# What calculators would you like to see?



## KyleT (Jul 22, 2002)

Hello everyone,

endparenthesis has very generously offered to upgrade our existing calculators as well as code up some new ones for everyone. Before he gets started what calculators would you like to see implemented? 

Also if you know some of the calculations as well please shoot myself and endparenthesis a PM.

Kyle


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## Rex Grigg (Dec 10, 2002)

Volume calculator

CO2 calculator


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## greatreef16 (Apr 4, 2006)

I second the volume calculator.


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## endparenthesis (Jul 13, 2004)

Don't forget basic ones too... the ones we might take for granted but that someone somewhere would appreciate. Like converting KH degrees to ppm... or gallons to litres... that sort of thing. I'm hoping for it to be as comprehensive as possible.

My tanks aren't nearly as high tech as some people's so some of these I just won't even think to add without your suggestions.


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## mrbelvedere (Nov 15, 2005)

A substrate calculator that applies Onyx Sand, ADA substrates, etc.


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## Betowess (Dec 9, 2004)

Gram weights of Calcium chloride and MG at a given ratio (say 4:1) to convert RO water to a given desireable GH (say 5GH). I know these amounts, but it was very hard to find. With the caveat not to add these two at the same time or it results in hard to dissolve calcium sulfate precipitate.


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## magicmagni (Nov 7, 2003)

I would use everything that has been submitted so far.

Also it would be cool to have a fert calculator, but what would be really cool and what would set this above the rest was if it was made so one could just put in the size tank they have, select Co2/ no Co2. Low light, Medium light, high light and it would spit out the amounts of each fert you need to add to the tank to get the recommended amounts for your application. Lastly have it give you a dosing routine based on the frequency of your water changes. Weekly/ bi-weekly/ monthly?


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## endparenthesis (Jul 13, 2004)

magicmagni said:


> Also it would be cool to have a fert calculator, but what would be really cool and what would set this above the rest was if it was made so one could just put in the size tank they have, select Co2/ no Co2. Low light, Medium light, high light and it would spit out the amounts of each fert you need to add to the tank to get the recommended amounts for your application. Lastly have it give you a dosing routine based on the frequency of your water changes. Weekly/ bi-weekly/ monthly?


If you guys can plan out all the calculations (the actual numbers) and provide them here, no problem. I need the help of the forum experts on how the data should be manipulated... I'm just making the interface for it. I've never done a high-tech dosing regime, so you guys don't want me planning that part out. 

Please feel free to outline all of the actual calculations here. The only calculations I currently have are those that I can google (e.g. unit conversion, tank volume).


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## saint27 (Apr 27, 2006)

I have a spreadsheet that has a lot of calculations in it. I could send to you. I would feel even better if someone would check it for accuracy


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## Joetee (Mar 28, 2006)

I'd like to see IE dose recommendation which would include CSM+B as well as Chalated Iron for those who like to dose both dry in grams.


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## KyleT (Jul 22, 2002)

I am going to Sticky this for maximum exposure. The more user input the better.

- Kyle


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## RoseHawke (Mar 10, 2004)

I'd like to see Soilmaster Select/Pro added to the substrate calculator.


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## endparenthesis (Jul 13, 2004)

I need _numbers_, guys. I really only have so much time to research this stuff, and much of it I wouldn't know better than some of you anyway.

Ok, to start with... can anyone who has a bag of substrate handy post the coverage instructions given on the bag? Usually pounds per square inch or vice versa.

I have the numbers for a few substrates, but I want to get the numbers from the source anyway just in case.

For regular old sand I believe it's 8.2 lbs/ft2 (1 in depth), and regular old gravel is 7.5 lbs/ft2 (1 in depth), but I'm not totally sure. Flourite I think is 62 in3/kg, but again not sure.


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## Robert H (Apr 3, 2003)

Chuck Gadds C02 calculator, and any of his other ones


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## scolley (Apr 4, 2004)

Volume calculator has already been said, and I agree. But I REALLY wish we had a volume calculator that accurately took into account the thickness of the glass. That is where almost all the volume calculators out there fall short.


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## endparenthesis (Jul 13, 2004)

scolley said:


> Volume calculator has already been said, and I agree. But I REALLY wish we had a volume calculator that accurately took into account the thickness of the glass. That is where almost all the volume calculators out there fall short.


So to do that, one would just subtract double that thickness from the width, from the length, and once from the height, correct?


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## scolley (Apr 4, 2004)

endparenthesis said:


> So to do that, one would just subtract double that thickness from the width, from the length, and once from the height, correct?


Yup, it's that simple, provided of course you were you were taking external dimensions of the tank, and glass thickness, as input. Another way around it is to just do a straight calculation and state clearly for people to input the interior dimensions of the tank. But that's less desirable, as that number is not as easy to come by.

