Diy Tpn+

[ATK!!!]

I have decided that as soon as I have finished off my Seachem flourish I will make my own TPN+. I will be using it instead of the EI dosing method on my soon to come Juwel rio 180 with FE CO2. Also I may use a small amount on my little Biube as well if things go well.

So I'm guessing that the measurements need to be relatively precise so I will need the following:

Scales of some sort?
A bottle to keep mixture in
Assorted ingredients??? What and how much would be great!
A large syringe
De-ionized water? Where do I get this from (in uk)

Is there anything else I will need? How much should I add to the tank how often?(Heavily planted 180l, 2x45 watt t5's, FE Co2)

I will probably buy my things from Fluidsensor online as I have heard they are good?

 

[StandbySetting]

Scales of some sort?
A bottle to keep mixture in
Assorted ingredients??? What and how much would be great!
A large syringe
De-ionized water? Where do I get this from (in uk)

Yes, digital scales that measure to ideally 2 d.p, as for the salts you'll require: Potassium Nitrate (500G), Potassium Phosphate (100G), Magnesium sulfate (250G), Ascorbic Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Trace Elements (100G) and a few litres of RO or DI water, DI water can be found at Halfords.

48g Potassium Nitrate
2.2g Potassium Phosphate (monobasic)
17g Magnesium Sulphate Heptahydrate (Epsom Salts)
0.5g E300 Ascorbic Acid
0.2g E202 Potassium Sorbate
5g EDTA Chelated Trace Elements Mix (TNC Trace, CSM+B)
500ml distilled water

Taken from www.theplantedtank.co.uk

Then you would need to dose 2.5ml daily per 50 litres, each does would provide:

2.95ppm of NO3
0.155ppm of PO4
1.95ppm of K
0.195ppm of Mg

On top of the dry salt it would be worth having a few pipettes, assorted syringes and measuring cylinders if you want the mixture to be accurate but it doesn't really matter, a jug will suffice.

 

[ATK!!!]

I thought you only needed Magnesium Sulphate if you had soft water. My water is EXTREMELY hard so will I need it?

Thanks for the rest of the list! How much would you pay for good digital scales then? (I don't want to get ripped off)

 

[StandbySetting]

If you want to make TPN+ to the letter then include Magnesium sulphate, but as you say if your water is hard you wont need it.

Not sure on the scales, I can't remember what I paid for mine, but it wasn't much.

 

[ATK!!!]

Ok then, thanks anyway. I may just try to cut corners and miss out on the Magnesium Sulphate for now! I've found a set of scales for £15.99 that measure to 0.01g. That'll probably be good enough wont it. Oh btw how often should I do water changes if I do it this way? I want to keep these to a minimum as large water changes will be hard to do in my house...

 

[StandbySetting]

Do water changes as you normally would, once every week or so.

 

[ATK!!!]

I was hoping to get away with slightly less. I guess I just have to find a better way of changing the water, maybe some hosepipes could work as a huge siphon all the way downstairs to the bath... I still don't see how I'll cart 60l of water up the stairs every week. Thats 60KGS!

 

[StandbySetting]

Make yourself a DIY python.

 

[ATK!!!]

Make yourself a DIY python.

???

 

[nurglespuss]

Also just a quick note on ascorbate/ascorbic acid, don't be tempted to premix big we batches, only make what you need, as this stuff oxidises very quickly in water, and becomes useless.

If you can, order up some 2.5-3ml ependorfs tubes (or any small flip/screw cap tube), make your dry mix, add it to the tube, then you have one ready to add DI water to, for immediate use.

 

[SLIM]

Sorry to hijack this thread, im about to purchase dry ferts for EI dosing. The plan is to mix up trace mix, potassium nitrate and potassium phosphate seprately into different 500ml bottles.
My question is, how long will these last bottled and mixed before they become useless? And is it true trace mix should be refridgerated?

 

[SO19Firearms]

Macro's will last a year or more - Micro's I'd keep for about 6mnths if you add potassium sorbate to it to inhibit mold - and keep refrigerated, in the dark.
DI water is probably overkill, you only really need to use that/RO water if there's something in your tap water you're not happy with.

 

[aaronnorth]

Make yourself a DIY python.

???

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/281738-aarons-216l-planted-journal/page__view__findpost__p__2387383

 

[ATK!!!]

Macro's will last a year or more - Micro's I'd keep for about 6mnths if you add potassium sorbate to it to inhibit mold - and keep refrigerated, in the dark.
DI water is probably overkill, you only really need to use that/RO water if there's something in your tap water you're not happy with.

Oh good! That'll save me a bit of money/time!

 

[SLIM]

Thanx firearms