DIY Iron Supplement?

[Floyd R Turbo]

RHF I'm having trouble locating Fergon locally. Can I use just about any Ferrous Gluconate tablet? Nature made, natures blend, mason, etc?

 

[bertoni]

Can you post a specific product and list of ingredients for it? The ferrous gluconate part will be fine. I might be concerned about any other ingredients.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

Well here's what I could find online:

Fergon ingredients

Ferrous Gluconate , Sucrose (Sugar) , Cornstarch , Hypromellose , Talc , Maltodextrin , Magnesium Stearate , Silicon Dioxide , Titanium Dioxide , Polyethylene Glycol , FD&C Yellow 5 Aluminum Laketartrazine , FD&C Blue 1 (CI 42090) , Polysorbate 80 , Carnauba (Copernicia Cerifera) Wax

most were 27 mg of iron per tablet

Nature's Blend (36 mg) from 325 mg of Ferrous Gluconate

http://www.swansonvitamins.com/natu...=67697597407&gclid=CL79poKBysQCFQaSaQodYAsAaA

Other ingredients: Microcrystalline Cellulose, Croscarmellose Sodium, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Magnesium Stearate, Silicon Dioxide, Triacetin, Polydextrose, Titanium Dioxide, Riboflavin, Blue #1 Lake, Red #40 Lake.

Mason 27 mg

http://www.swansonvitamins.com/maso...=67697597407&gclid=CI2t0MGBysQCFYNAaQodqDUAvg

Each 240 mg Ferrous Gluconate tablet provides approximately 27 mg of elemental IRON.

Other Ingredients: Microcrystalline Cellulose, Croscarmellose Sodium, Stearic Acid, Hypromellose, Magnesium Silicate, Titanium Dioxide, Triacetin, Mineral Oil, FD&C Blue #1 Lake, Riboflavin and FD&C Yellow #6 Lake.

21st century 27 mg

http://www.iherb.com/21st-Century-H...ablets/37347?gclid=CNyrj4OCysQCFZY0aQodLyAA1g

Calcium (as Calcium Carbonate) 110 mg
Iron (as Ferrous Gluconate) 27 mg

Other Ingredients

Cellulose, croscarmellose, stearic acid, silicon dioxide, magnesium stearate, titanium dioxide, artificial colors (FD&C blue #2, FD&C red #40).

Walgreens 27mg

Ferrous Gluconate , Microcrystalline Cellulose , Dicalcium Phosphate , Croscarmellose Sodium , Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose , Polyvinyl Alcohol , Silicon Dioxide , Magnesium Stearate , Polyethylene Glycol , Titanium Dioxide , Polydextrose , Talc , FD&C Yellow No. 5 Lake (Tartrazine) , FD&C Blue No. 1 Lake

Seems like the walgreen brand is the closest match.

Anyways there are hundreds of brands out there on google search, no idea if the subtle differences in these really matter or not.

 

[gaberosenfield]

Why use iron tablets meant for people? You can just buy ferrous sulfate for horticultural purposes and sodium citrate off of eBay. I just did a search and you can buy a pound of each in powder form for ~$20 total, after shipping. That's enough to dose a hobby sized tank for multiple lifetimes! Randy Holmes Farley has a DIY recipe utilizing only these two ingredients and deionized water. Here's the link to the advanced aquarist article that contains the recipe: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/
I use this recipe and my macros grow nicely, although I can't be sure that the iron supplement is really helping.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

DIY Iron Supplement?

If you read the second post if this thread, he says that you can also use the tablets.

Well, I have many times , but I've recently gone to recommending a DIY using Fergon tablets from the drug store:



Take 1 tablet and dissolve in 100 mL RO/DI (overnight soak). Let the solids settle out and use the liquid. Then I dose about 1-5 mL to my 200 gallons (dose is not critical) occasionally.

 

[bertoni]

Okay, I think those products all look okay to me. I agree that you could consider a DIY from ferrous sulfate, too.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

DIY Iron Supplement?

So just to be clear

"I dose about 0.1 to 0.3 mL of a solution containing 5 g of iron (as 25 g of ferrous sulfate heptahydrate) in 250 mL of water containing 50.7 g of sodium citrate dihydrate. I presently dose once per week to my system with a total water volume of about 200 gallons."

