DIY trace elements

SynDen

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#1
Thus it begins:
Tank has been running for about a year and half now, and its has been a bit over 6 months since I did a water change. I have been doing ICP tests every 3 months, so now that 2 have been completed I have an idea of consumption and dosing needs so far.
The primary trace nutrient that my tank is very deficient in so far is Iodine, and a few other lesser nutrient like manganese, vanadium and lithium are slightly deficient.

Being the cheap bastard I am, I also dont want to pay for pre mixed trace elements, as they are very expensive that way. Triton for example charges between 30-$50 per small vial of each trace, which can really add up fast. I also don't care for RED Sea supplements as they combine quite a few different elements in one solution, and I prefer to fine to individually, also theirs would cost quite a bit too for my sized tank.

So Only solution is to make my own. I have been researching these for sometime now and wanted to share some of my resources and docs I have collected for this purpose.

Supplies:
Clear 1L bottles ( Use 1l water bottles, cleaned and sterilized with rubbing alcohol )
RO water
MG scale (I have this one https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08T1KQP7B?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details)

Chemicals for this round:
Iodine - Potassium Iodide - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JKJWXBK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Manganese - Manganese Sulfate monohydrate - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004RXD1HK?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details
Lithium - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088KQFT74?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details
Vanadium - Vanadium Oxide (Vanadium Pentoxide)- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H8MSKSL?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details (Still waiting for delivery of this one as it is shipping from Russia, so it may take a month or so to receive it.)

View attachment 19592

Mixing the solutions:

KI - Potassium iodide is 77% iodine by weight. If you target 0.02 ppm to dose, then you will want to add 0.02 mg iodide per liter of aquarium water. That means dosing 0.025 mg of the KI per liter or 2.5 mg/100 L of aquarium water. You won't likely be able to weight that small of an amount, so make a stock dosing solution. Dissolve 1 g KI in 1 L RO/DI. That solution contains 1 mg KI per mL. So 2.5 mL of that solution added per 100 L of aquarium water will boost iodine by 0.02 ppm.

Mn - Manganese Dissolve 1 gram in 1000 mL RO/Di. Concentration is 325 mg/L or 0.325 mg/mL. Adding 1 mL per 100 gallons boosts manganese by 0.325 mg/378 L = 0.0009 mg/L (0.9 ug/L). Scale to what you want to dose (maybe 2 mL per 100 gallons)

Li - Lithium - TBD

V - Vanadium - Dissolve 4 grams in a liter (saturation is about twice that).
Vanadium pentoxide is about 54% vanadium by weight, so that solution will be about 2,200 ppm (mg/L) or 2,200 ug/mL.
1 mL of this added to 100 gallons (378.5 L) will boost vanadium by 2,200 ug/mL * 1 mL / 378.5 L = 5.8 ug/L.
That's a bit high, so dilute the stock again (100 mL into 1 L total) then it is 1/10th as much, or 0.6 ug/L final concentration when dosed 1 mL to 100 gallons. (Note: May need to add 1.8g of sodium hydroxide to get the vanadium to dissolve completely in the solution)

Reference link - https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/icp-test-diy-elements-going-mad-scientist.708864/

Docs: (You can copy any of these docs to use for your own purposes)
Supplements and mixing directions - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Af82rMP7_CXPC_SHIptJnMcYAgVosjh_gPNDNDBL3AI/edit?usp=sharing

Dosing calculator and chemical info
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Wz_eGeFeEhbnPHdOZEdhcXKW0zoVwWNak8WS-5mP2-E/edit?usp=sharing

I will add more as the need arises for them
 
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JodiI

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#3
Mad scientist achievement unlocked.

Seriously cool. Way above my pay grade.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

jda123

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#4
DSR - dutch synthetic reefing has recipes already done which have yielded great results if you want to check those out. They have a whole swath more and it might save you some time if you want to add others to your regime.
 

SynDen

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#5
DSR - dutch synthetic reefing has recipes already done which have yielded great results if you want to check those out. They have a whole swath more and it might save you some time if you want to add others to your regime.
Ya some of the recipes are taken from DSR I am sure. The docs are mostly just a aggregated list of them, and only one I am missing currently is Lithium, although Not overly worried about that one, as its a non-essential really. I am pretty sure I could figure it out too with a little trial, error and testing.
 

scmountain

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#6
Interested in how this works out. What are your target numbers? certain body of water you are trying to replicate?
 

SynDen

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#7
The ICP tests (Triton or coralvue) both come back with some target goals to keep those at, and for the most part those goals seem somewhat based on NSW parameters.
So for these 4 micro nutrients I am shooting for somewhere in the middle of their range
Iodine Range is between 30-90 mg/l, so I am targeting 50 mg/l
Manganese range is between 0-3 µg/l so I am targeting 1.5 µg/l
Vanadium between 0-3 µg/l so targeting 1.5
Lithium between 150-300 µg/l so shooting for 200
 

SynDen

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#8
Dosing so far has been going good, although manganese was still a bit low so I have been dosing a bit more of that now. Iodine has come up and is almost back within target range, so will keep with 10 ml dosing per week for now there. Li, and Vn though are still fairly low, not zero anymore but still lower then target, so will maintain dosing of these for now too.

Latest ICP came back and now it looks like Boron and Bromide have dropped enough tostart dosing those now as well

Consumption for each BR (8 mg/l) and B (1.5 mg/l) over 4 month period

Target range;
B- 4.5 mg/l (current level at 3 mg/l)
Br- 66 mg/l (current level at 33 mg/l)

I will use Borax (Sodium Borate) and Sodium bromide to make these 2 solutions
View attachment 20503

Solution mixing
Borax - To get 5000 ppm boron in a liter, add 5,000 mg/L / 0.028 = 177,000 mg/L.
Sodium Bromide - Sodium bromide is 77.7% bromide. 38,850 mg/L = 38.85 mg/mL"}"> 50 grams in 1 L ---> 38,850 mg/L = 38.85 mg/mL

Dosing
Bromide - Add 10 mL (389 mg Br-) to 100 L of tank volume and bromide rises by 3.9 mg/l. (750g (2038L) = (203.8 mg x8) = 1630.4 mg need to reach target level)
Borax - TBD
 
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