Reef Chemistry Puzzle #4

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Better luck next time...

Also, can I have 10 seconds of your time

What does this read?

(this is after me dosing 3 ml daily btw)

Iron need not be detectable by any kit, or even icp-OES, so it is near the bottom of that kit range, but maybe more than enough.

 

[Miami Reef]

Sadly, no. lol

What about my answer (not the urchin and human stomach)?

 

[Koty]

Calcium carbonate

 

[MnFish1]

hmmmm

 

[Fish Styx]

I still maintain that it is a CaRx.

 

[jda]

Potassium, ammonium and sodium are not dissolvable in water, but will in acids. I have no idea about whom they hate or love. Lean to ammonium or potassium since there was a mini-clue about people buying it for a specific purpose.

 

[Raul-7]

This is my alternate answer; first answer is cation resin.

CaI2 - calcium iodide or hydriodic acid [HI].

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Answer later today...

 

[MnFish1]

Potassium, ammonium and sodium are not dissolvable in water, but will in acids. I have no idea about whom they hate or love. Lean to ammonium or potassium since there was a mini-clue about people buying it for a specific purpose.

However, reefers do not use solid potassium or solid sodium metal. Ammonium dissolves in water (I do not think you can separate 'ammonium' (which is an ion into something alone (i.e. without out an anion). But this is interesting.

. I think it's the Cation exchange resin - which attracts cations (like Ca) and releases anions (like Cl), and HCL is inside the 'bead' making it acidic.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Good answers, folks. Miami and others have identified the thing I was looking for:

A cation binding DI resin, either a single such bead in a mixed bed, or a whole canister of such beads together.

1. I don't dissolve in water when reefers use me

DI resins do not dissolve.


2. I love calcium

A cation binding resin will bind positively charged calcium to the fixed negative charges on the resin, and release H+ in the process.

3. I hate chloride

Chloride will not bind to, and in fact will tend to be repelled by the negative charges in a cation binding resin.

4. My insides are more acidic than anywhere in a fish.

When not depleted, a cation binding resin is very acidic inside. The effective pH would be below zero. The fixed negative charges are typically sulfonic acids, a very strong acid which allows all of the associated H+ to be swapped out for cations. Fish Stomach pH can drop to about 2. Some may be lower, but no animal has any pH regions below zero.

I discuss much more about how this works in this article:

Reverse Osmosis/Deionization Systems to Purify Tap Water for Reef Aquaria by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

 

[Miami Reef]

I remember someone got Di resin in their eyes, and you told them to tell the doctors that it was Di resin, because it can locally be very basic or acidic. It wasn’t just any foreign object.

 

[Miami Reef]

One bead can substantially raise or lower the pH locally near it (depending of whether it is the anion bead or the cation bead). Be sure they understand this. It is not just a particulate.

Sorry to hear this.