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
By
Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.
Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.
Chemistry Expert
  • Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences, University of Tennessee at Knoxville
  • B.A., Physics and Mathematics, Hastings College
Dr. Helmenstine holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences and is a science writer, educator, and consultant. She has taught science courses at the high school, college, and graduate levels.
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Updated on May 06, 2019

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
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Your Citation
Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "Crystal Growing Recipes." ThoughtCo, Feb. 16, 2021, thoughtco.com/crystal-growing-recipes-606222. Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. (2021, February 16). 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 8, 2023).

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