Dissolving DIY buffer

[mathobes]

Hey all,

I use aquasonic rift lake salts but go through it real fast and it's not that cheap. I know the DIY recipe (1teaspoon Epsom, 1teaspoon bi-carb and 1 teaspoon salt?) but have a question. When I do WC's I put 1 teaspoon per bucket of aquasonic and it gets ph, gh and kh right. If I use the DIY recipe will I need to dissolve the ingredients in boiling water first or will they dissolve in the bucket when it's being filled? (I put the salt in the bucket then fill it with water and aquasonic salts dissolve that way).

Cheers

[Michiel]

Hi

Those salts would dissolve but time depends on the size of the crystals.

However the ratio's quoted are a bit too simplistic. What is the total water volume in liters you are replacing and the size of the bucket?

MgSO4 (Epsom salts) are normally in the compound MgSO4.7H2O which molocular weight is twice that of MgSO4 so you need to use halve the dosage. It means that if you require a GH of 10 you will end up with 22 if you are not careful.

The ratio to 1,000 liters of water that I use:

MgSO4.7H2O - 4-5 table spoons corresponds with a GH of 10-14

NaHCO3 (bicarb) 69% - roughly I tablespoon will increase KH by 1dH

NaCl2 (salt) - About 30 tablespoons

By this you can see that the amounts are significantly different so a simple 1:1:1: ratio is not that easy.

Michiel

[Wolfy]

Both of those are different to what is outlined here: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/buffer_recipe.php

But mathobes the salts will dissolve easily in the filtered/conditioned water you expect to put directly into the tank.

[Michiel]

Both of those are different to what is outlined here: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/buffer_recipe.php

But mathobes the salts will dissolve easily in the filtered/conditioned water you expect to put directly into the tank.

Hi Wolfy

Please bear in mind that the recipe outiled in for US water.

It is very important to test the replacement water for KH, GH and specifit gravity to come to a true conclution.

Very important as no recipy would deliver the right resolt with a different base input.

Michiel

[mathobes]

I understand that I will have to use differnt quantities with my particular water. I have gh, kh ad ph tests so it will be trial an error until I figure out the amount of each salt to add per bucket. So back to my first question, there is no need to dissolve the salts in boiling water before adding to each bucket? I ask because when I use the commercial buffer it dissolves in the bucket with just a quick stir and was unsure if empsom salt, bicarb and salt would dissolve in the same way. Cheers

[Wolfy]

Hi Wolfy

Please bear in mind that the recipe outiled in for US water.

It is very important to test the replacement water for KH, GH and specifit gravity to come to a true conclution.

Very important as no recipy would deliver the right resolt with a different base input.

Michiel

Of course, but Melbourne water is so soft it's virtually deionized/RO water (I have water reports for my HomeBrew).

Mean values (ppm): Ca 5, Mg 2, Na 8, Bicarbonate 12, Chloride 12, Sulphate 3, pH 7.5 (for the rest of the values I'd need to find the .pdf but you get the idea).

[mathobes]

Just looked at the age of aquariums website and problem solved. 500g aquasonic buffer for $8 and 1kg for 12. Much cheaper than the lfs which is $20 for 500g. There is only one lfs where I live so I guess they can charge what they want. I think I will do all my aquarium needs shopping once a month on the sponsers website. Thanks for the help anyway, any knowledge gained is never a bad thing

[TGCanberra]

Great to see there are some cheap DIY recipes out there.... does anyone have a quick answer re the ratios for bring up rainwater up to a suitable GH/KH for a mized system running tangs and malawis?

can I assume that pool salt is essentially "rock salt"

thanks, Tim