Using baking soda for my Alk

[Mike Reef Addict]

I just mean when to weigh it, which is when potency is determined. I'd weigh from a freshly opened box.

Good info Randy that's what I have been doing brand new box make a batch an I use the left over in my fridge to "recycle" it then I use the stuff from the fridge in the cat box lol dang hippies. .

 

[jh2pizza]

This may seem like a dumb question, for a heavy user with a larger tank, could you mix up 4G at a time and use a power head and heater until its cleared and fully dissolved, would there be any harm in using a maxijet to ensure its mixed and dissolved all the way? Will it Precipitate back out and settle in the bottom of the bucket before you get a chance to use the 4 gals oronce its suspended a

 

[Michael in Montana]

Randy How do you make your formula?

 

[Michael in Montana]

Your dosing solution is not exactly my recipe. It is a bit weaker than my Recipe #1. You are adding about 3 dKH per day. hefty, but not necessarily excessive if you have good hard coral or coralline growth.

Randy How do you make your formula?

 

[jh2pizza]

Here is another problem I am running into. I use a CA Reactor and my top off is supplemented using a Dosing pump with a Kalk reactor, but I still need to dose Alk weekly. Never the calcium. Im assuming its due to a small tank of Grape Calupa and Coraline growth.

Im starting to add sps to the tank and want my Alk as stable as I can

I try to keep my display around 8.5dkh but the Reef crystals mixes up around 13-13.3dkh. I thought about using a dual headed dosing pump as an auto water change hoping that would buffer my Alk and complete the water change at the same time. Good idea, bad idea?

 

[Greenstreet.1]

Randy How do you make your formula?

Don’t know if this is the one that you are looking for but this is the first one.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php

 

[rosshamsandwich]

i don't understand why not just use it straight out of the box??

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

This may seem like a dumb question, for a heavy user with a larger tank, could you mix up 4G at a time and use a power head and heater until its cleared and fully dissolved, would there be any harm in using a maxijet to ensure its mixed and dissolved all the way? Will it Precipitate back out and settle in the bottom of the bucket before you get a chance to use the 4 gals oronce its suspended a

That's a fine plan.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Don’t know if this is the one that you are looking for but this is the first one.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php

Yes, that's the one unless you want to go for the newer versions with an extra big pH boost using sodium hydroxide as the alkalinity ingedient:

Second New DIY Two Part Recipe with Higher pH Boost
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/second-new-diy-two-part-recipe-with-higher-ph-boost.357080/

New DIY Two Part Recipes with Higher pH Boost
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/new-diy-two-part-recipes-with-higher-ph-boost.344500/

 

[Tautog]

Randy, after mixing, isn’t this Alk solution supposed to sit 12-24 hrs before use?
Wouldn’t new solution be more powerful?
I have a 180, I’m dosing 400 ml of 2- part/ day, but I have a lot of SPS and Coraline

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Randy, after mixing, isn’t this Alk solution supposed to sit 12-24 hrs before use?
Wouldn’t new solution be more powerful?
I have a 180, I’m dosing 400 ml of 2- part/ day, but I have a lot of SPS and Coraline

As soon as the solids dissolve, it is good to go.

 

[rosshamsandwich]

I just use baking soda, non baked. It has worked fine for me in raising alkalinity and maintaining levels.. Why all the trouble with baking it just to make it sodium carbonate
???

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I just use baking soda, non baked. It has worked fine for me in raising alkalinity and maintaining levels.. Why all the trouble with baking it just to make it sodium carbonate
???

To give a pH boost to the aquarium.

 

[rosshamsandwich]

my ph is at 8.3 is that all right?

 

[Tautog]

As soon as the solids dissolve, it is good to go.

Thank You

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

my ph is at 8.3 is that all right?

Perfect. But depending on when you measured it, it is lower at night.

 

[JonasRoman]

Hi
Some thoughts as maybe explanations:

1) not fully baked leading to a content of NaHCO3 which is more than 90g/l, leading to that some NaHCO3 will not dissolve, leading to an overall weaker solution.

2) dosing Pump inaccuracy: you have now a higher water surface in a full mixed container leading to a lesser suction pressure leading to dosing higher amounts from the pumps when you have a new mixed container

3) a true change in the all consumption in the tank. As you know I with Alkatronic measures dKH every 3rd hour and have seen so many fluctuations due to biological change that you miss with only measure once a day

4) suddenly a contamination of the KH test so you actually have no issues at all

I should guess that expl 1 and/or 2 is the most plausible but Of course I do not know.

Your thoughts?

Jonas Roman

 

[Meo]

Randy, I have a little question...

here in Italy, may tell that using only baking soda (NaHCO3) in a long time could cause a ionic unbalancing and a lower Ph condition.
That because are missing other carbonate and borate, that are included in many commercial balling kh powder.

Are you experiencing this effect? or is only a reason, try to sell us at 12-15€/kg a powder that we can buy at 2€/kg food grade..

thanks

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Randy, I have a little question...

here in Italy, may tell that using only baking soda (NaHCO3) in a long time could cause a ionic unbalancing and a lower Ph condition.
That because are missing other carbonate and borate, that are included in many commercial balling kh powder.

Are you experiencing this effect? or is only a reason, try to sell us at 12-15€/kg a powder that we can buy at 2€/kg food grade..

thanks

The carbonate comment is just wrong. The exact truth is that the carbonate concentration is exactly determined by the pH and the carbonate alkalinity. It makes no difference if the supplement used to get there is bicarbonate, carbonate, or hydroxide. All end up being the same when the pH is the same. This is attained by CO2 entering or leaving the system. Taking hydroxide (as in limewater/kalkwasser or in my newer DIY two parts) as an example, we find the hydroxide readily combines with CO2 to form carbonate:

2OH- + CO2 + ---> CO3-- + H2O

FWIW, many big name reefers have not understood this process and have made incorrect claims about reef tanks using limewater/kalkwasser as being deficient in carbonate. That is just wrong.

The same happens in reverse dosing bicarbonate, which quickly equilibrates to form some carbonate and there's no deficiency of carbonate:

2HCO3- <--> CO3-- + H2O

As to the borate, yes, this method will deplete borate (and potassium and everything else not added). Each time you correct for the salinity rise from the sodium and chloride that coems from using just sodium carbonate/bicarbonate and calcium chloride, everything declines. That is why two commercial two part systems (and balling) include these other things.

A DIY two part that uses nothing besides sodium bicarbonate and calcium chloride is not a perfect system for this reason.

As to borate specifically, I do not think it has any clearly demonstrated biological benefit in a reef tank, but a few random organisms seem to use it and maintaining it at normal levels seems a fine plan. It is easy to dose, but harder to measure unless you use ICP.

FWIW, I never added any at all, and water changes were adequate to maintain it at NSW levels (actually a tad above).

 

[Meo]

Tank you Randy.

One more question: you use rap water to make the solutions.

I normally use RO water. Could be a problem?