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Re: Where to get PO4
At 03:48 PM 12/21/01 -0500, Cheryl Yetka asked:
>I have found sources of potassium, and traces, and nitrogen is not a
>problem. But where can I buy some PO4?
Great question. Here are a bunch of answers:
TSP (Tri-sodium phosphate) easy to find, cheap, but use VERY SPARINGLY, it
is a strong base and will raise your pH some. It will raise your pH a lot
if you overdose.
KH2SO4 and K2HSO4 are available, but a bit pricey (say $15/kg). But that
is a lifetime supply for the whole North American continent.
Schultz African Violet food (cheap, $3.50). It is 5-14-14 or some such, a
great phosphate source. And a convenient liquid. This is what I use.
Careful, when dosing PO4 if the Fe level is high, you will form a
precipitate and lose all the Fe from your water column. So dose Fe one
day and PO4 the next. And you shouldn't need to dose PO4 more than once a
week unless you have a VERY fast growing tank and few fish.
Dave Gomberg, San Francisco gomberg at wcf dot com
http://www.wcf.com/co2iron for low cost CO2 systems that work!
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