# DIY alternative fertilizers



## rballi (Mar 4, 2010)

Sticky this!


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

pH or KH increaser, alkalinity up = Baking soda. May also be called sodium bicarbonate, or bicarbonate of soda. Sold for kitchen use or swimming pools. 1 teaspoon added to 30 gallons raises the KH by 2 German degrees of hardness. 

Potassium bicarbonate will also raise carbonate levels, and potassium levels. (Sold as a health food sort of stuff, or to control powdery mildew on garden plants. Accepted as an 'organic' control)

Calcium chloride is sold for swimming pools. Adds calcium, raising the GH. Good with Epsom salt because if the GH is low, the plants and fish need both calcium and magnesium. (You can test to see if one or the other is in short supply so you can dose accordingly). 

Sodium chloride, table salt, kosher salt, pickling salt, aquarium salt and other names. 
Useful when there is nitrite in the water (1 tsp/20 gallons), and kills certain external parasites. Does not matter which one you use, though some people say the anti-caking ingredients are not good. I have not had any problems with them. 

Many things are available in large bags (and sometimes smaller packaging) as agricultural chemicals, mostly fertilizers.


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## strat_guy (Dec 29, 2014)

Anyone know of any alternatives to CSM+B? I've heard about using Borax to supply Boron, but not used it personally. Don't know if its suitable for aquariums or not.


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## Kathyy (Feb 22, 2010)

I have a lifetime supply of boric acid bought at the drug store I used before sellers put boron in CSM. I can now make my own extremely effective ant traps. It is a very small bottle but is used in equally tiny amounts.

Also have a couple pounds of calcium carbonate bought to mix into home cooked dog food. I wouldn't use it except that I already had it as it doesn't dissolve very fast.

Jobe's houseplant or fern and palm sticks work as root tabs. Break into small pieces and bury deep. They have a paper matrix which is quite creepy if you happen to bring it to the surface.

I am sure plenty of micro nutrient fertilizers are around. I forget just why we use those particular ones, probably they are best suited but it could be price or availability.


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## strat_guy (Dec 29, 2014)

I think Tom Barr said somewhere in one of his ga-gillion posts that Jobe's can lead to severe algae infestations.


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## Kathyy (Feb 22, 2010)

Well if you pull up a stick when it still has ammonia leaching out sure. Osmocote+ also has ammonia and same thing can happen. Perhaps the larger size of the stick is a problem?

Plain boric acid can be used for ants and roaches? I didn't know that. Same as with the stump remover, read the label to be sure it is pure enough!


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## strat_guy (Dec 29, 2014)

Yeah I should probably add common sources that should not be used. I know that Spectracide stump remover (Lowe's, Menards) is absolutely pure, but I also know Bonide (Home Depot) should not be used.


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## jrill (Nov 20, 2013)

Not to be a stick in the mud by why? Ferts are so cheap the way it is what problem is this intended to solve.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, not calcium bicarbonate. And, I agree with jrill about how cheap the chemicals are. I found that epsom salts were more expensive per pound than the same stuff from one of the online dealers in aquarium fertilizers. Stump killer is more expensive than KNO3 from the same dealers. Etc. However, if you aren't able to use an online store, then this list is very useful.


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## Kathyy (Feb 22, 2010)

I paid something like $8 a pound for stump remover locally a couple years back and it isn't easy to find in the first place. 20 mile round trip added $4 in gas to the cost of the stuff. I will pay the shipping from now on!

I get 1 pound boxes of epsom salt at the $ store. Two types though, be careful to get the plain stuff! Convenient size, I don't need to pour it into a smaller jar.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

> Ca(HCO3)2 (Calcium bicarbonate), pH/kH/alkalinity up - Baking soda
> 
> NaCl (Sodium chloride), lowers nitrite, parasite control - Salt (non-iodized)


Salt does not actually lower NO2. The chloride competes with the NO2 in crossing the gills, so the NO2 does not cross over into the blood. In short, salt protects fish from the toxic effects of NO2. You still have to do water changes to keep the NO2 low. 
Having or not having iodine is not a problem. The controversy is about anti-caking ingredients. 

I think someone caught the other one- baking soda is Sodium bicarbonate.


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## strat_guy (Dec 29, 2014)

Hoppy- Mixed up my elements. Noted and changed.

Hoppy and jrill- Not to be a stick in the mud  but I like DIY stuff just for the fun of it. I mean yeah, its a lot easier to go spend $100 on a canister filter and be done with it, but its more rewarding to build one that takes like a week to find all the parts and put it together. As far as being cheaper, I don't know about at other places in the world, but I can find this stuff here in Chicagoland at places I go to frequently anyway, so why spend the money on shipping? I found stump remover at Menard's literally 2 min from my house, and I'm there at least once a week anyway. Not to mention, I run low tech tanks so I dose super low anyway, so I'm not concerned with having a bunch of dry stuff sitting around.

Aside from all that, why not have a list? If for no better reason, its more information to have on hand, even if its not all that useful to most people.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

I get some of these things at the recycling center near me. 
So far:
Stump remover
Jobes fertilizer spikes
Calcium chloride
Epsom Salt
Aquarium, pond and swimming pool test kits (just gotta watch the way they report the results, which of different units they use)
Soils test kit (helpful to know where in the garden to dispose of the used aquarium water)
Substrate fertilizer tablets
Dechlor

So, knowing the alternative uses for certain things means I am getting them for free.


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## strat_guy (Dec 29, 2014)

Free is good!


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

strat_guy said:


> list of fertilizer alternatives all in one place. The ones I know of are:
> 
> Fertilizers:
> KHCO3 (Potassium bicarbonate), supplies potassium, raises carbonate levels- *Health food ingredient, Brewing ingredient*


I was searching to see if anyone is using peroxide to boost Co2 and came across this thread. I don't understand fert alternative. Could someone clarify it?


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## nilocg (Jul 12, 2010)

Hilde said:


> I was searching to see if anyone is using peroxide to boost Co2 and came across this thread. I don't understand fert alternative. Could someone clarify it?


How would H2O2 increase co2?


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

nilocg said:


> How would H2O2 increase co2?


 It was something I read a few years back. Was searching for the thread with no results. Dosing with it has softened my water.


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## nilocg (Jul 12, 2010)

Hilde said:


> It was something I read a few years back. Was searching for the thread with no results. Dosing with it has softened my water.


That's interesting, Ive never heard anything about that.


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## natemcnutty (May 26, 2016)

Umm, hydrogen peroxide disassociates into water and the peroxide anion. Light and iron are catalysts that will give you the resulting O2. It shouldn't soften water from a CaCO3 standpoint, but it could definitely precipitate out your iron.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk


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## rezco (Jan 25, 2012)

How about dolomite as a GH booster?


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

rezco said:


> How about dolomite as a GH booster?


Tried in gravel form and it didn't do anything. It can be found in powder form from supplement suppliers like the vitamin shoppe.


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