Trisodium Phosphate dosing math

Chris Villalobos

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 24, 2017
Messages
384
Reaction score
250
Location
Boise, ID, USA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Trisodium Phosphate dosing math

I haven’t seen much talk about phosphate dosing using Trisodium Phosphate. Say I want to make a solution so that I can raise my phosphates 0.01 PPM by adding 1ml solution in a 40 gallon tank.

I’m using Na3PO4 99.9%

https://www.ebay.com/itm/321926386899


I was hoping someone can point me to the right formula.
 

aarbutina

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 12, 2017
Messages
513
Reaction score
448
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Trisodium Phosphate dosing math

I haven’t seen much talk about phosphate dosing using Trisodium Phosphate. Say I want to make a solution so that I can raise my phosphates 0.01 PPM by adding 1ml solution in a 40 gallon tank.

I’m using Na3PO4 99.9%

https://www.ebay.com/itm/321926386899


I was hoping someone can point me to the right formula.

Well i guess the question becomes is your requirement that the addition has to be exactly 1 mL.

Based on my math, if you add 1.88g of the Trisodium Phosphate to 1 liter of water, you can add 1.0003 mL to raise the phosphate level in your tank up to 0.01 ppm. I think adding 1 mL would be close enough.

This calculation was done using Randy's math from another post.
 

aarbutina

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 12, 2017
Messages
513
Reaction score
448
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
How did that ebay link get in there, I didn't add it... weird.
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

Reef Chemist
View Badges
Joined
Sep 5, 2014
Messages
67,438
Reaction score
63,828
Location
Arlington, Massachusetts, United States
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Based on my math, if you add 1.88g of the Trisodium Phosphate to 1 liter of water,

Just to clarify, that stock solution is 1090 ppm phosphate (1.88 x 0.58 g/L or 1.09 g/L or 1,090 mg/L).

Adding 1 ml per liter of tank water will boost phosphate by 1 mg/L.

Adding 1 mL per 100 L of tank water will boost phosphate by 0.01 ppm. :)
 

aarbutina

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 12, 2017
Messages
513
Reaction score
448
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Trisodium phosphate is 58% phosphate by weight.

Adding 0.1 gram to 100 liters of tank water will boost phosphate by 0.6 ppm.


Shoot... you're right (of couse) Randy... Trisodium.... duh. I have just been looking at monosodium.

I'll amend my math. 2.6 grams in 1000 mL of water. would be a 1 ML addition right.
 

aarbutina

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 12, 2017
Messages
513
Reaction score
448
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Just to clarify, that stock solution is 1090 ppm phosphate (1.88 x 0.58 g/L or 1.09 g/L or 1,090 mg/L).

Adding 1 ml per liter of tank water will boost phosphate by 1 mg/L.

Adding 1 mL per 100 L of tank water will boost phosphate by 0.01 ppm. :)

Again I wasn't totally clear there. Correct that was a stock solution. and I was calculating the addition to a 40 gallon tank.
 
OP
OP
Chris Villalobos

Chris Villalobos

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 24, 2017
Messages
384
Reaction score
250
Location
Boise, ID, USA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Trisodium phosphate is 58% phosphate by weight.

Adding 0.1 gram to 100 liters of tank water will boost phosphate by 0.6 ppm.

Thanks for the help everyone! I tried the math myself and I think I'm close to aarbutina's solution.


So if “Adding 0.1 gram to 100 liters of tank water will boost phosphate by 0.6 ppm”

Then 0.003 gram to 152 liters of tank water would boost phosphate by 0.01 ppm

If I made a solution where I dissolved 3 grams of TSP into 1 Liter of water I would have a solution that has 0.003 grams per ml.

I could then add 1 ml of said solution to my 152 liter tank and have phosphate raised by approximately 0.01ppm.
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

Reef Chemist
View Badges
Joined
Sep 5, 2014
Messages
67,438
Reaction score
63,828
Location
Arlington, Massachusetts, United States
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Again I wasn't totally clear there. Correct that was a stock solution. and I was calculating the addition to a 40 gallon tank.

FWIW, I wasn't meaning to say yours was wrong in any way, just generalizing it more. :)
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

Reef Chemist
View Badges
Joined
Sep 5, 2014
Messages
67,438
Reaction score
63,828
Location
Arlington, Massachusetts, United States
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Thanks for the help everyone! I tried the math myself and I think I'm close to aarbutina's solution.


