Alternate Source for Potassium?

[Timmain42]

I've been using NuSalt and loving it, but here in Texas the cost is getting prohibitive (+\- $4.50 a canister@ grocery stores). I seem to recall Len or Tom Barr mentioning that you could get 3 years of Potassium compound for around $15.

I'm guessing that's in a large-scale fertilizer format, but I don't know what type or brand. Anyone have a suggestion?

[djlen]

Common rock salt(that they put on the sidewalk to melt snow) is usually 100% KCl. The problem is that it's chunky stuff that must be ground down to powder to be usable for aquariums.
Also, check Home Depot(about $5.50 for 5lbs.), in the water softener aisle. I have not purchased it there, but heard from numerous sources that it's KCl.

Just make sure when you check out that it says KCl on the bag before buying either, with nothing else included.
Both of the above come in large bags that you can probably pass on down to the grand-babies eventually, for their tanks.
Or......you can order K2SO4 from: www.litemanu.com at a reasonable price. Go to 'Shop Online' and the click on 'nutrients......'chemicals'.

Len

[fishfrenze]

I just went to my local Agway (farm store--if you dont' have them where you are) and bought potassium sulfate. It's like a 5# bag and I use no more than 3/8 tsp (between all my tanks) every week. It should last me forever! :)

Melanie

[djlen]

There you go, girl!!! Good job!!
Bet it was cheap too.

Len

[Timmain42]

This stuff (http://www.lowes.com/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=11328-113-1498) will work right?

http://images.lowes.com/product/013600/013600011208.jpg?wid=158&cvt=jpeg

[happychem]

Looks right, but I can't read any fine print.

Like Len said, watch out for additives. Two of the most common things added to sidewalk salt are MgCl2 or CaCl2 (magnesium or calcium, both of these work better at lower temperatures than KCl, but that's probably not a problem in Texas) and sand for traction.

Look over the bag for either of those, or ask someone at the store (maybe they'll know, right ;?) ). If neither of those is in there, you should be golden.

Remember that Cl changes your salinity though, so make sure your fish and plants aren't touchy to that. I think that my choice would be K2SO4.

[NJ Devils Fan]

What can I get that is K2SO4, and only that without other ingredients? What is NuSalt again?

[happychem]

If you know an agricultural supply store check there, you may have some luck at a garden center, but I think you'd be stretching your luck. Any chemical supply place should carry it. You can also check at the pharmacy, I know that they carry KNO3 (salt peter), at least in the small town pharmacies, so maybe the pharmacist might know. As for common, everyday products, I don't know.

[Dwarfnut]

So what exactly is in this 'water softener' stuff people have mentioned? I have seen it on sale at Walmart for about $3 a bag and it looks like that would last a lifetime... but what is it? Also, being that it says 'water softener', does it chage the water parameters at all? Does it make the water 'softer' like the name says?

Sorry for the silly questions, but inquiring minds want to know!

Thanks,
Bill C.

[happychem]

I'm not 100% clear on the process, but a water softner exchanges the Calcium ion for another one (Magnesium perhaps?) but I can't remember which exactly. I've never heard about its use in an aquarium, although I can imagine that you would not want to add it in. Anyway, I don't think that if you added it straight to your water it would have any effect.

In principle if you added some to a fine mesh bag and stuck it into your filter it would lower GH. Except that I think that most GH test kits look at all the cations, so it might not show up as a change. Basically you'd be taking calcium out of your water. I think that if this is a problem with your tap water, you should soften the water before adding it to the tank.

As for what it's made of, I can only guess. I imagine it's some manner of activated charcoal/ polystyrene or teflon beads coated with some chelate like EDTA and the exchange ion. Or it could be some ion exchange resin specific to Ca++.

Fun stuff, eh?

[plantbrain]

T-
Check the sticky about KNO3, you may not need any K+ is you are using KNO3.

Unless you have a good sized fish load, Discus and feed a lot, you likely don't need any K+ from K2SO4 or KCl etc.

If you add say 2-3x a week of KNO3 at 1/4 teaspoon per 20 gal of tank, you do NOT need to add any extra K.

If you use SeaChem Equilibrium, you do NOT need to add extra K+.

If you do not add much KNO3 basically, then you may need to some other form of K without the NO3.

But otherwise, you likely already get enough K+.

Regards,
Tom Barr