Plantex CSM+B question

I recently started using Plantex CSM+B instead of Flourish. I have heard from some to keep the diluted Plantex liquid mixture at room temp (less crystals/sediments) and others say 4C (less chance of stuff growing in it).

Which is better? Even at room temp where I currently keep it, I notice a lot of stuff settling out. Is this pretty normal, and should I try to warm it up to get everything back into solution before adding it to the tank?


Question2: When medicating a tank, should I continue to dose everything as normal? KNO3, K2PO4, KH2SO4, Plantex CSM+B, Excel...etc.

 

Anyone have any comments?

Also....I had to medicate my tank for Columnaris using Paraguard, and noticed that 2 of my plants seem to be sensitive to the medication? One is stargrass, can't remember the other. The stargrass is green on top but the stems are now turning clear. Has one else noticed this with stargrass and certain medications or am I missing something else? I keep it trimmed fairly often as this thing usually grows like a weed.

I checked my various chemicals and noticed that KNO3 was being used like gangbusters, so I am dosing daily for now. My fish are understocked for now since I was setting this tank up to display Discus, so I knew KNO3 would be somewhat limiting. Other than that, everything looks good.

 

Unfortunately this was not possible. Columnaris is a bit hard to spot at times, and by the time I did I felt I needed to treat all the fish. There is also some reports that this bacteria can survive and grow on the tank glass. So, in this case I felt it best to treat the whole tank.

 

I mixed 2 Tbsp into 2 cups of water. I thought this was the "norm". Do you/others here tend to make it more dilute?

 

I've never seen a dry dose amount for Plantex CSM+B. How much would you add per 10g or 20g to get 0.1ppm Fe?

Isn't it something really small like 0.025 tsp per 20g...whatever that is.

 

Ok, thanks. I am using double your dose since 3tsp = 1Tbsp and 2cups is close to 500mL. That might be another reason why it is settling out.

 

Hmm...well then, my Plantex should have dissolved. Maybe I just needed to use tepid water to begin with. I assume everyone is using distilled or DI water or does that matter?

 

It probably depends on your tank size. This stuff is so concentrated that I cannot accurately measure it for my 75g tank. The dosage I see is that 0.1g will dose a 20g tank to 0.1ppm Fe. So for me measuring out 0.4g is more of a pain then making a liquid dilution and dosing ~7-10mL, 2-3x a week.

 

Actually we are dosing about the same, I just never did a conversion for g to tsp.

If I have 2Tbsp in 500ml that is the same as 6tsp. If I dose 10mL that is 1/50 of the 500mL. 6tsp/50 = 0.12tsp each time I add 10mL.

1/8tsp = 0.125. I guess I could have added 1/8tsp dry, I just never did the math until now. However, you are adding extra iron that I am not.

 

I figured out my problem. I made a "rookie" mistake. I used tap water to make my Plantex CSM+B solution. I found that my tap has somewhere between 1-5ppm of phosphate which probably combined with the iron in the plantex to make Iron phosphate over a few days in the bottle. This compound is insoluble in water.

I have since made a new solution using distilled water and had zero sediments form. Just thought I'd pass this along for anyone else just starting out.