So if “Adding 0.1 gram to 100 liters of tank water will boost phosphate by 0.6 ppm”

Then 0.003 gram to 152 liters of tank water would boost phosphate by 0.01 ppm

If I made a solution where I dissolved 3 grams of TSP into 1 Liter of water I would have a solution that has 0.003 grams per ml.

I could then add 1 ml of said solution to my 152 liter tank and have phosphate raised by approximately 0.01ppm.


Yes, or you could use the math I already posted. :D

1. add 1.88g of the Trisodium Phosphate to 1 liter of water,
2. Adding 1 mL per 100 L of tank water will boost phosphate by 0.01 ppm (so add 1.52 mL).
 
OP
OP
Chris Villalobos

Chris Villalobos

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 24, 2017
Messages
384
Reaction score
250
Location
Boise, ID, USA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Well my PO4 was so low that I couldn't trust my eyes reading the Red Sea test and the Hanna Phosphate checker readings were bouncing around at its limits so I had to get the Hanna ULR Phosphorus checker. First measurement came in at 5 ppb (0.015ppm PO4). Dosed one ml of the 0.003 gram/ml Trisodium Phosphate solution and the next test was 9 ppb (0.028 ppm PO4). I'm pretty impressed! Thanks for the help fellow reefers!
 
Last edited:

aarbutina

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 12, 2017
Messages
513
Reaction score
448
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Nice! Glad to hear that the phosphorus checker is able to accurately dectect down that low. I actually just picked one up myself. Funny enough my phosphate levels are so low the meter read “0”.

Oh a side note, what’s the deal with it only coming with 6 reagent packets?!? Kinda lame!
 
OP
OP
Chris Villalobos

Chris Villalobos

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 24, 2017
Messages
384
Reaction score
250
Location
Boise, ID, USA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Nice! Glad to hear that the phosphorus checker is able to accurately dectect down that low. I actually just picked one up myself. Funny enough my phosphate levels are so low the meter read “0”.

Oh a side note, what’s the deal with it only coming with 6 reagent packets?!? Kinda lame!

Yeah I learned my lesson after the first Hanna Checker I bought. Luckily the reagent packs aren't too spendy.
 

KTTX

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 7, 2015
Messages
206
Reaction score
77
Rating - 0%
0   0   0

Rich123

New Member
View Badges
Joined
May 2, 2019
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I use a product to clean pools that has trisodium phosphate in it. I'm wondering if anyone can tell me how much would need to be added by volume to a 10,000 gallon swimming pool to raise the phosphate level by 1 ppb, 10 ppb, or 100 ppb. The info below is taken from the SDS sheet.

SECTION II-HARZADOUS INGREDIENTS/IDENTITY INFORMATION

SPECIFICE CHEMICAL IDENTITY; OSHA PEL

SODIUM METASILICATE PENTAHYDRATE 2mg/m3

TRISODIUM PHOSPHATE 10mg/M3

GLYCOL ETHER 50mg/m3
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

Reef Chemist
View Badges
Joined
Sep 5, 2014
Messages
67,438
Reaction score
63,828
Location
Arlington, Massachusetts, United States
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I use a product to clean pools that has trisodium phosphate in it. I'm wondering if anyone can tell me how much would need to be added by volume to a 10,000 gallon swimming pool to raise the phosphate level by 1 ppb, 10 ppb, or 100 ppb. The info below is taken from the SDS sheet.

SECTION II-HARZADOUS INGREDIENTS/IDENTITY INFORMATION

SPECIFICE CHEMICAL IDENTITY; OSHA PEL

SODIUM METASILICATE PENTAHYDRATE 2mg/m3

TRISODIUM PHOSPHATE 10mg/M3

GLYCOL ETHER 50mg/m3

That list is an OSHA tox limit, not anything about the product concentration.
 

Looking for the spotlight: Do your fish notice the lighting in your reef tank?

  • My fish seem to regularly respond to the lighting in my reef tank.

    Votes: 83 76.1%
  • My fish seem to occasionally respond to the lighting in my tank.

    Votes: 13 11.9%
  • My fish seem to rarely respond to the lighting in my tank.

    Votes: 7 6.4%
  • My fish seem to never respond to the lighting in my tank.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • I don’t pay enough attention to my fish to notice if they respond to the lighting.

    Votes: 2 1.8%
  • I don’t have any fish in my tank.

    Votes: 2 1.8%
  • Other.

    Votes: 2 1.8%
Back
Top