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Thus it begins:
Tank has been running for about a year and half now, and its has been a bit over 6 months since I did a water change. I have been doing ICP tests every 3 months, so now that 2 have been completed I have an idea of consumption and dosing needs so far.
The primary trace nutrient that my tank is very deficient in so far is Iodine, and a few other lesser nutrient like manganese, vanadium and lithium are slightly deficient.
Being the cheap bastard I am, I also dont want to pay for pre mixed trace elements, as they are very expensive that way. Triton for example charges between 30-$50 per small vial of each trace, which can really add up fast. I also don't care for RED Sea supplements as they combine quite a few different elements in one solution, and I prefer to fine to individually, also theirs would cost quite a bit too for my sized tank.
So Only solution is to make my own. I have been researching these for sometime now and wanted to share some of my resources and docs I have collected for this purpose.
Supplies:
Clear 1L bottles ( Use 1l water bottles, cleaned and sterilized with rubbing alcohol )
RO water
MG scale (I have this one https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08T1KQP7B?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details)
Chemicals for this round:
Iodine - Potassium Iodide - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JKJWXBK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Manganese - Manganese Sulfate monohydrate - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004RXD1HK?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details
Lithium - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088KQFT74?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details
Vanadium - Vanadium Oxide (Vanadium Pentoxide)- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H8MSKSL?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details (Still waiting for delivery of this one as it is shipping from Russia, so it may take a month or so to receive it.)
View attachment 19592
Mixing the solutions:
KI - Potassium iodide is 77% iodine by weight. If you target 0.02 ppm to dose, then you will want to add 0.02 mg iodide per liter of aquarium water. That means dosing 0.025 mg of the KI per liter or 2.5 mg/100 L of aquarium water. You won't likely be able to weight that small of an amount, so make a stock dosing solution. Dissolve 1 g KI in 1 L RO/DI. That solution contains 1 mg KI per mL. So 2.5 mL of that solution added per 100 L of aquarium water will boost iodine by 0.02 ppm.
Mn - Manganese Dissolve 1 gram in 1000 mL RO/Di. Concentration is 325 mg/L or 0.325 mg/mL. Adding 1 mL per 100 gallons boosts manganese by 0.325 mg/378 L = 0.0009 mg/L (0.9 ug/L). Scale to what you want to dose (maybe 2 mL per 100 gallons)
Li - Lithium - TBD
V - Vanadium - Dissolve 4 grams in a liter (saturation is about twice that).
Vanadium pentoxide is about 54% vanadium by weight, so that solution will be about 2,200 ppm (mg/L) or 2,200 ug/mL.
1 mL of this added to 100 gallons (378.5 L) will boost vanadium by 2,200 ug/mL * 1 mL / 378.5 L = 5.8 ug/L.
That's a bit high, so dilute the stock again (100 mL into 1 L total) then it is 1/10th as much, or 0.6 ug/L final concentration when dosed 1 mL to 100 gallons. (Note: May need to add 1.8g of sodium hydroxide to get the vanadium to dissolve completely in the solution)
Reference link - https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/icp-test-diy-elements-going-mad-scientist.708864/
Docs: (You can copy any of these docs to use for your own purposes)
Supplements and mixing directions - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Af82rMP7_CXPC_SHIptJnMcYAgVosjh_gPNDNDBL3AI/edit?usp=sharing
Dosing calculator and chemical info
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Wz_eGeFeEhbnPHdOZEdhcXKW0zoVwWNak8WS-5mP2-E/edit?usp=sharing
I will add more as the need arises for them
Tank has been running for about a year and half now, and its has been a bit over 6 months since I did a water change. I have been doing ICP tests every 3 months, so now that 2 have been completed I have an idea of consumption and dosing needs so far.
The primary trace nutrient that my tank is very deficient in so far is Iodine, and a few other lesser nutrient like manganese, vanadium and lithium are slightly deficient.
Being the cheap bastard I am, I also dont want to pay for pre mixed trace elements, as they are very expensive that way. Triton for example charges between 30-$50 per small vial of each trace, which can really add up fast. I also don't care for RED Sea supplements as they combine quite a few different elements in one solution, and I prefer to fine to individually, also theirs would cost quite a bit too for my sized tank.
So Only solution is to make my own. I have been researching these for sometime now and wanted to share some of my resources and docs I have collected for this purpose.
Supplies:
Clear 1L bottles ( Use 1l water bottles, cleaned and sterilized with rubbing alcohol )
RO water
MG scale (I have this one https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08T1KQP7B?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details)
Chemicals for this round:
Iodine - Potassium Iodide - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JKJWXBK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Manganese - Manganese Sulfate monohydrate - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004RXD1HK?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details
Lithium - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088KQFT74?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details
Vanadium - Vanadium Oxide (Vanadium Pentoxide)- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H8MSKSL?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details (Still waiting for delivery of this one as it is shipping from Russia, so it may take a month or so to receive it.)
View attachment 19592
Mixing the solutions:
KI - Potassium iodide is 77% iodine by weight. If you target 0.02 ppm to dose, then you will want to add 0.02 mg iodide per liter of aquarium water. That means dosing 0.025 mg of the KI per liter or 2.5 mg/100 L of aquarium water. You won't likely be able to weight that small of an amount, so make a stock dosing solution. Dissolve 1 g KI in 1 L RO/DI. That solution contains 1 mg KI per mL. So 2.5 mL of that solution added per 100 L of aquarium water will boost iodine by 0.02 ppm.
Mn - Manganese Dissolve 1 gram in 1000 mL RO/Di. Concentration is 325 mg/L or 0.325 mg/mL. Adding 1 mL per 100 gallons boosts manganese by 0.325 mg/378 L = 0.0009 mg/L (0.9 ug/L). Scale to what you want to dose (maybe 2 mL per 100 gallons)
Li - Lithium - TBD
V - Vanadium - Dissolve 4 grams in a liter (saturation is about twice that).
Vanadium pentoxide is about 54% vanadium by weight, so that solution will be about 2,200 ppm (mg/L) or 2,200 ug/mL.
1 mL of this added to 100 gallons (378.5 L) will boost vanadium by 2,200 ug/mL * 1 mL / 378.5 L = 5.8 ug/L.
That's a bit high, so dilute the stock again (100 mL into 1 L total) then it is 1/10th as much, or 0.6 ug/L final concentration when dosed 1 mL to 100 gallons. (Note: May need to add 1.8g of sodium hydroxide to get the vanadium to dissolve completely in the solution)
Reference link - https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/icp-test-diy-elements-going-mad-scientist.708864/
Docs: (You can copy any of these docs to use for your own purposes)
Supplements and mixing directions - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Af82rMP7_CXPC_SHIptJnMcYAgVosjh_gPNDNDBL3AI/edit?usp=sharing
Dosing calculator and chemical info
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Wz_eGeFeEhbnPHdOZEdhcXKW0zoVwWNak8WS-5mP2-E/edit?usp=sharing
I will add more as the need arises for them
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