What calculators would you like to see?

[endparenthesis]

Originally Posted by scolley

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?

[scolley]

Originally Posted by endparenthesis

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.

[Joetee]

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?

[endparenthesis]

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...

[seastar0328]

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.

[endparenthesis]

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

[Daniel*Swords]

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?...

[endparenthesis]

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.

[distrbd]

Originally Posted by Rex Grigg

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

[TWood]

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!

[distrbd]

Originally Posted by TWood

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!

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

[endparenthesis]

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.

[will5]

HI i just have one question.

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


Thanks.

[czado]

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.

[FelixAvery]

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