bigstick120

I have CSM+B, and bought some ferrous gluconate from aquariumfets. Instead of mixing them up separately I was thinking of mixing them. I was thinking 4 Tablespoons for CSM and 2 Tablespoons of ferrous gluconate. Then 2 Tablespoons of that mixture in 500ml H2O. Seem like a good mix?

wet

Stick!

It's not bad and gives you a mix of Fe chelators, which in the end of the Fe chelate experiment (and I will be posting my mix to it after another batch or so to play) seems like the best practice with all these different chelators. Which I think was our instinct already But, three things:

1) Ferrous glucconate does not provide as much of a difference to CSM+B (EDTA chelated Fe) as DTPA chelated Fe in terms of chelator quality. AquariumFertilizer has that stuff (DTPA), too.

2) I am not sure of the teaspoon/tablespoon trials on AquariumFertilizer. Can you score a scale from some head shop or online or something?

3) Your plan is to adjust your dose of the mix as your plants need it, yeah? 5mL to 50gal of your mix is a nice fat Fe number (~0.18ppm Fe from CSM+B, ~0.1ppm Fe from the Glucconate if AquariumFetilizer.com is correct) under high light/uptake/a richly dosed tank. The problem is they both oxidize pretty fast so you may still need doses on the regular (see 1).

In terms of the rest of the micros in CSM+B, I find even leaner than 3) works better for me. I usually dose 0.1ppm Fe's worth of CSM+B traces every other day into my high light/etc tank and that's after years of dosing it pretty high (I think I peaked around 0.3ppm Fe's worth of CSM+B daily). I do love me some regular isolated Fe dosing, though. Actually, 5mLs of your mix into 100gal is pretty nice, too.

If you're down, I'll trade you your choice of 2 TBL of DTPA or EDDHA (or a TBL of each!) for the Glucconate so I can add it to my stash and measure. PM me if you are!

bigstick120

I have a scale that will weigh it out. Seems like my 4-2 is a little high on Fe. Perhaps 4 tablespoon CSM+B to 1 tablespoon ferrous gluconate. Here is what aq ferts recommends for mixing the ferrous gluconate.

Mix 95 grams (approximately 8.5 level tablespoons) ferrous gluconate to 1 liter water to make 10,000 ppm solution Fe2+. Add 5 mls of this stock solution to 50 gallons water for an initial concentration of .26 ppm. Periodically add stock solution at this dosage or as required to maintain about .10 ppm iron in solution.

So how many grams for CSM+B do I mix with ferrous gluconate? I didnt see this on you cool calculator!

wet

I'd suggest starting with 30 grams of Plantex in 500mL of water, dose 5mL per 50 gallons. This is pretty much the classic CSM+B mix. Think of the extra iron from the glucconate as bonus iron.

barbarossa4122

Just made some (250ml) CSM+B & DTPA solution, 4:1 ratio. I don't have any HCL and I added 10ml of Metricide14 for fungus. I wonder if this needs to be refrigerated or it will be OK at room temp (72F).

wet

1mL of Metricide per 25mL solution is totally fine. I'm pretty sure you're using a dark container but I'm just typing this sentence for those members who are not aware an opaque container is good for ferts with Fe.

I'm using a higher percent of DTPA than CSM+B in Good Sh..., er, Stuff, by the way. 1:1 CSM+B and DTPA by mass is pretty good for my personal preference for lots of Fe vs the other traces in CSM+B. This is a ~1:1.5 ratio of EDTA to DTPA Fe by ppm Fe. Only FWIW, of course.

barbarossa4122

Very dark containers I wanted to follow Mr. Barr's advice of 4:1 CSM +DTPA but, next time maybe I'll do the 1:1 ratio. As you know I am dosing other types of Fe. My wife asked me the other day , what did I put in the tanks b/c the weeds are growing fast and they are greener. No algae, so far. Thanks Wet.

wet

For whatever it's worth, barbarossa4122, greener greens and redder reds is exactly what I associate with good Fe dosing. (Also good P dosing.)

Only for clarity, I think Tom is using ppm Fe in his recommended ratios, not mass of chelated Fe to make mixes.

barbarossa4122

Oh, I see. OK, then I can add another tsp or 2 of Fe to my solution. For P i use Fleet Enema...........4ml for the 55g and 2ml for the 30g. I also have KH2PO4 but, did not use it yet.

Edit
You know what..........I just did it, 1:1 ratio by mass. Lol, why not.