According to No Mercy:
"The tabs release the CO2 in the water and thus stimulate the growth."
"During extensive testing we perceived as the possible side affect a shortage of magnesium due to the high speed of growth. To effectively prevent this we have added 1.2% magnesium sulfate."
http://www.nomercy.nl/en/content/prods/co2.htm
So let's do the math and see how much Magnesium and CO2 is released by the tablet.
I will calculate with 1 tablet to 100 liters(=26,4 gal) of water, this is the application rate given in the attached manual.
Magnesium content
1 tablet contains 1.2% MgSO4
1 tablet is 1.5 grams
1.5*0,012
= 0.018g MgSO4 per tablet
I will use a molar calculator to get the elemental Mg content of MgSO4
Mg content: 20.19%
0.018*0.2019 = 0,0036342g = 3,6342mg Magnesium in 1 tablet
0,036342ppm(mg/l) Magnesium in 100 liters of water
0.036342ppm more of Mg in your water if you use this tab
20ppm of Mg in the local tap water
68ppm of Mg used by the LUCAS
1 cup of the local tap water contains more magnesium than one CO2 tab.
This is certainly not enough to correct an Mg deficiency if it's there.
The amount of CO2
Now let's see how much CO2 can be released by one tablet:
Extracting the amount of MgSO4 from the tab, we get 1,482g
CO2 producing tabs are made with an acid and a base for example:
acids
• citric acid
• tartaric acid
• ascorbic acid
• fumaric acid
bases:
• NaHCO3 (sodium bicarbonate = baking soda)
• KHCO3 (Potassium bicarbonate)
The most used (and the cheapest) combo is citric acid + sodium bicarbonate
To achieve the best reaction without any remainder, the base/acid ratio is about 40/60 in most of the effervescent tablets.
40% of one tab is 1,482g*0.4 = 0,59g sodium bicarbonate is in one tab
Sodium bicarbonate can release 52% CO2 of it's mass.
0.59*0.52=
0.3g CO2 is released by one tab
0.3g CO2 is released if you exhale four times.
0.3g CO2 is released by 0.6g of sugar with yeast (fermentation)
8g CO2 is in a CO2 cartridge for an ordinary soda siphon
Whatever is in this tab, the amount of the produced CO2 can't be more, this is the best case scenario.
So...
"The tabs release the CO2 in the water and thus stimulate the growth."
"During extensive testing we perceived as the possible side affect a shortage of magnesium due to the high speed of growth. To effectively prevent this we have added 1.2% magnesium sulfate."
http://www.nomercy.nl/en/content/prods/co2.htm
So let's do the math and see how much Magnesium and CO2 is released by the tablet.
I will calculate with 1 tablet to 100 liters(=26,4 gal) of water, this is the application rate given in the attached manual.
Magnesium content
1 tablet contains 1.2% MgSO4
1 tablet is 1.5 grams
1.5*0,012
= 0.018g MgSO4 per tablet
I will use a molar calculator to get the elemental Mg content of MgSO4
Mg content: 20.19%
0.018*0.2019 = 0,0036342g = 3,6342mg Magnesium in 1 tablet
0,036342ppm(mg/l) Magnesium in 100 liters of water
0.036342ppm more of Mg in your water if you use this tab
20ppm of Mg in the local tap water
68ppm of Mg used by the LUCAS
1 cup of the local tap water contains more magnesium than one CO2 tab.
This is certainly not enough to correct an Mg deficiency if it's there.
The amount of CO2
Now let's see how much CO2 can be released by one tablet:
Extracting the amount of MgSO4 from the tab, we get 1,482g
CO2 producing tabs are made with an acid and a base for example:
acids
• citric acid
• tartaric acid
• ascorbic acid
• fumaric acid
bases:
• NaHCO3 (sodium bicarbonate = baking soda)
• KHCO3 (Potassium bicarbonate)
The most used (and the cheapest) combo is citric acid + sodium bicarbonate
To achieve the best reaction without any remainder, the base/acid ratio is about 40/60 in most of the effervescent tablets.
40% of one tab is 1,482g*0.4 = 0,59g sodium bicarbonate is in one tab
Sodium bicarbonate can release 52% CO2 of it's mass.
0.59*0.52=
0.3g CO2 is released by one tab
0.3g CO2 is released if you exhale four times.
0.3g CO2 is released by 0.6g of sugar with yeast (fermentation)
8g CO2 is in a CO2 cartridge for an ordinary soda siphon
Whatever is in this tab, the amount of the produced CO2 can't be more, this is the best case scenario.
So...
