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DIY Remineralisation for RO or Rain Water


jayc

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You know a lot more about chemistry than I do that being said. I can only tell you that neither one totally dissolved in that small amount of water. I believe either one will be ok once you place them in a larger amount of water. Had no problem making a water change with the fish or shrimp.  

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No worries, that's good to know that you've had success even without full solubility.

I think what it's highlighting is that no matter your calcium sulfate type, it will likely be a significant insoluble fraction, and so we must shake it up and extract the mixed up doseage before it settles out. In my solution it settles fairly quickly and so may lead to lower Ca:Mg if you're not extracting an evenly mixed dose.

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Will see how it goes for a few weeks and let you know. 

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  • 5 months later...

Thinking of trying this out as I can't seem to get a hold SS GH+ for my shrimps. Stores are either out of stock or charge ridiculous amounts + shipping costs.

@jayc You mentioned before and provided links to aquarium store online but it seems like they are no longer around anymore. Do you happen to know of any other reliable online stores that stock calcium sulfate heptahydrate? I've looked into aquagreen, but unsure about the type of calcium sulfate they sell because its listed as CaSO4 not heptahydrate or anything? Do you think that is still okay to use?

I saw this https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Gypsum-Calcium-Sulphate-1kg-Home-Brew-Beer-To-Add-Permanent-Hardness-To-Water/273839494039?epid=1379141306&hash=item3fc21b1397:g:umAAAOSwsVtc1K1G&frcectupt=true, was wondering if this will work?

Edited by kvinnyy
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2 hours ago, kvinnyy said:

Yes that will work. 

 

https://www.keg-king.com.au/calcium-sulphate-caso4-300g.html.html is another alternative if you want to purchase a smaller quantity. Keg King is selling it 300g for $4.95 plus $8.95 for shipping.

 

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  • 1 month later...

I was bad!  Finally got it to work.  I am talking about Aquotix conversion chart to figure out a 4:1 ratio with Ca to Mg. there are no directions. After you enter your #'s you have to click on ( grams to add for 1GH increase )  it will change with the amount to add. 

I still would like to know what the recomended ppm is for Mg.. I think my levels are way to high. 

Thanks.

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@Photo fish, you will need a Calcium test kit as we'll as an Mg test kit to measure both minerals, so you can determine what your Ca:Mg ratio is.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have figured out how to use the conversion chart. It gives the mg level once you put your Ca and gh levels in. I was just curious on what a good mg level would be if I'm trying to achieve a 4 : 1 ca to mg level. 

Also would like to know if I can use micromix trace elements. It only give dose for planted tanks. Dose is .5 ml to 10 gallons 3 times a week then 50% water change. I only make about a 25% change weekly. It shows a .1% copper content is it safe and if so how often would you recommend adding it to the aquarium. 

Thanks for any help. Dave B. 

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7 hours ago, Photo fish said:

It gives the mg level once you put your Ca and gh levels in. I was just curious on what a good mg level would be if I'm trying to achieve a 4 : 1 ca to mg level. 

What is your Calcium level?

 

7 hours ago, Photo fish said:

I can use micromix trace elements

Got a link to the product?

Trace elements are only needed in minute amounts, hence the name. 3 times a week dose is way too much even without looking at the product. Then it asks you to throw it out with a 50% water change. Might as well dose it 1/3 the amount fortnightly without a special water change and just do your regular water change. 

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Keep Ca level around 30 to 40 ppm, dgh 6.. 

Micromix is sold by Green leaf Aquariums. I use it for my planted aquariums. I will try it at about .25 in my 20 gallon. 

image.jpeg

image.jpeg

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  • 5 months later...

Hi @jayc can I use plaster of Paris bcos I only can find this..and can I use it after best before date

IMG-20200416-153933.jpg

Edited by shafique2511
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15 hours ago, shafique2511 said:

can I use plaster of Paris

Yes, you can. Plaster of Paris is Calcium Sulphate hemihydrate which will make hydrating it much easier than Calcium sulphate dihydrate.

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10 hours ago, jayc said:

Yes, you can. Plaster of Paris is Calcium Sulphate hemihydrate which will make hydrating it much easier than Calcium sulphate dihydrate.

Ok thanks.. for the 1st pic is it normal like this, have undissolved mineral and  do i need to shake everytime want to use it bcos all mineral at bottom after few hours

IMG_20200417_180357.jpg

IMG_20200417_182735_01.jpg

Edited by shafique2511
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16 hours ago, shafique2511 said:

have undissolved mineral and  do i need to shake everytime want to use it bcos all mineral at bottom after few hours

Yes, normal to have some undissolved. And shake before use.

i use a syringe to get out only what I need in an exact amount.

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3 hours ago, Danky808 said:

Isn’t plaster of Paris gypsum

Similar but not the same thing.

 Gypsum is Calcium sulphate dihydrate (2 water molecules).

