Bulk chemical supply

cope413 · Nov 17, 2014

Hi Randy,

I'd like to start regenerating my GFO. Muriatic acid is easy to find cheaply. I've found lye at a few different places, but shipping is either not allowed, or cost-prohibitive. $2/lb is great for lye. But when shipping brings it to $10/lb, it kinda defeats the purpose.

Do you have a recommended chemical supply site/store for NaOH (or other useful reef-relevant chemicals)?

Much appreciated.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Nov 17, 2014

Look for a solid drain opener at a hardware store. Some names are Red Hot Devil, Red Devil, etc.

Be sure it says 100% sodium hydroxide.

cdness · Nov 17, 2014

This is where I got mine last time: https://www.thelyeguy.com/store.php. They even have the buy 5 get 1 free so it can drop the hit on shipping a bit and you will be stocked up for awhile. I will be doing this in large batches so having a good amount on-hand is never a bad thing.

I have found it ever more difficult to find the drain opener as 100% sodium hydroxide at least local to me. It is being taken off the shelves due to its use in the manufacturing of illegal drugs and substituted for a chemical mixture that contains aluminum and other stuff... I made that mistake once and ruined a batch of resin. There was one place that had the correct stuff (Lowes) but they took it off their shelves last summer sometime.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Nov 17, 2014

Not only do these guys make a lot of money, they screw up life for the rest of us.

cope413 · Nov 17, 2014

Yeah, tried that. The msds on the Lowe's site says 100% naoh, but the product in store has some enzyme additive in it that isn't specified. No one else carries it locally that I can find. Did find the red devil stuff on Amazon, it's a little cheaper than what I had found. I was hoping for a magical source of reasonably priced chemicals, but I guess it's not to be. 4lbs for about 9/lb is still much cheaper than buying gfo, so off we go...

Randy Holmes-Farley · Nov 17, 2014

FWIW, I'm not sure that the enzyme is a big deal. So if cost is a big concern, I might try it.

cope413 · Nov 17, 2014

It's not really. Had I not found lye for $2/lb, I would have jumped on it for $8, but knowing it's much cheaper than I'm buying it for drives me a little nutty.