Dry Fert Wont Dissolve !

[griffgrogg]

Ive bought some dry ferts from aqua essentials and the KNO3 wont dissolve, used the calculator to get 98g to 250ml of distilled water to dose 1ppm/ml for my 240 litre tank and the powder just sits in the bottom. Surely its not supposed to do this as dosing will be hit & miss as to how well you shake it and how quickly you can suck it up with the syringe !!

 

[houndour]

you may need more water and have to dose twice as much if you see what I mean.

I have a 20 gallon, I dont remember how much KNO3 I had in my bottle, but I used a 500ml bottle and it dissolved quite quickly with a few shakes.

 

[griffgrogg]

thanks, I'll try that then.........even bigger bottles to store .....aaggh

 

[griffgrogg]

thats done the job, mixed it with another 500ml and its fine...............thanks !!

 

[kenneth_kpe]

some water soluble elements have a maximum solubility i think ? you cant mix that much powder into this much water because the water will become too saturated with the dry powder and simply wont mix i think the chuck gadd calculator takes this into account

 

[anvil63]

i think the chuck gadd calculator takes this into account

I think only the downloadable calculator warns you of oversaturated solutions if I remember correctly.

Carl

 

[kenneth_kpe]

i think the chuck gadd calculator takes this into account

I think only the downloadable calculator warns you of oversaturated solutions if I remember correctly.

Carl

yup yup forgot about that, only the downloadable version

 

[griffgrogg]

hi folks,

I did use the calculator but it only warns of solubility probs with pottasium which is why I was slightly puzzled...............lets hope the supplier hasnt wrongly labelled the bag and given me K marked up as KNO3 !!!!! wouldnt that cause problems !!

 

[anvil63]

hi folks,

I did use the calculator but it only warns of solubility probs with pottasium which is why I was slightly puzzled...............lets hope the supplier hasnt wrongly labelled the bag and given me K marked up as KNO3 !!!!! wouldnt that cause problems !!

KNO3 is potassium and Nitrate. If they had given you just K it would have blown you up when you put it in water. It's a reactive Alkali metal, like Sodium (Na), but even more so .

 

[Aqua Essentials]

thats done the job, mixed it with another 500ml and its fine...............thanks !!

Hi Terri

Dry Ferts are better dosed directly into the aquarium. Although you can mix it in small bottles, it can be tricky to dissolve depending on the concentration required. If you put, let say, 1/3 of a teaspoon of KN03 straight into a 100L tank, it will dissolve in about 15-20 seconds.

Hope this helps

 

[jimbooo]

but surely the eager (and ever hungry) fish would try and eat it on the way down. i have heard of dosing this way but thought making a solution would be the better option for the fish

what are your thoughts on this?

 

[Aqua Essentials]

but surely the eager (and ever hungry) fish would try and eat it on the way down. i have heard of dosing this way but thought making a solution would be the better option for the fish

what are your thoughts on this?

Honestly, I think it makes no difference - they soon learn to leave it alone and it's a method that I use successfully