Plaster of Paris is Calcium sulphate hemihydrate (5 water molecules), and will dissolve a lot easier.

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  • 2 months later...

Boa noite amigos. Não estou conseguindo encontrar Carbonato de Potassio no meu país, ele é regulado pela Polícia Federal agora. Para elevar o Kh um pouco, crio neocaridinas, posso trocar por algum outro?

Grato

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1 hour ago, Camarão Urbano said:

Boa noite amigos. Não estou conseguindo encontrar Carbonato de Potassio no meu país, ele é regulado pela Polícia Federal agora. Para elevar o Kh um pouco, crio neocaridinas, posso trocar por algum outro?

Hi @Camarão Urbano, I had to use a translator for this.

Your question in English - "Good evening friends. I am not able to find Potassium Carbonate in my country, it is regulated by the Federal Police now. To raise Kh a little bit, I create neocaridins, can I exchange it for another one?"

Another way of increasing KH is to use crushed corals or sea shells. -> This is the recommended method. Just start with a handful in a filter bag.

You can also raise KH using Seachem's Alkaline Buffer.

Dolomite and Aragonite is another way of increasing KH. Aragonite is the crystal form of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Dolomite rock, sometimes called dolostone, is a calcareous rock made up mostly of calcium, magnesium and carbonate CaMg(CO3).

And of course, Bicarb Soda (or Soda ash) can increase KH. Best to use small amounts, so you don't shock the tank.

Good luck.

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On 7/2/2014 at 3:10 PM, jayc said:

Neocaridina or Tigers, you can replace 15g - 20g of Calcium Sulphate with Calcium Carbonate.

This will raise KH a bit.

Hey @jayc, just a question: Will adding calcium carbonate to get a kh of 3-4, increase ph significantly? I know you mentioned raising KH inevitably increases ph too but As you know the issue I'm currently having using bicarb soda/baking soda is that it seems to raise the ph of my ro/di water from ~6.2 to ~8 (which seems like big jump). So hopefully switching to this solves that

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Hi WaldoDude,

yes Calcium carbonate will pH like Bicarb Soda, but maybe not as much and as quickly.

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  • 4 months later...

@jayc Thank you for taking the time to post all this useful information! I've just started keeping shrimp (red cherry) a month ago, and have been using Seachem Equilibrium, Prime, Alkaline Buffer to treat my 6.8ph 16ppm TDS tap water. Before transitioning to your DIY shrimp salt formula, I have a few questions.

  1. How much water does the 106.46gm treat? (Assuming from RO water to ~150 TDS as mentioned on the first page)
  2. Why premix into a 500ml container specifically? Seeing all the "unable to fully dissolve" comments, why not mix it in a bigger container instead? 2L?
  3. Here's my current shopping list, do you see any potential problem?

Thanks in advance! ?

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23 hours ago, xKen said:

How much water does the 106.46gm treat? (Assuming from RO water to ~150 TDS as mentioned on the first page)

That 106.46grams will treat many, many water changes. 

Everyone's usage is different. I have 5 tanks, some 60L and some are 100L. 

And that 106.46gms will last me a year. Whatever your usage is, have confidence in the fact that it will cost you way less compared to buying an equivalent Seachem Equilibrium or Salty Shrimp or any other purchased product.

 

23 hours ago, xKen said:

Why premix into a 500ml container specifically? Seeing all the "unable to fully dissolve" comments, why not mix it in a bigger container instead? 2L?

The 106.46gm added to 500ml of RO water is the base line. 

There is nothing stopping the user mixing larger quantities. If you wanted to mix it into 2L of water than it's just a matter to multiplying 106.46gm of the premix by 4. 

I have left it up to the you guys and how you want to handle quantity. Just multiply the base 106.46gm premix by the amount you want to mix.

Dissolving the premix powder into 500ml of water is just for ease of use. It's a bit more difficult working with powdered remineralisers.

I just use a syringe to measure out the same amount each time to get my RO water from 0 to 150TDS. Saves me a lot of time when you have as much water changes as I have to do. AND it's more accurate. 

There is also nothing stopping people using it in powdered form. The choice is yours.

 

23 hours ago, xKen said:

Here's my current shopping list, do you see any potential problem?

Nothing wrong with that list. 

Just want to make sure you know Calcium Carbonate will increase GH, KH and pH.  So this is for Neocaridina.

And Calcium Sulphate increase GH, but not KH/pH. So this is for Caridina shrimps. 

I'm sure you know, but it doesn't hurt to repeat it.

 

The Manganese, Potassium and Iron is only needed in very small quantities. Can you find smaller bags?

If not, you could always use some in your garden. 

 

Good luck, and it would be great to hear your feedback. 

Edited by jayc
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3 hours ago, jayc said:

That 106.46grams will treat many, many water changes. 