Problem is, most tank volume calculators out there do one of two things - either do a straight calculation of volume based on dimensions provided (which will give most people an incorrect answer because most people will provide the exterior dimensions of their tank), or they get fancy and assume people will be providing exterior dimensions, and then make an assumption about the glass thickness. Both imperfect calculations.

So I'm just asking either:

1) Tell people to provide interior dimensions and do a straight volume calc.
- or much better -
2) Tell them to provide exterior dimensions AND glass thickness, so they and provide the most convenient form of measurement (exteriors) you can do an accurate calculation.

Now with all that said, many people will not know the thickness of their glass. So if they don't know, you can just ask if it is glass or Plexiglas, and if it has a rim or not, and you could make some pretty good assumptions about that thickness.

If you need help with those assumptions, please just shoot me a pm.

Thanks.


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## Joetee (Mar 28, 2006)

How about the amount of C02 we have in the tank. Does this effect the amount of ferts? In other words, if we are running high light of say 4.5 wpg and we are running DIY C02 of say 18 ppm verses 50ppm of C02, would this influence the amount needed for ferts?


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## endparenthesis (Jul 13, 2004)

Scolley, that's the closest thing I've gotten so far to an actual calculation, thank you.  I'll see about adding that in.

So far I'm almost done with volume, CO2, and some of substrate (I can't get anyone to give the instructions on their substrate bags).

Other than that, at this point I'm just going to have to say, if you want it, provide a calculation. Otherwise you're just out of luck. I tried...


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## seastar0328 (Apr 3, 2004)

I have a newly emptied bag of eco complete. As far as coverage goes the bag contains 20 lbs or 9.072 kg but it does come packed in water so I'm not sure if that's wet or dry weight. 

"2 pounds per gallon or more will deliver best performance, an ideal bed depth is at least 3" " (duh I know but I didn't know if it was important to add or not)

Nutrients in 1 bag:
Iron: 41,625.02 ppm
Magnesium: 23,116.30 ppm
Calcium: 33,065.61 ppm
Zinc: 77.78 ppm
Sulfur: 360.81 ppm
Manganese: 975.71 ppm
Sodium: 12,910.97 ppm
aluminum: 43,152.08 ppm
silicon 4,498.92 ppm
chromium: 49.76 ppm
cobalt: 33.41 ppm
barium: 336.91 ppm
strontium: 278.09 ppm
nickel: 32.80 ppm
titanium: 4,486.78 ppm
vanadium: 239.01 ppm
lithium: 8.37 ppm
boron: 2.26 ppm
cadmium: 1.61 ppm

not sure if that is important but thought I'd include it while I have the bag handy in case someone needs those for different calculations. 

If anyone else wants to see this, I would be happy to provide all the numbers on my bags of dry ferts. I do not use any popular dry ferts, I go generic but the problem with that is the chemicals in the bags are presented in different concentrations. As a result, I have had to resort to using a very non-scientific way of figuring out my doses for the EI method. Maybe elaborating on the already existing dry fert calculator for ferts that do not come with fish tank directions or with the same concentrations as the more popular dry ferts. Let me know if I can help further, I can find the info on other bags of substrate etc and/or provide the fert info for you as well. You can pm me or just reply here .

I also have a chart which came in one of my test kits relating hardness, pH and you can follow the grid to tell you how much CO2 you supposedly have in the tank. It is helpful I would imagine to most but I don't really rely on it too much because I keep soft water loving fish so I do all I can to lower my pH through driftwood, substrate, clay pots for caves, blackwater solution, and in extreme cases some buffers so I don't know how helpful that would be but for a base number I am sure it could help you. I could scan that and send that to you as well if you would like.


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## endparenthesis (Jul 13, 2004)

That you for the info... very good to have. I do have the CO2 chart already, fortunately.


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## Daniel*Swords (May 8, 2006)

How about having Rex's LSI counter?
I mean... one that would count the lumens/lux needed for such and such tank (surface area in inches or cm)... Switches for different target amounts of light... ... hmm.. if the user provides the measures of the tank, s/he could get the wpg or wpl at the same time, huh?...


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## endparenthesis (Jul 13, 2004)

Hmm, there are so many calculators where it would be useful to retain information about a person's tank that I'm wondering if I should just save the tank data as a cookie. Then you could even come back to the site later and it would still know the dimensions of the last tank you calculated.


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## distrbd (Feb 17, 2006)

Rex Grigg said:


> Volume calculator
> 
> CO2 calculator


I always use this equation to find out approximate volume in inches:
L" X W" X H" /231=~ volume
EX:72" x18"x 18"=23328 /231=100.987 or 100 gallons


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## TWood (Nov 1, 2005)

Oh jeeez, just measure to the -inside- face of the glass/plexi to determine volume. 

