Soda ash precipitating before dissolving in the tank?

[cain720]

The demand in my 20g tank recently surpassed what my saturated kalkwasser can handle, so I ordered some 2-part from BRS (calcium chloride and soda ash).

About 15 minutes after dosing 10 ml of the calcium chloride solution, I (slowly) dosed 10 ml of the soda ash solution directly into strong flow but immediately noticed the snow-like precipitate flowing around my tank. After floating around for 10 - 20 seconds, the precipitate seemed to dissolve. I waited about an hour before testing alkalinity and saw that my level rose to about the expected level based on my dose.

I know that soda ash is prone to precipitating, especially when used in conjunction with kalkwasser because of the elevated PH. Are there any negative effects from this soda ash precipitate before it dissolves and are there anyways to reduce it?

Thanks!

 

[MTBake]

I haven't noticed an issue as long as it does not settle on livestock. That said, adding it slower or in a higher flow area helps alleviate this from happening.

 

[cain720]

I haven't noticed an issue as long as it does not settle on livestock. That said, adding it slower or in a higher flow area helps alleviate this from happening.

I didn't notice any settling.

I'll try breaking it up into a couple slower doses. Thanks for the reply!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

It is magnesium hydroxide precipitating that should redissolve with sufficient flow and slower dosing.