Everyone's usage is different. I have 5 tanks, some 60L and some are 100L. 

And that 106.46gms will last me a year. Whatever your usage is, have confidence in the fact that it will cost you way less compared to buying an equivalent Seachem Equilibrium or Salty Shrimp or any other purchased product.

According to @Photo fish,13ml of the 500ml mix treats 4 gallons (~15L) of RO water. Therefore, 500ml (106.46gm) would treat ~153.85 gallons (~582.37L) of RO water. Guess that just answered my question...probably should've read all the comments beforehand ?Just using this as a rough estimate, will definitely test it out myself before dumping it in my tank.
 

3 hours ago, jayc said:

The 106.46gm added to 500ml of RO water is the base line. 

There is nothing stopping the user mixing larger quantities. If you wanted to mix it into 2L of water than it's just a matter to multiplying 106.46gm of the premix by 4. 

Ah, I meant mixing 106.46gm into 2L. So that it can fully dissolve and mix more evenly, since a few members mentioned how there're still undissolved solids when mixing it in a 500ml bottle. Though, I just found out hot water actually makes calcium sulphate less soluble, maybe that's why they're having trouble.
 

3 hours ago, jayc said:

Just want to make sure you know Calcium Carbonate will increase GH, KH and pH.  So this is for Neocaridina.

Yep, I plan to follow your instruction - "replace 15g - 20g of Calcium Sulphate with Calcium Carbonate.", see how much KH it raises and adjust from there. Thanks for the reminder ?

 

3 hours ago, jayc said:

The Manganese, Potassium and Iron is only needed in very small quantities. Can you find smaller bags?

If not, you could always use some in your garden. 

After learning a mix of 106.46gm lasts you a year...I suppose buying 1lb of Manganese, Potassium and Iron is pretty excessive ?I'm starting to think maybe I should just add calcium and magnesium to Seachem Equilibrium, since it's mostly potassium anyway...

Edited by xKen
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  • 3 months later...

Hi @jayc, thank you so much for your recipe. I keep neocaridina shrimps. I just followed your recipe and bought the calcium sulfate and calcium carbonate in a local brew shop, magnesium sulfate and potassium sulphate elsewhere. I didn’t get the iron and manganese. I replaced 18 g of calcium sulfate with 18 g of calcium carbonate. So my final recipe is 40g Calcium sulfate, 18g calcium carbonate, 37 g magnesium sulfate and 11g potassium sulfate. This made 106 g of powder mix. I mixed 11g of powder (one tenth of the total) into 16.75 L of RO water, to finally achieve 160ppm with my TDS meter. I don’t have any other test kits beside the pH and TDS meter.
 

I tested the pH, it’s at 8.9pH!! So I assumed the dKH must be thru the roof!

Im very confused with a few things now, hopefully you can help me:

1. I read the 106g mix should last a year or approximately 582L, but I’ve used slightly more than 1/10 of the mix (i.e. 11g) to get 16.75L into a 160 TDS! That means I would only have enough for 161 L with the 106g powder in total!! What did I do wrong?

2. My pH being a 8.9, the KH must be too high, what did I do wrong? 

3. The RO water became a bit milky white with suspension throughout the mix. It’s been 2 hrs and it still haven’t cleared up, also the TDS and pH remains the same as first mixed.

4. I must have mistaken something, I thought the PPM = mg/L. And from research, the 40g of calcium sulfate I added would contain 11764mg calcium and the 18 g calcium carbonate would contain 7200mg calcium, a total of 18964 mg. That dissolved in 16.75 L of water should already equal 1132 ppm!!! How come I only have 160ppm on the TDS meter, despite adding all that and other ingredients ?? I don’t understand.

5. isn’t the TDS for NEOCARIDINA supposed to be 150-250? Why 140-160?

6. going forward, what can I do to salvage this mix? (I’m referring to both the bucket of mixed water and the remaining 95g dry powder). Also I’m thinking for future reference I’ll mix the raw ingredients as non KH mix and just simply add calcium carbonate to get the prefer pH of 7-7.5 or skip that altogether and just use bicarbonate soda to get a proper pH???

Hope you still visit this page and could get back to me soon. Thank you so much for your time.

Edited by Spidey
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On 1/5/2021 at 6:53 PM, jayc said:

That 106.46grams will treat many, many water changes. 

Everyone's usage is different. I have 5 tanks, some 60L and some are 100L. 

And that 106.46gms will last me a year. Whatever your usage is, have confidence in the fact that it will cost you way less compared to buying an equivalent Seachem Equilibrium or Salty Shrimp or any other purchased product.

I still haven’t added the mixed water to my aquarium yet. Plesase give me some advise as to what went wrong. 

ive tried dilute my mix with RO water again to 3.6x total volume (15mL to 54 mL). All solid dissolved and TDS DROP TO 61 but pH remains high at 8.7.

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