Most substrates displace 75% of volume unless it's solid, so there's that to consider too.

The Fertilator over at -that other site- is what I use. 

Beat that.

EDIT: And to allow for rocks and other stuff - Eureka!


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## distrbd (Feb 17, 2006)

TWood said:


> Oh jeeez, just measure to the -inside- face of the glass/plexi to determine volume.
> 
> Most substrates displace 75% of volume unless it's solid, so there's that to consider too.
> 
> ...


I can not find anything else easier than that simple equation for volume.


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## endparenthesis (Jul 13, 2004)

Unfortunately I have a new job that kind of owns me until the end of November. Hopefully after that I can get some calculators up.


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## will5 (Sep 30, 2005)

*Hi*

HI i just have one question.

Could you make it dummy or even stupid proof as the case maybe with me sometime. :icon_redf 


Thanks.


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## czado (Jun 24, 2006)

> I'd like to see IE dose recommendation which would include CSM+B as well as Chalated Iron for those who like to dose both dry in grams.


ppm Fe from grams CSM+B:
_mg CSM+B_ * 0.0653mg Fe/mg CSM+B / (_tank gallons_ * 3.785L/gal) = Fe ppm

ppm Fe from grams 10% chelated Fe:
_mg chelated Fe_ * 0.1mg Fe/mg chelated Fe / (_tank gallons_ * 3.785L/gal) = Fe ppm



> Chuck Gadds C02 calculator, and any of his other ones


CO2 ppm from dKH and pH:
_dKH_ * 3 * 10^(7 - _pH_) = CO2 ppm

For Chuck's other calcs you just need percentage of the compound for whatever you care about, then turn it into mg/L (ppm) in the tank. For example, for NO3 from KNO3.
(Atomic weights to 4 sig figs.)
K = 39.10
N = 14.01
O = 16.00
NO3 = 14.01 + 3*16.00 = 62.01
KNO3 = 39.10 + NO3 = 101.11
NO3/KNO3 = .6133 -> NO3 is 61.33% of KNO3

NO3 ppm from grams KNO3:
_mg KNO3_ * .6133mg NO3/mg KNO3 / (_tank gal_ * 3.785L/gal) = NO3 ppm

Of course, for K from KNO3 it's much the same process. If NO3 is 61.33% of KNO3, K must be 38.67%.
K from KNO3:
_mg KNO3_ * .3867mg K/mg KNO3 / (_tank gal_ * 3.785L/gal) = K ppm

endparenthesis,
I am listing unsimplified with units so it's easily adjustable. Variables are in italics, otherwise it's just there to correct units, 'case you want to rearrange the formulas for your purposes. 

Somewhere along the line you'll need to decide if you want to calculate for grams dry dosing (easy as you can see) or solutions (little harder). All of this assumes 100% purity of compound of course. If one knew they had, say, 97% pure KNO3, they could just take that percentage of their final result.

You also have to decide if you're going to include teaspoon/tablespoon conversions for grams, at which point its best you get a scale and some samples, or just request some trials from members then include a disclaimer in the calc that its based on said measurements. A tsp of agricultural grade KNO3 will not have the same mass as Grant's Stump Remover (also KNO3) or reagent grade KNO3, for example. Like above this depends on how anal and percise you want to be.

In the end you may just want to study Steve Pituch's pages: chemical computations

As someone who's built some calcs for various hobbies, your users will depend on you for formulas and accuracy and you need to ask favors for good testing. Many who do these calcs by hand are developing their own calcs for their purposes or tied with other, older projects. Just the way it is. 

Good luck with your project.


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## FelixAvery (Jan 11, 2007)

weight of full tank
algorithm:

(weight of 1 litre of water x volume of tank) + (surface area of tank - top x glass thickness x weight of 1cm cubed of glass)

that should work.. maybe lol


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## JasonHornbuckle (Aug 1, 2007)

"Volume calculator has already been said, and I agree. But I REALLY wish we had a volume calculator that accurately took into account the thickness of the glass. That is where almost all the volume calculators out there fall short."

i've found one of these just by googling it


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## spypet (Sep 15, 2006)

you know what might be helpful, would be an aquarium cost calculator.
say you want to make a new tank and need a dollar ballpark budget.
you'd put in the tank size, and if you desire high or low tech plants.
it would calculate the tank, substrate, lighting, filtering, Co2 needed,
and give you an approximate cost on buying a fully functional tank.
obviously it would need to make a lot of cost assumptions, but it
would be useful to give people a realistic budget before they start.
you can have an Annual cost for food, ferts, Co2, bulbs & electric,
you can even include an average for fish, plants, wood, rock costs.


