Simple Macro Mix

[Ghazanfar Ghori]

They all work to some degree, but after tweaking it, the last receive I posted is the most current.

[plant57va]

sorry for the ignorance..

what is H3B03 0.12.0 and how much?

[Ghazanfar Ghori]

Boric acid 0.120 grams

[plant57va]

ok
thanks

[Ghazanfar Ghori]

OK after MUCH experimentation, successes and failures - partly due to the industry calling using 'Calcium Nitrate' quite loosely ( ), the latest results are VERY encouraging.

Here's the mix for a small batch (I usually multiply everything by 10 since I use a lot of this):

Solution A:
Start with 125 ml distilled water (hot will help dissolve stuff faster)
Add the following:
52 grams KNO3 (Potassium Nitrate)
5 grams Mg(NO3)2 (Magnesium Nitrate)
0.27 grams H3B03 (Boric Acid)
72 grams 5Ca(NO3)2.NH4NO3.10H2O (THIS IS COMMONLY (and mistakenly) called Calcium Nitrate) (15.5-0-0)
Dissolve this stuff and top off with more distilled water to make a total solution of 250 ml


Solution B:
Start with 125 ml distilled water (hot will help dissolve stuff faster)
25 grams KH2PO4 (Potassium Phosphate)
28 grams MgSO4 (Magnesium Sulphate (Epsom salt))
Dissolve this stuff and top off with more distilled water to make a total solution of 250 ml


Dosage:

Dose 3x a week

Monday - 1 ml / gallon e.g. 50 gallon tank = dose 50 ml of A and 50 ml of B
Wednesday - 0.5 ml / gallon e.g. 50 gallon tank = dose 25 ml of A and 25 ml of B
Friday - 0.5 ml / gallon e.g. 50 gallon tank = dose 25 ml of A and 25 ml of B

Dose your Iron and traces the other days according to the bottle (I use Seachem Iron & Flourish both)
I also use dose Excel - 1 ml per gallon on Mondays

This will give you pretty high N and P (don't use your test kit of you will have a heart attack )

Damn good stuff. Rotala, Ludwigia, Limno, Micrahthemum, Crypts, Downoi, Hygros, Blyxa, Styrogyne, hairgrass, Buces - all growing strong!

[Cristy Keister]

Thanks Ghazanfar! I'm going to try this recipe.

[krisw]

Comparing to the old formulas, looks like you've settled on much less Calcium nitrate, and minor adjustments for the rest? If it results in super high N/P, why not reduce the dosing levels, or are you still targeting a growth mix that supersaturates the water without any limiting factors? In other words, so normal use, would you suggest less?

I'll mix up a batch in the next week or so. I've gone back to my normal KNO3/KH2PO4/K2SO4 (10-4-1) mix for the last while, and have seen the softer water things benefit, but my crypts definitely preferred your old mix. This one looks more balanced...

[Linus_Cello]

Interesting that you're going with less Calcium nitrate. On one the orchid forum boards, someone claims that reducing calcium nitrate explains his success with this plants (used to use R/O water, switched to stream water higher in calcium nitrate, bad results for the plants, and switched to a fertilizer with less calcium nitrate, and plants rebounded).

[Ben Belton]

How are you all measuring this stuff out?
Where are you getting the boric acid? Grocery store? Isn't this what is used to make pickles. Did I miss it somewhere?
Are you putting anything in the mixtures to inhibit mold growth? Seachem Acid buffer? Vinegar?

[krisw]

Ben, I'm using Seachem's spoon gram scale to measure mine out. Ghazanfar supplied the boric acid for us, hopefully he can chime in on his source. I imagine he bought from Amazon tho, where there's lot of variety. The primary use I know of is as an insect killer.

I have not added any mold inhibitor.