GH Boost with Calcium and Magnesium

[Shrimpmaster]

I use RO water and remineralize it with Salty Shrimp GH+. Works fine and a jar of 1KG will last for more than a year of water changes.

Now I was experimenting with creating this my own. I read that you should use a 3 to 1 ratio, Calcium / Magnesium.

So I got myself some Calcium sulfate and Magnesium sulfate. This will only increase GH and not KH. Ok, I thought I can make a stock solution with this, but it turns out that the Calcium is not very soluble in water. Only 2grams per liter. So my bottle of 1 liter stock solution is only good for about a bucket of 10 Liter. I add it until 150ppm and that turns out the be GH7.

The calcium sulfate is powder. The magnesium is more like salt. So I don't think I can just mix and add it on the fly to a bucket of RO water. So I was wondering, what's in the mineral salt like Salty Shrimp GH+? of the liquid solutions? Since you can only dissolve so little Calcium sulfate in water? How does this work and why does these brands dissolve so fast in water? Anyone know what material they use?

It's not that I want a cheap solution, I just like to experiment. As I say a 1KG will last for a long time and only cost about €30. And the sulfate are about the same price with shipping. So just for science sake, I started with this. Maybe someone could help this amateur with some smart information :).

 

 

Edited December 28, 2016 by Shrimpmaster
typo

[jayc]

Umm Dude ... 

 

That's been a sticky for more than 2 years now.

 

You really need to find the right CaSO4.

You need the heptahydrate version if possible, which a lot of brewers shops stock for making beer. These dissolve till almost no residue. If you cannot find the hetahydrate version then dihydrate might be ok too.

The hepta or di - hydrate just means it has extra H2O molecules bonded to make it dissolve easier.

[Shrimpmaster]

OMG, that's kinde stupid to overlooked that :P.

Thanks. Gonne read up to that topic, just throw this one away ;).

Great topic. You see, I underestimate the knowledge on this forum again. When I post something like this on a Dutch forum, the response would be, hu what's Magnesium?? That's why I've posted this, before even searching this category... Sorry bout that, but thanks again for the great info, that was what I was looking for.

Edited December 29, 2016 by Shrimpmaster