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## marshaltito (Aug 20, 2007)

I saw an earlier post in this thread about volume for substrates, and figured I'd help out since I just bought some Flourite Red.

It says that: "each bag occupies a colume of approximately 7,000 cm^3 (425 cu. in.). This bag is sufficient for about a 5 cm (2 inch) deep bed in a typical 40 L (10 gallon) tank." That quote is from the standard size 7kg (15.4lbs) bag.

Thought that might help a tidge :icon_smil


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## Glouglou (Feb 14, 2006)

*A special Chuck Gadds fertilizercalculator.......*

In my dreams I see a special Chuck fertilizer calculator

Original at:

http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_dosage_calc.htm

The difference will be:
1— Being able to choose between mix in water solution or add dry directly to the tank (by volume)

2— the possibility to change the pourcentage of all basics elements.

Ex: Chuck MgSO4 =
Magnesium = 9.9%
SO4 - Sulfate	39.0%
Other - water	51.1%

The MgSO4 I have available is:
Mg = 16%
SO4 = 32% 

I have to tweak is code to make it work for me. But I’m sure a good java geek can let us input these values to match the product people have available.

3— add the same for all micronutrients and all other nutrients not include in Chuck calculator that are needed by plants, that will be ultimate

I Have a dream!
:tongue:


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## iceterran (Jan 4, 2008)

How about a calculator that converts: " Drops -> ML " This might be simple, but I'm not a math guy and remember it taking over an hour for me to figure it out one time. :icon_redf


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## TubaTime1010 (Nov 7, 2007)

I take it that the calcs were never really coded, seeing as how it's been 2 years and there's still only two...lol


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## Carpet-Pond (Aug 9, 2003)

I like Spypet's idea for calculating a figure on how much you will spend setting up a new tank. It gets really easy to get carried away in this hobby.

The most important calculation for me, though, would be one that was mentioned earlier about calculating how much c02 vs lighting and ferts and tank size would be ideal. I guess that would have too many variables such as plant types etc. But it sure would be a nice one to have if it were possible.


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## vance71975 (Jun 4, 2008)

KyleT said:


> Hello everyone,
> 
> endparenthesis has very generously offered to upgrade our existing calculators as well as code up some new ones for everyone. Before he gets started what calculators would you like to see implemented?
> 
> ...



My Vote is for a CO2 Calculator for DIY yeast systems!


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## darsh123 (Feb 26, 2009)

Well i think you should go with volume calculator , most of the members are also in favour with that and its the best choice...


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## Gatekeeper (Feb 20, 2007)

darsh123 said:


> Well i think you should go with volume calculator , most of the members are also in favour with that and its the best choice...


http://www.plantedtank.net/substratecalculator.html


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## rajagiri3 (Jul 1, 2009)

better you can try to scientific calculator.


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## Regloh (Jan 17, 2009)

gmccreedy said:


> http://www.plantedtank.net/substratecalculator.html


I'm not sure what that last post was all about, but I was going to ask if anyone else has trouble opening the substrate calculator? Was is taken down?
Thanks in advance for checking.


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## timwag2001 (Jul 3, 2009)

are the calculators here and i just dont know where they are or are they still works in progress


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## bradac56 (Feb 18, 2008)

There both broken with no one to fix them.

- Brad


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## Big D (Aug 28, 2009)

Hello All, I see you want some calculators. I have built one in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet to calculate CO2 concentrations based on two different formulas. One is based on the age old formula that all the charts use and the other is based on an updated calculation I found in an article by George Booth. Also is a exspanded chart in excel I created to show CO2 concentrations between the PH ranges that the old charts don't show, just to get a little more detailed. The article for the updated calculation is attached also. Had to zip all the files due to size and file extensions not supported in the forum. I assure no viruses in files. I hope this helps. 

Enjoy
David

View attachment CO2 Calculator.zip


View attachment EXPANDED CO2 CHART.zip


View attachment New Updated CO2 Calculations.zip


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## timwag2001 (Jul 3, 2009)

anyone try these yet?


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## Triphazard (Oct 28, 2009)

Hey all,

New member here and looking to biotope my existing Fluval Edge or at least keep it tropical and plant it heavily.

Anyhoo...

I noticed that this thread is rather interesting, and strangely enough, before I visited this forum, downloaded an iPhone app for which seems to be, what everyone is looking for. Sadly it is only for iPhone/iPod Touch.

It is called "Dose" and is from Seacheam Labs.

I havent got a planted tank as of yet, only a fish setup, but I thought this could possibly be just the thing. Hope so!

iTunes Link - http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=307075679&mt=8

Website - http://www.seachem.com/Home/index.html (click home to see the app on banner)










Hope this helps someone.

Thanks,

Dan aka Triphazard

p.s. It's FREE!


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