So I need ferrous sulfate heptahydrate and sodium citrate dihydrate, correct?

 

[bertoni]

Those would be the easiest to handle. I'm not sure whether you even could find anhydrous forms, but the weights would be a bit different if you did.

 

[billsreef]

So just to be clear

"I dose about 0.1 to 0.3 mL of a solution containing 5 g of iron (as 25 g of ferrous sulfate heptahydrate) in 250 mL of water containing 50.7 g of sodium citrate dihydrate. I presently dose once per week to my system with a total water volume of about 200 gallons."

So I need ferrous sulfate heptahydrate and sodium citrate dihydrate, correct?

Correct. It mixes readily when you add it all to water. Little bit goes a long way.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

I found a generic store brand (Hy-Vee grocery store) that had 27mg Ferrous Gluconate tabs:

110mg Calcium Carbonate
27mg Ferrous Gluconate

Other ingredients:
Cellulose, Croscarmellose Sodium, Stearic Acid, Silicon Dioxide, Magnesium Stearate, Titanium Dioxide, FD&C Blue #2, Red #40, Yellow #5

Looks good to me. Now to find ferrous sulfate heptahydrate and sodium citrate dihydrate for the budget mix

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

I know a little bit about chemical grading (lab grade, reagent grade, etc)...how do these look?

http://www.carolina.com/specialty-c...boratory-grade-500-g/889060.pr?prod_id=889060

http://www.carolina.com/specialty-c...-reagent-grade-500-g/863010.pr?prod_id=863010

 

[bertoni]

I'd probably look around for something with a guaranteed analysis, although those probably are safe enough, given the amount that's going into the tank.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

Help me out here...guaranteed analysis?

I can find plenty of options on Midland Scientific's site, for a bit higher cost. I can call my rep there too and probably get it narrowed down.

 

[bertoni]

Those products don't have any information on the actual contents. I'm cautious, so I'd like a statement like "at least 90% sodium citrate dihydrate" and hopefully some comments on the other 10%.

 

[dano_b]

stupid question
so there is 2 options for DIY iron dosing?

1) a soultion of
sodium citrate dihydrate
ferrous sulfate heptahydrate
OR
2) a solution of
ferous gluconate

 

[bertoni]

Both of those should be fine. I'd use whichever is easiest to get.

 

[joaocdestro]

Well, I have many times , but I've recently gone to recommending a DIY using Fergon tablets from the drug store:

Take 1 tablet and dissolve in 100 mL RO/DI (overnight soak). Let the solids settle out and use the liquid. Then I dose about 1-5 mL to my 200 gallons (dose is not critical) occasionally.

Can I mix that solution with Fergon + add iodine-> with my Alk balling solution? *to get things easy with dosing pump...

The chelated iron will remain stable in the alk solution?

 

[bertoni]

The Fergon tables contain iron gluconate, so I suspect it'd be fine in the alkalinity solution, but I'd probably try a small sample to see whether anything precipitates.

 

[freddie40]

Does anyone know if the Walgreens brand is a safe substitute for Fergon?

Fergon ingredients

Ferrous Gluconate , Sucrose (Sugar) , Cornstarch , Hypromellose , Talc , Maltodextrin , Magnesium Stearate , Silicon Dioxide , Titanium Dioxide , Polyethylene Glycol , FD&C Yellow 5 Aluminum Laketartrazine , FD&C Blue 1 (CI 42090) , Polysorbate 80 , Carnauba (Copernicia Cerifera) Wax

Walgreens 27mg

Ferrous Gluconate , Microcrystalline Cellulose , Dicalcium Phosphate , Croscarmellose Sodium , Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose , Polyvinyl Alcohol , Silicon Dioxide , Magnesium Stearate , Polyethylene Glycol , Titanium Dioxide , Polydextrose , Talc , FD&C Yellow No. 5 Lake (Tartrazine) , FD&C Blue No. 1 Lake

 

[bertoni]

The only thing that might be an issue there would be the phosphate, but it's hard to believe that there's enough of it to cause a problem. I'd give it a shot.