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DIY 2 part Alk/ Ca question.

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ReefBones View Drop Down
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    Posted: May 20 2007 at 11:59am
Have a quick question ...
 
When I add the baked baking soda to the tank (mixed with RO/DI water) I get what looks like its snowing in my sump .. not the usual white cloud ...
 
I get the white cloud but then some or most of it turns into what looks like little snow flakes ... whats the deal with that?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jeffras Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 20 2007 at 12:35pm
Stop adding it. I bet your tank is super saturated and the snowflaking is the calcium precipitating out of the water. What are your CA and Alk levels?


Edited by jeffras - May 20 2007 at 12:36pm
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alk is 10.9 ca is 450
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jeffras Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 20 2007 at 12:42pm
What is your ph? The baked baking soda is used to raise ph correct?

Here is a good reference on how calcium/Alk/PH/etc.

http://www.aquariacentral.com/articles/calcium.shtml

From the article "What is important about all this is that small changes in pH are very significant to tank inhabitants and to calcium levels. With all things being equal, the higher the pH of the water, the less calcium the water will hold "in solution"."
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ReefBones Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 20 2007 at 12:59pm
ph is 8.3 its on target .. so should I stop using the baked baking soda? and go back to using just baking soda (unbaked)? baked baking soda will raise your PH .. unbaked baking soda will lower your PH ...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jeffras Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 20 2007 at 1:09pm
I would start testing the params prior to dosing. If they seem to be inline then don't add anything that week. You just have to get a feel for how much CA your tank consumes. If you ever see the snowflaking then stop adding.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ReefBones Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 20 2007 at 1:25pm
Well .. when I started adding the DIY 2 part my alk was 6 and my ca was 350 .. so that is why I started adding it ... it did it then .. so ..  I dont know if I screwed up mixing it .. or if it just doesn't want to mix with the tank water ....
 
The only thing I did different was add the baked baking soda to the RO water instead of adding the RO water to the baked baking soda .. it seems to mix better with the RO water that way ... but I dont see why that would case this issue ....
 
 


Edited by thebutler4 - May 20 2007 at 1:27pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote fj40fax Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 20 2007 at 2:44pm
As long as the snowflakes disappear in a few mins and don't cloud the water I believe it is pretty normal.  It is just locally supersaturated, but when it gets diluted it is fine.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ReefBones Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 20 2007 at 2:47pm
Originally posted by fj40fax fj40fax wrote:

As long as the snowflakes disappear in a few mins and don't cloud the water I believe it is pretty normal.  It is just locally supersaturated, but when it gets diluted it is fine.
 
 
 
That makes total sence to me only because if I add it very slowly it will not "Snow" in the sump where I am adding it. It never dose snow in the tank it self so ...
 
 
 
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote fj40fax Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 20 2007 at 3:18pm
I would also agree with jeff that you should test before you add, at least for awhile, and periodically after that to make sure everything is in line.  Once you get a good feel for how much your tank uses you can decrease testing frequency.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jfinch Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 21 2007 at 9:00am
Add the alkalinity part slower.  It should cloud up locally but be clear within ~12-18 inches from where you're pouring it in.  If it's staying cloudy longer (further) than that, add it slower.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote ReefBones Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May 23 2007 at 3:08pm
I had to have mixed it up wrong .. I mixed a new batch and it stopped precipitating out. so .. all is good. I will pay more attention when mixing it up .. lol
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