Crystal Growing Recipes

Recipes for Common Crystal Growing Solutions

Crystal of chrome alum
This is a crystal of chrome alum, also known as chromium alum. Grow this crystal and others by dissolving as much solute into water as possible. Ra'ike, Wikipedia Commons

Find a crystal growing recipe. This table includes recipes for preparing solutions of common crystal grown in aqueous or water solutions.

Crystal Growing Solution Tips

In most cases, prepare a crystal growing solution by dissolving a powdered or granular solid in boiling water. You want a saturated solution, so dissolve as much of your chemical, called the solute, as possible in the water, which is your solvent. Usually, it's fine to add too much solute to the water, so that you get some undissolved material at the bottom of your container. Filter this liquid through filter paper, a coffee filter or a paper towel and use the filtered solution to grow your crystals.

Crystal Growing Recipes

Crystal Growing Solution
sugar crystals or rock candy
clear or dyed with food coloring
3 cups sugar
1 cup boiling water
alum crystals
clear, cubic
2-1/2 tablespoons alum
1/2 cup very hot tap water
borax crystals
clear
3 tablespoons borax
1 cup very hot tap water
Epsom salt crystals
colorless
1/2 cup Epsom salt
1/2 cup very hot water
food coloring (optional)
Rochelle salt crystals
clear, orthorhombic
650 grams Rochelle salt
500 ml boiling water
table salt crystals
(sodium chloride)
6 tablespoons salt
1 cup very hot tap water
copper acetate monohydrate
blue-green, monoclinic
20 g copper acetate monohydrate
200 ml hot distilled water
calcium copper acetate hexahydrate 22.5 g calcium oxide in 200 ml water
add 48 ml glacial acetic acid
20 g copper acetate monohydrate in 150 ml hot water
mix the two solutions together
monoammonium phosphate
colorless or easily dyed
6 tablespoons monoammonium phosphate
1/2 cup hot tap water
food coloring
sodium chlorate
colorless, cubic
113.4 g NaClO3
100 ml hot water
sodium nitrate
colorless, trigonal
110 g NaNO3
100 ml hot water
potassium ferricyanide
red, monoclinic
46.5 g potassium ferricyanide
100 ml boiling water
nickel sulfate hexahydrate
blue-green, tetragonal
115 g nickel sulfate hexahydrate
100 ml hot water
Format
mla apa chicago
Your Citation
Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "Crystal Growing Recipes." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/crystal-growing-recipes-606222. Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. (2023, April 5). Crystal Growing Recipes. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/crystal-growing-recipes-606222 Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "Crystal Growing Recipes." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/crystal-growing-recipes-606222 (accessed March 28, 2024).