The Custom Micro Mix Thread

[Phishless]

https://www.marinedepot.com/Hanna_I...uariums-Hanna_Instruments-HN1185-FITE-vi.html

All their units are $49

Not that I will test very often after this first week.

I compare it to not having a PAR meter and guessing about one's lighting.

Using capped soil makes things different for me than most.
Just trying to wrap things up in my mind about what the soil provides vs. what I am always adding in the way of ferts.
Reckon my capped soil will last quite a while since I also dose the water column.

Not really changing much water forces me to add ferts based on plant consumption per week without the accumulation that forces a massive water change.
I could never do this with lots of phish crapping things up.

Once per month I'm doing 15% WC's.
This is lowering my KH at a very slow rate, just how I wanted it to happen.
Now I am having to add GH booster to maintain a GH of 6.
Target KH is 1, I'm in the 3-4 range now so a few more months.
An improvement in plant growth @ a lower KH is showing with many species.
How much better will it be when I reach my target???

 

[fablau]

I have one of those colorimeters. The Fe one is pretty reliable, the Cu one not that much. A good tip when you take measurements, take 2 or 3 measurements, and then calculate the average. You will be surprised by how different results you can get...

 

[Phishless]

An Iron (Fe) colorimeter Update:
Periodic testing has been performed.
My normal dosing keeps about .38ppm in the water column.
Next day and several after it stays the same.
All of a sudden it drops to .08ppm in both capped soil tanks.
Must be a threshold that Fe should be kept at that I haven't been in tune with yet!

 

[fablau]

An Iron (Fe) colorimeter Update:
Periodic testing has been performed.
My normal dosing keeps about .38ppm in the water column.
Next day and several after it stays the same.
All of a sudden it drops to .08ppm in both capped soil tanks.
Must be a threshold that Fe should be kept at that I haven't been in tune with yet!

That's strange indeed... have you measured it again?

 

[fablau]

One question for everyone:

I have been trying to use an automatic dosing pump for the past month, and it has been very convenient for me. I dose 15ml of the micro mix solution in my 75gl tank daily, and it takes about 3 minutes to do it. I just dose macros manually, 3 times a week. The only problem that I have noticed by using the automatic dosing pump, is that the liquid in the bottle gets mold very easily. I used to keep the micro mix in the fridge when I dosed manually, but now, by using the automatic dosing pump, the bottle is just under the tank, not refrigerated, and mold develops after a few days I clean the bottle and add new liquid to it (despite I add 5ml vinegar to my 500ml solution, when I make it).

Any ideas how to prevent that damn mold?

 

[Phishless]

I've been dosing moldy micros for quite a few years!

I keep my bottles on the cool basement floor behind a tank to limit light exposure.

 

[Allwissend]

Fablau, you can potassium sorbate and ascorbic acid to prevent mold formation. Vinegar is not very pure and has other organic molecules beside acetic acid... so better to go with more clean products like acetic acid, HCl or ascorbic acid .

Add the acid to reach a pH of 5.5 or lower. Add the potassium sorbate, 100ppm is reported as inhibitory for most fungi but many products may use up to 1000ppm. Too much in my opinion but gives you an idea. If this also fails you may need to also add sodium benzoate. Then add all the micros and check that pH is below the target .

Using solutions with mold is not the best idea as molds secrete powerful substances in the solutions, depends on species and final dilution if any effect is observed. Most impacted will be bacteria in any case. Nevertheless, molds consume some metals in the solution ... how much and what ... means a source of major uncertainty in your dosing.

 

[fablau]

I've been dosing moldy micros for quite a few years!

I keep my bottles on the cool basement floor behind a tank to limit light exposure.

Thanks for your reply. My bottle is actually in complete dark inside the tank's cabinet, so I don't think it is a light related issue... bit if you think that the mold inside the micro bottle won't affect anything, I could just keep the mold and stop worrying about it!

 

[fablau]

Fablau, you can potassium sorbate and ascorbic acid to prevent mold formation. Vinegar is not very pure and has other organic molecules beside acetic acid... so better to go with more clean products like acetic acid, HCl or ascorbic acid .

