Planted Tank Abbreviations

[matpat]

I thought I would post a list of abbreviations that are common to Planted Tanks. Most plant specific forums have this list as a sticky and it might be of some help here too!

I probably forgot some and may have gotten some wrong (I'm not a chemist) so please let me know and I will edit them as needed.

COMMON ABBREVIATIONS FOR PLANTED TANKS

GH – General Hardness - measured in degrees – dGH (17.86 ppm (mg/L) = 1 degree)
KH – Carbonate Hardness - measured in degrees – dKH (17.86 ppm (mg/L) = 1 degree)
Mg/L – Milligrams per liter (same as PPM)
NH3 – Ammonia
NH4 – Ammonium
NO2 – Nitrite
NO3 - Nitrate
pH – potential Hydrogen
PO4 – Phosphate
PPM – Parts Per Million (same as Mg/L)
PPB - Parts Per Billion (algae can use macros in the PPB range)
TDS – Total Dissolved Solids
US – Micro Seimens
WPG – Watts Per Gallon

FERTILIZERS AND CHEMICALS

CaCl2 – Calcium Chloride - Provides Calcium
CaCO3 – Calcium Carbonate – Provides KH though hard to dissolve
CaNO3 – Calcium Nitrate – provides both Calcium and nitrate
CO2 – Carbon Dioxide
Fe – Iron
Fleet Enema – Provides Phosphate
K – Potassium
K2SO4 – Potassium Sulfate
KH2PO4 – Potassium Phosphate - Provides both Potassium and Phosphate
KNO3 – Potassium Nitrate – Provides both potassium and nitrates
Mg – Magnesium
MgSO4 – Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom Salt)
NaCl – Sodium Chloride (Salt)
NaHCO3 – Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda) – provides KH

MISCELLANEOUS

BBA – Black Beard or Black Brush Algae
BGA – Blue Green Algae
EI – Estimative Index
PPS – Perpetual Preservation System
H2O2 – Hydrogen Peroxide
RO – Reverse Osmosis
DI – De-Ionized
RO/DI – Reverse Osmosis De-Ionized
Cations - Positively charged particles
Anions - Negatively charged particles
PMDD - Poor Mans Dosing Drops

LIGHTING

LED – Light Emitting Diode
FL – Fluorescent
NOFL – Normal Output Fluorescent
CF – Compact Fluorescent
MH – Metal Halide
ODNO – Over Driven Normal Output Fluorescent
HO – High Output
VHO – Very High Output
CRI - Color Rendering Index
K or Kelvin - Color temputure of Light
Lux - The amount of light a one watt source placed a little over 3 yards away could cast on a 3 foot square. Scientific measurement of light.

[matpat]

Thanks to whoever added Lux (John?). I had forgotten about that one

Cations too, I will add anions

[J.Sipes]

NP I added those plus Kelvin...I know some others and will add them as they come to me