Two Part Altenatives

jduong916 · Jan 10, 2018

Is the soda ash from a swimming supply store the same as the soda ash from BRS? Also can I buy magnesium chloride and add epsom salts at the 5/3 ratio, instead of having to buy magnesium sulfate (same thing?)?

Just wondering if all these are safe substitutions.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jan 10, 2018

jduong916 said:
Is the soda ash from a swimming supply store the same as the soda ash from BRS? Also can I buy magnesium chloride and add epsom salts at the 5/3 ratio, instead of having to buy magnesium sulfate (same thing?)?

Just wondering if all these are safe substitutions.

Same chemical, but purity may be different.

Epsom salt is fine. My DIY recipe (that BRS uses) is designed for Epsom salt.

You can use baking soda from the grocery store and bake it to make sodium carbonate for less money than buying it.

jduong916 · Jan 10, 2018

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
Same chemical, but purity may be different.

Epsom salt is fine. My DIY recipe (that BRS uses) is designed for Epsom salt.

You can use baking soda from the grocery store and bake it to make sodium carbonate for less money than buying it.

Thanks Randy. Should I trust them when they say 100% sodium carbonate, does that imply no impurities?

Theres only one thing I hate more than wasting money and thats baking baking soda

.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jan 11, 2018

jduong916 said:
Thanks Randy. Should I trust them when they say 100% sodium carbonate, does that imply no impurities?
.

It implies that is the only bulk ingredient added, but not that it is pure.

jduong916 · Jan 11, 2018

So is purity everstated. Take a look

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
It implies that is the only bulk ingredient added, but not that it is pure.

So is purity ever stated? I see on Ebay they have sodium carbonate from OCI chemical. The seller says its 99.95% purity, but I don't see this information on the package. Would purity be stated on the package? Here is the link for reference.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SODIUM-CAR...706047&hash=item25c9afe1ca:g:i3UAAOSwN81XNUTX

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jan 12, 2018

jduong916 said:
So is purity everstated. Take a look

So is purity ever stated? I see on Ebay they have sodium carbonate from OCI chemical. The seller says its 99.95% purity, but I don't see this information on the package. Would purity be stated on the package? Here is the link for reference.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SODIUM-CAR...706047&hash=item25c9afe1ca:g:i3UAAOSwN81XNUTX

Absolutely. Purity is often stated in important ways. One way is by grade. Food grade, pharmaceutical grade (both good), technical grade (often not a good one), reagent grade (good), etc. Those specification are not just % purity, but have specific tests for specific possible impurities.

The one you linked says it is food grade (in text, not on the package, that one might be wrong) and 99.95% pure. Both are good for our purposes. It also says on the package that it meets water treatment standards (water chemical codex) which is also good.

oddly, 99.95% is way more reassurance of purity than is 100%, which is not a stated purity of a chemical supplied by a chemical company. Such companies would have 95%, 99%, 99.99%. Not 100%, which is more like an ingredient list on a consumer material.

jduong916 · Jan 12, 2018

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
Absolutely. Purity is often stated in important ways. One way is by grade. Food grade, pharmaceutical grade (both good), technical grade (often not a good one), reagent grade (good), etc. Those specification are not just % purity, but have specific tests for specific possible impurities.

The one you linked says it is food grade (in text, not on the package, that one might be wrong) and 99.95% pure. Both are good for our purposes. It also says on the package that it meets water treatment standards (water chemical codex) which is also good.

oddly, 99.95% is way more reassurance of purity than is 100%, which is not a stated purity of a chemical supplied by a chemical company. Such companies would have 95%, 99%, 99.99%. Not 100%, which is more like an ingredient list on a consumer material.

Thanks for the clarification. One more question about volume and weight. BRS uses gallons and most everywhere else uses pounds. When BRS says 1 gallon are they referring to the volume of 1 gallon of Soda Ash or the weight of 1 gallon of water in Soda Ash. Kind of has me scratching my head when comparing prices, the specific gravity of Soda Ash is like 2.5 something I think.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jan 12, 2018

jduong916 said:
Thanks for the clarification. One more question about volume and weight. BRS uses gallons and most everywhere else uses pounds. When BRS says 1 gallon are they referring to the volume of 1 gallon of Soda Ash or the weight of 1 gallon of water in Soda Ash. Kind of has me scratching my head when comparing prices, the specific gravity of Soda Ash is like 2.5 something I think.

Can you show me where you are specifically asking about? They may be referring to a solution already made up.

jduong916 · Jan 12, 2018

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
Can you show me where you are specifically asking about? They may be referring to a solution already made up.

Sorry I didn't state this earlier. I was referring to buying dry soda ash (or any other dry chemical for that matter).

This is from BRS, the quantity is in gallons.

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-bulk-soda-ash-sodium-carbonate-aquarium-supplement.html

This is from leslies, the quantity is in pounds, also notice it says 100% pure on the bucket

http://www.lesliespool.com/Leslies-Soda-Ash-Buckets/Soda-Ash.htm?Product Type=Pool Chemical&Chemical Type=pH&Dosage=1-lb-per-10000-gallons&Manufacturer=leslies&xzm2=&gclid=CjwKCAiA1uHSBRBUEiwAkBCtzTGJV6AksnVOoMxi6eupeskOZzU5bdul0oBy9kyTJCvUE5-EOei7rxoC30QQAvD_BwE&adtype=paid&ecmpid=law_pla_search_14737

This is from ebay, the quantity is in pounds.

https://www.ebay.com/i/162297536970?chn=ps

When BRS uses gallons I don't know what the gallon converts to. Is it an actual gallon of soda ash or is it the weight of 1 gallon of water (~8 pounds of soda ash).

I have the same question when I'm cooking and the recipe calls for a cup or ounce of dry goods. Normally that means volume, but I always wonder.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jan 12, 2018

OK, I see what you are talking about. The reason they sell by volume is that many reefers do not have a scale and are measuring by volume to make dosing solutions like my DIY two part. This way, you know how much dosing solution it will make:

Four Sizes Available:
Replacement Pouch - Makes 1 gallon of solution when mixed
1/2 Gallon - Makes 4 gallons of solution when mixed
1 Gallon - Makes 8 gallons of solution when mixed
5 Gallon - Makes 40 gallons of solution when mixed.

For comparison purposes, and based on the data above, "1 gallon" weighs about 3 kg.

jduong916 · Jan 12, 2018

I understand using volume when making the actual solution, but selling it by the gallon is kind of odd. The gallon they are using is like an imaginary number. 1 gallon of soda ash should weigh 9.45 kg (i think, the specific gravity of soda ash is 2.5 based on google). 1 gallon of water is 3.78 kg. The BRS gallon equals ~3kg, which has no reference to anything. Kind of a nightmare to compare the prices.

NEVERMIND disregard the comment above.....It is just volume based on the mixing instructions. Am I doing something wrong with the specific gravity? Is a gallon of Soda Ash really 3 kg. I thought I could take the specific gravity and times that by whatever water weighs per gallon and get how much soda ash weighs per gallon.