Any DIY Lake Tanganyika trace elements recipies around.

[bitterman]

I've been searching for an inexpensive Lake Tanganyika trace elemets receipe.

The ones on the market are not specific to Tanganyika and since the lake is very unique (Kent Cichlid trace elements is an example), I want to find an easy way to reproduce its environment totally so my Frontosa and Calvus have the best posible environment.

I know about the buffer recieipe's, but since my water is so Hard and Ph is good I don't need them.

Thanks,
   Bruce

[oenology]

I was surfing one day and came across what you are looking for. It was on a site for a zoo I think that had a cichlid collection. Try searching using zoo as well as cichlid...

[pegasus]

CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF LAKE TANGANYIKA WATER
|
| by Dr. Kuferath (in Brichard's Fishes of Lake Tanganyika)
|
|                   Salt               mg/L
|                 __________________________
|                 Na2CO3 anhydrous     125
|                 KCl                   59
|                 KNO3                   0.5
|                 Li2CO3                 4
|                 CaCO3                 30
|                 MgCO3                144
|                 Al2(SO4)3 * 18 H2O     5
|                 K2SO4                  4
|                 Na2SO4                 1
|                 FeCl3 * 6 H2O          0.5
|                 Na3PO4 * 12 H2O        0.4
|                 Na2SiO3               13.5
|                 __________________________

[gonzobluefuzz]

Some of that stuff is available here

http://www.gregwatson.com/DryAquaticFertilizers.asp

http://rexgrigg.com/ has some great info on mixing these solutions and dosing in general. He presents the material in a practical tho at times crusty manner.  (yes the guy writing style can be agressive .....down right ornary at times but knows his sh.. er stuff) He rates his site as PG-13 so needless  to say he's not against telling you exactly what he is thinking.  His articles deal primarily w/ ferts in planted tanks but you can modify quantities etc to suit your needs easily enough

the Potassium Nitrate you can pick up/order at a local pharmacy (at least ya yooosta could ) probably some of the other compounds as well

Another thought would be to speak w/ a University chemistry lab tech, and see if he/she can't set you up with quantities of some of this stuff esp. the more obscure metalic compounds in the list.   

Just a few thoughts, sorry I can't be of any practical help

Good luck.

[bitterman]

Thanks, that was the direction I was going with things, but my highschool chemistry is a little rusty (15-20 years ago) so I don't remeber much LOL

I'm going to find a Chemistry GuRu and see if they can help me get close. Also due to my water change system, I have to constantly drip this stuff into the tank to keep levels constant.

Thanks,
    Bruce

[gonzobluefuzz]

Guess once you find the perfect formula, you will have to  troll the planted tank sites and get yerself a good deal on an auto doser    or then again ya may try and rig up something yerself

cheerz

[darkdep]

A small contribution:

|    Percentage         Salt                 mg/L           Chemical Name
|   _____________________________________________________________________________________
|      37.2%      MgCO3                144                  Magnesium Carbonate
|      32.3%      Na2CO3 anhydrous     125                  Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda)
|      15.2%      KCl                   59                  Potassium Chloride
|       7.7%      CaCO3                 30                  Calcium Carbonate
|       3.5%      Na2SiO3               13.5               Sodium Silicate
|       1.3%      Al2(SO4)3 * 18 H2O     5                  Aluminum Sulfate
|       1.0%      Li2CO3                 4                  Lithium Carbonate
|       1.0%      K2SO4                  4                  Potassium Sulfate
|       0.3%      Na2SO4                 1                  Sodium Sulfate
|       0.1%      KNO3                   0.5               Potassium Nitrate
|       0.1%      FeCl3 * 6 H2O          0.5               Ferric Chloride?
|       0.1%      Na3PO4 * 12 H2O        0.4               Trisodium Phosphate (TSP)

I know you can get much of this at a hydroponics store; the TSP you can get at home depot in the paint section (it's used to clean walls before painting).

[cory]

um not sure i would wanna use TSP in my tank! seems a little too much for me. 0.1% like...i dunno...i would not want to see you lose your fish bitterman.

[darkdep]

0.4 mg per litre of water, I can see as being a natural amount.  That's really not much.