, pouring off the less milky looking water, adding more water and just swirling it around so I can dump the whole thing, undissolved particles and all into the tank. And, this was with, as I recall, one half a teaspoon of Equilibrium in about 500 ml of water. My conclusion was that GH builder has to be dosed dry.

 

Hi sir. Yup, that's exactly what my first reply to this post was all about. The materials/chemicals I have right now:

Magnesium Sulphate
Potassium Sulphate
Calcium Sulfate Tables

I just don't know how much of each should I mix in the solution and how to dose for a 50g tank.

 

I think I've a similar scenario when I tried dissolving calcium sulfate tablets in water and adding it to my tank. It went cloudy for several hours. As long as it won't harm anything I think I can live with that. I dose during lights off so the water has enough time to clear before lights on. Thanks for the reminder.

 

Does anyone know how much plaster of paris one would have to add to x gallons of water to achieve x ppm of calcium?

 

Here is one calculator: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/fertilator.php. This has some problems, but I think it works well for Calcium sulfate. Plaster of Paris is calcium sulfate, as I recall.