Add the acid to reach a pH of 5.5 or lower. Add the potassium sorbate, 100ppm is reported as inhibitory for most fungi but many products may use up to 1000ppm. Too much in my opinion but gives you an idea. If this also fails you may need to also add sodium benzoate. Then add all the micros and check that pH is below the target .

Using solutions with mold is not the best idea as molds secrete powerful substances in the solutions, depends on species and final dilution if any effect is observed. Most impacted will be bacteria in any case. Nevertheless, molds consume some metals in the solution ... how much and what ... means a source of major uncertainty in your dosing.

Thank you so much for all this info. Stupid question: Will those "preservatives" affect the micro mix in any way? Also: do you recommend using BOTH potassium sorbate and ascorbic acid together, or either one will be ok?

Thanks again very much

 

[burr740]

Yeah use potassium sorbate to prevent mold, around .25 grams per 500 ml should do the trick.

Ascorbic acid to set the PH, around .5 gram per 500 ml

 

[Allwissend]

Thank you so much for all this info. Stupid question: Will those "preservatives" affect the micro mix in any way? Also: do you recommend using BOTH potassium sorbate and ascorbic acid together, or either one will be ok?

Thanks again very much

Like Joe said, you would ideally want to use both as they serve different purposes.

The two will not interact directly with the fertilizers or the chelates to my knowledge. There are many studies done on the effects of these substances in fertilizers and foods... The majority conclude no damaging effects.

 

[Phishless]

That's strange indeed... have you measured it again?

@fablau have not seen Fe drop like that again yet.
Same dosing scheme.

 

[fablau]

Thank you guys! I'll try as you have suggested then. Appreciated!

 

[fablau]

@fablau have not seen Fe drop like that again yet.
Same dosing scheme.

I see... maybe just a strange, one time issue?

 

[thelordofthefish]

Are you using potassium sorbate for both macro and micro mix? Any good store where I can get some?

 

[burr740]

Are you using potassium sorbate for both macro and micro mix? Any good store where I can get some?

You can find ascorbic acid and potassium sorbate on amazon or ebay.

Personally I have more of a mold issue with macros than micros. So I use K sorbate for macros too.

 

[Clappies]

What do you guys think of this product? How does it compare to aquarium products? I dont know what chalet is used in it, but i dose when my co2 is on and ph is low.

Dose is 0.1ml on 250L tank, it seems very concentrated thats why i dont dose much.

Any comments will be appreciated

Thanx.

Sent from my VKY-L09 using Tapatalk

 

[fablau]

Wow, Cu concentration is crazy high! Be careful to use this stuff. What’s designed for? Golf lawns? I would no use it at all, even if you use it a tiny amount of it , it won’t do anything good (Fe/Mn ratio is also too wide). Not recommended in my opinion!

 

[Clappies]

I think its used for a garden, i dont use it as my main source of Fe, i add fe gluconate with it. I also thought the cu is a bit on the high side... Mayne i can dilute it with a bit of distilled water when dosing?

I made a calculator for this stuff to see how much im dosing... But im not sure if my math is correct.

Sent from my VKY-L09 using Tapatalk

 

[fablau]

I think its used for a garden, i dont use it as my main source of Fe, i add fe gluconate with it. I also thought the cu is a bit on the high side... Mayne i can dilute it with a bit of distilled water when dosing?

I made a calculator for this stuff to see how much im dosing... But im not sure if my math is correct.

Sent from my VKY-L09 using Tapatalk

Well, yes, the problem is mostly the high concentration of Cu compared with the other elements. The problem is that if you lower the dosage to keep Cu within the "non-toxic" range (mostly for critters), the rest of the elements are probably going to be too low.

Also, if those are chelated elements, you may end up having similar issues we all have experienced with CSM and similar products (accumulation of some elements potentially interacting with other elements giving unexpected results, and more). Better to use non-chelated elements and have a balanced mix created just for planted tanks.

I hope this helps!