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MgSO4.7H20? or MgSO4.1H20?
This morning I picked up a pound of "Rite Aid 100% Natural Mineral
Epsom Salt, Magnesium Sulfate U.S.P." It's pharmaceutically pure
MgSO4.7H2O, right? On the side of the box, however, it says, "Magnesium
Sulfate U.S.P. MgSO4.H20" -- not the heptahydrate, but a monohydrate. I
assumed that this was simply an error, but just to be sure, I looked it
up. It turns out that in addition to "Epsomite", MgSO4.7H2O, there's
also "Kieserite", MgSO4.H2O.
In an attempt to figure out which of the two I actually had, I made a
solution with a final concentration of 219 mg of the mystery powder per
liter. This should (by the arithmetic below) give a GH of 5 with the
heptahydrate, or a GH of 9 with the monohydrate. My Tetra GH kit took
14 drops in 10 mls, for a reading of 7, exactly midway between my 2
predicted results. :( Since my analytical equipment consists of kitchen
utensils, a postage scale, and a bucket (carefully) calibrated in
gallons, it's not surprising that the result was inconclusive.
For now I plan to err on the safe side, and assume that this really is
MgSO4.H2O. But I'm still wondering:
1. What's the correct answer?
and
2. How many people out there are mixing their PMDD Magnesium dose at
nearly 2X strength because their "Epsom salt" is really the monohydrate,
at only 56% the expected molecular weight?
-- Sherman Lovell
The arithmetic:
1 dGH = 7.143 mg per liter of Ca
7.143 mg Ca x 24 mg Mg / 40 mg Ca = 4.29 mg Mg per dGH (Right?)
219 mg MgSO4.7H20 x 24 mg Mg / 246 mg MgSO4.7H2O x 1 dGH/4.29 mg Mg
= 5 dGH for the heptahydrate
OR...
219 mg MgSO4.H20 x 24 mg Mg / 138 mg MgSO4.H2O x dGH/4.29 mg Mg
= 9 dGH for the monohydrate