This has been bugging me for a while now and I finally want to sort it out once and for all... I could really do with the help of someone more chemically- minded than myself.
I change 50% of my tank water each week. I use pure RO (zero TDS), and remineralise it with JBL Aquadur.
I add enough Aquadur to bring the KH to about 3, and the TDS to around 120-150 PPM. I also add a 1.5x of EI daily.
According to this PDF:
https://www.jbl.de/faqfiles/393/AquaDur_Web_V01_GB.pdf
JBL Aquadur is made up of:
Cations:
45% Calcium
32% Sodium
13% Potassium
10% Magnesium
Anions:
45% Hydrogen Carbonate
32% Sulfate
23% Chloride
I have a few concerns here. First of all, the sodium content is quite high. Am I right in thinking my plants will not appreciate that?
Secondly, the remin contains a decent amount of potassium and magnesium. Obviously I dose both of these in my Macro EI mix. Is it pointless for me to dose the Macro EI as well as these remin salts?
Ideally, I would want to be able to add more KH, while adding less TDS. What I mean by this is I would like to add a decent amount of carbonate/ bicarbonate, while adding a decent amount of potassium, calcium, magnesium etc, but while adding a MINIMAL amount of sodium, and a minimal amount of chloride.
Am I right in thinking that it is possible to use Potassium Bicarbonate instead of Sodium Bicarbonate in order to increase KH? Would it be worth me adding some Potassium Bicarbonate into my JBL Aquadur, so that I could add more KH with less PPM of Aquadur?
I hope this all makes sense. I basically want to optimise my Re- min and ferts regime, to make sure I am adding the right amounts of the good stuff, and as little as possible of the bad stuff.
Any help is greatly appreciated.
I change 50% of my tank water each week. I use pure RO (zero TDS), and remineralise it with JBL Aquadur.
I add enough Aquadur to bring the KH to about 3, and the TDS to around 120-150 PPM. I also add a 1.5x of EI daily.
According to this PDF:
https://www.jbl.de/faqfiles/393/AquaDur_Web_V01_GB.pdf
JBL Aquadur is made up of:
Cations:
45% Calcium
32% Sodium
13% Potassium
10% Magnesium
Anions:
45% Hydrogen Carbonate
32% Sulfate
23% Chloride
I have a few concerns here. First of all, the sodium content is quite high. Am I right in thinking my plants will not appreciate that?
Secondly, the remin contains a decent amount of potassium and magnesium. Obviously I dose both of these in my Macro EI mix. Is it pointless for me to dose the Macro EI as well as these remin salts?
Ideally, I would want to be able to add more KH, while adding less TDS. What I mean by this is I would like to add a decent amount of carbonate/ bicarbonate, while adding a decent amount of potassium, calcium, magnesium etc, but while adding a MINIMAL amount of sodium, and a minimal amount of chloride.
Am I right in thinking that it is possible to use Potassium Bicarbonate instead of Sodium Bicarbonate in order to increase KH? Would it be worth me adding some Potassium Bicarbonate into my JBL Aquadur, so that I could add more KH with less PPM of Aquadur?
I hope this all makes sense. I basically want to optimise my Re- min and ferts regime, to make sure I am adding the right amounts of the good stuff, and as little as possible of the bad stuff.
Any help is greatly appreciated.