Calcium Nitrate Dosing Calc Help

[arking_mark]

I'm looking to get the right Ca(NO3)2-4H2O dosing for my 400l tank.

113g of Calcium nitrate tetrahydrate in 1l of RODI will result in 1ppm NO3, 0.33ppm Ca, and 0.05dKH per 7ml added to my 400l tank.

Calculations...

113/236.15 = 0.4785 moles

2 NO3 molecules = 0.957 moles of Nitrate in 1 liter of water

0.957m/l

Nitrate is 62g/m

0.957×62=59.335g/l

59.335g/l × 1000ppm/g/l = 59335ppm in 1l

C1XV1 = C2×V2

59335ppm ×V1 = 1ppm × 400l

V1 = 6.74ml

So ~ 7ml for 1ppm raise

Ca is 40g/mol

0.4785m × 40g/m = 19.140g

19.140g/l × 1000ppm/g/l = 19140ppm in 1l

19140×0.007 = C2×400

C2 = 0.33ppm

50ppm NO3 converts to 2.3dKH

1ppm will convert to 0.05dKH

So 7ml of my Calcium Nitrate solution will raise:
NO3 by 1ppm
Ca by .33ppm
Alk by 0.05

Balanced consumption in a tank is 2.8dkh per 20ppm Ca.

So this is roughly balanced Ca/Alk dosing. Yeah!

 

[KStatefan]

My spreadsheet show 109 grams not that 5 grams really makes much difference. I have not looked at why my math is different I just used mass %.

 

[arking_mark]

My spreadsheet show 109 grams not that 5 grams really makes much difference. I have not looked at why my math is different I just used mass %.

Probably correct...I rounded up 6.74ml to 7ml dose.

 

[KStatefan]

Probably correct...I rounded up 6.74ml to 7ml dose.

I figured it was a rounding error somewhere but had not noticed that yet.

 

[Nate Chalk]

Yo... is calcium nitrate tetrahydrate the same as calcium nitrate?

Im not a chemistry professor. I assume it just means you are mixing in water.

 

[Nate Chalk]

Asking because I ordered Calcium Nitrate

Plan on mixing X into 1 Litre of water to dose into my 250G

need to raise nitrates 5ppm

 

[nereefpat]

Yo... is calcium nitrate tetrahydrate the same as calcium nitrate?

Im not a chemistry professor. I assume it just means you are mixing in water.

The 'hydrate' part just means that the calcium nitrate isn't anhydrous, meaning it isn't completely dry.

Tetra hydrate means that there is 4 moles of water for every mole of calcium nitrate.

The reason you might want to keep track of that is if you are trying to calculate how many grams of the stuff it will take to raise the calcium in your tank a certain amount.

 

[Nate Chalk]

The 'hydrate' part just means that the calcium nitrate isn't anhydrous, meaning it isn't completely dry.

Tetra hydrate means that there is 4 moles of water for every mole of calcium nitrate.

The reason you might want to keep track of that is if you are trying to calculate how many grams of the stuff it will take to raise the calcium in your tank a certain amount.

so if I am purely concerned with the Nitrate raising capability. I can use your ratios to adjust for my tank gallons?


need to figure out solubility of the solution if i can make it stronger or not.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

so if I am purely concerned with the Nitrate raising capability. I can use your ratios to adjust for my tank gallons?


need to figure out solubility of the solution if i can make it stronger or not.

Yes, and it is very soluble. I don't recommend it, but you can make a solution with far more calcium nitrate than water (by weight).

Regardless of exact calculations, dosing needs to be done by trial and error determinations anyway, so don't stress too much on calculating a perfect dose.

 

[Nate Chalk]

Yes, and it is very soluble. I don't recommend it, but you can make a solution with far more calcium nitrate than water (by weight).

Regardless of exact calculations, dosing needs to be done by trial and error determinations anyway, so don't stress too much on calculating a perfect dose.

Got it, definitely agree. I am a trial and error kinda person .

But didn't want to go in blind. And wanted to learn a little chemistry and math while going at it .


Thanks!!

 

[arking_mark]

The best part about Calcium Nitrate is that it's balanced dosing.

 

[EricR]

Asking because I ordered Calcium Nitrate

Plan on mixing X into 1 Litre of water to dose into my 250G

need to raise nitrates 5ppm

I mixed 113 grams of Calcium Nitrate (entire bottle) into 500 mL of RODI water to get ROUGHLY same strength as NeoNitro.

1 mL dose raises NO3 by a bit more than 1 ppm in my 40 gallon.

*like Randy said, fine tune dose based on testing

 

[KStatefan]

Yo... is calcium nitrate tetrahydrate the same as calcium nitrate?

Im not a chemistry professor. I assume it just means you are mixing in water.

It is the form of Calcium Nitrate that I purchased. I need the actual composition so my spreadsheet would be correct.

 

[biom]

Is there a particular reason for mixing 113 grams of calcium nitrate tetrahydrate in 500 or 1000 ml water. I think is more useful to mix for ex about 190 grams in 1 L water, 1 ml of it will raise nitrates with about 1 mg/l in 100 L tank water. Or mixing about 50 grams calcium nitrate with 1 L water, 1 ml of which will rise nitrates with about 1 mg/l in 10 gal tank water. IMO will be easier to calculate the dose without excel

 

[KStatefan]

113 grams is the whole bottle no need to measure the calcium nitrate.

 

[EricR]

Is there a particular reason for mixing 113 grams of calcium nitrate tetrahydrate in 500 or 1000 ml water. I think is more useful to mix for ex about 190 grams in 1 L water, 1 ml of it will raise nitrates with about 1 mg/l in 100 L tank water. Or mixing about 50 grams calcium nitrate with 1 L water, 1 ml of which will rise nitrates with about 1 mg/l in 10 gal tank water. IMO will be easier to calculate the dose without excel

For me, 113 grams was just the total in the bottle that I bought.
I then just decided on 500 mL of water because it was roughly close to calculations I started with (for 113 grams).

Don't remember all the details now but below are my startup notes gathered from other posts on here...



For nitrate from sodium nitrate, use the entry for nitrate from potassium nitrate. it is close enough. To be super exacting, use 15% less than it says:

http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/calculator.htm

 

[biom]

113 grams is the whole bottle no need to measure the calcium nitrate.

Make sense. You can dissolve whole 113 gr bottle in RO water to make 600 ml final solution, then 1 ml of solution will rise nitrates with about 1 ppm per 100 L (26 gal) tank water.

 

[biom]

I mixed 113 grams of Calcium Nitrate (entire bottle) into 500 mL of RODI water to get ROUGHLY same strength as NeoNitro.

When mixing calcium nitrate with 500 ml water what is final volume of the solution?

 

[EricR]

When mixing calcium nitrate with 500 ml water what is final volume of the solution?

Didn't really care to worry about that with too much precision but if I had to guess:

113 gm bottle says 4 oz ... should convert to about 118 mL ... so best guess would be total around 618 mL final solution

 

[Nate Chalk]

Heres my math on Neo Nitrate vs a solution of Calcium Nitrate. Wouldnt the 113G be alot stronger than neo nitrate?