trying to make DIY plant fertilizers need

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utahfish

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i've been researching chemicals for diy plant ferts becasue i'm tired of shelling out 6 bucks for a 8.5 oz bottle of fluorish.

i've been to greg watsons web site and checked out chuck gadds dosage calculator and visited the krib, which all have been very helpful.

i've found that kno3 or pottasium nitrate is readily available in many forms and iron is availabe as Fe-DTPA and magnesium is easily attained through epsom salts.

the question i have though is, are there any readily available sources of pottasium sulfate? i've found that pottasium chloride is more readily availabe than k2so4

is pottasium chloride suitable for aquatic plants or is the k2so4 your only alternative?

on greg watsons web site he sells k2so4 for just alittle over two dollars a lb. i'd like to compare this with other prices of k2so4 but cant find any other sources, pottasium chloride is cheaper and more readily availabe at pharmacies and such but i'm not sure if pottasium chloride is good or not.

Any help or information would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
 
Well im not a chemist, but you have to work out the chloride part of the equation and what will that do to your tank if you are adding potassium chloride, rather than adding potassium sulphate, potassium sulphate is tried and tested in that the sulphate part doesnt do any harm to your aquarium, because many have tried it.

Whereas with chloride you would have to make sure its not harmful and you would probably have to have a way to find out what quantities you can use, or how much chloride you are adding to your tank.

But having said all that, there seems to be some disagreement as to whether you auctually need K2SO4, because you are doseing the K part (potassium part) each time you dose KNO3 potassium nitrate and KH2PO4 potassium phosphate, many people feel you get enough K from these allready.

Personally for the couple of dollars i would buy the correct chemical if you intend to dose it.
 
I believe Potassium Chloride ( Muriate of Potash ) can be used in aquariums, but I'm unsure of the dosage.

As Zig said, you would probably be better off getting everthing you require from Greg Watson. Lots of people do and I've never heard of anyone having a problem with his stuff. In fact, I don't think you'll find it much cheaper elsewhere.

You could even buy CSM+B Plantex or Plantex CSM+B plus Extra Iron ( if you require extra Fe ) for your traces, instead of trying to make your own.
 
Where do you guys buy your plantex???

I dose KCl all the time, 1 tbsp per 100 gallons puts you in the recommended range. I don't test, so I add it about once a week, though this probably isn't enough.

I really need to find a trace mix though.

Also, does anyone know where you can order KCl from that's cheap. I'm looking into water conditioners, but I think they have other chemicals added :/.


iggy01 said:
I believe Potassium Chloride ( Muriate of Potash ) can be used in aquariums, but I'm unsure of the dosage.

As Zig said, you would probably be better off getting everthing you require from Greg Watson. Lots of people do and I've never heard of anyone having a problem with his stuff. In fact, I don't think you'll find it much cheaper elsewhere.

You could even buy CSM+B Plantex or Plantex CSM+B plus Extra Iron ( if you require extra Fe ) for your traces, instead of trying to make your own.
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Try here if you live in the States or Canada, the cheapest you will find, just search the site he sells everything you will need.

Greg Watson
 
You could always look at the mixture and %'s on the back of the bottle of the fertilizer bottle and make your own from the ingredients.
 

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