Useful chemicals

[hotashes]

Hey @Randy Holmes-Farley given time could you kindly navigate which specific chemicals would be handy for me to order. Currently I'm looking at raising Mg to knock back bryopsis, and keep in mind being based here in UK I'll need to use companies local

https://apcpure.com/

Here there are lots of chemicals and far too many to know what's useful, can I get all my dosing chems from here? Ie alk, cal, Mg? Is Mg 2 part?

Really appreciate your time and efforts to helping an amateur reefer along the journey.

A.

 

[sbash]

I thought this was clever spam at first... But wow, great prices! I wish I could find a place like this in Canada.

To get a good answer to your question, I suggest doing a tonne of research and figuring out what chemicals you want to use (lots of options) and ask very specific questions.

For example, is this an acceptable calcium chloride?

Minimum Assay: 77.5%
Molecular Formula: CaCl2
Molecular Weight: 147.02 g/mol
Melting Point: 772 C
Boiling Point: 1600 C
pH (in 5% CACl2 Solution: 9-11
Insoluble in water: <0.20%
Iron (Fe): <10mg/Kg

 

[hotashes]

Surely keeping a reef tank doesn't include me being a scientist lol. That's why looking at that site I just would have liked to know which chemicals are useful in relation to being a hobbyist. Then once I've a shortlist I'm able to do the research

 

[beaslbob]

chemicals for the dr randy holmes-farley are relatively inexpensive.

Calcium chloride ~$20US for a 50 pound bag. used to speed hardening of concrete at low temperatures and available from redimix companies.

Epson salts and baking powder from grocery/drug stores.

the harde(r) on magnesium chloride is about $25US for a 50 pound bag. I found an industrial chemical supplier locally that does not charge shipping. This and calcium chloride are used as sidewalk/driveway ice melter so you might find in building supply stores in winter up north. But check to insure those are 100% as some are blends of calcium and magnesium chloride and even sodium chloride.

my .02

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Currently I'm looking at raising Mg to knock back bryopsis

For what it's worth, magnesium itself does not kill bryopsis. Some people have dosed Kent Tech-M, a magnesium product, and in some cases it has helped with bryopsis. But, the effect has been hit or miss. More importantly, when people increase magnesium with other non-Kent products, the bryopsis is largely unaffected. This suggests that it's an impurity in the Kent Tech-M that kills the bryopsis, not the magnesium itself (for what it's worth, it's suspected that the element in question is lithium, but there hasn't been any rigorous testing done to confirm this).

If you need a magnesium supplement to raise your magnesium in general, any food-safe mix of magnesium chloride and magnesium sulfate will do. If you want to battle bryopsis using magnesium, however, the supplement must be Kent Tech-M. Even then, the product may not work.

 

[JimWelsh]

Epson salts and baking powder from grocery/drug stores.

It is not baking powder. It is baking soda. They are very different things, and you DO NOT want baking powder in your reef tank!

 

[beaslbob]

It is not baking powder. It is baking soda. They are very different things, and you DO NOT want baking powder in your reef tank!

woopsies. and thanks.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Hey @Randy Holmes-Farley given time could you kindly navigate which specific chemicals would be handy for me to order. Currently I'm looking at raising Mg to knock back bryopsis, and keep in mind being based here in UK I'll need to use companies local

https://apcpure.com/

Here there are lots of chemicals and far too many to know what's useful, can I get all my dosing chems from here? Ie alk, cal, Mg? Is Mg 2 part?

Really appreciate your time and efforts to helping an amateur reefer along the journey.

A.

The issue with magnesium and bryopsis is that I'm not sure magnesium itself actually does it, as opposed to an impurity in it. That may be why, for a long time, folks seemed success with Kent Tech M, but seemed to have little success with some other brands.

So for that reason, picking a different source may or may not work.

 

[hotashes]

The issue with magnesium and bryopsis is that I'm not sure magnesium itself actually does it, as opposed to an impurity in it. That may be why, for a long time, folks seemed success with Kent Tech M, but seemed to have little success with some other brands.

So for that reason, picking a different source may or may not work.

Ok well having offered microscopic images to folk here on R2R I'm led to believe it's Cladophora (how do I get rid of that in a nano)? I'd noticed there were no true evidence Mg dealt with bryopsis! Can you clarify if raising Alk will help knock back Cladophora?

Finally as I'm in the UK, that link I posted could you kindly point me towards reef safe chemicals. If possible, as you list them would be kind of you to clarify storage times/requirements (preservation).

Thanks
A.