Is ice melt safe?
Printed From: Utah Reefs
Category: Specialized Discussion
Forum Name: Reef Chemistry
Forum Description: A place to discuss reef chemistry.
URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=75523
Printed Date: April 27 2024 at 10:14pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.03 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Is ice melt safe?
Posted By: Indu
Subject: Is ice melt safe?
Date Posted: March 29 2015 at 7:01pm
|
I need to raise calcium in my tank. Is it safe to use ice melt that says 'pure calcium chloride' and 'no salt' while I continue to look for Dowflake / Prestone driveway heat. I have been using kalkwasser, but it raises alkalinity more than I need. Thanks
|
Replies:
Posted By: Skulldozer
Date Posted: March 29 2015 at 8:57pm
|
Why wouldn't you just dose something like Seachem Reef Fusion? ------------- 50 gallon Artisan II cube |
Posted By: badfinger
Date Posted: March 29 2015 at 9:07pm
| I can sell you some calcium chloride from bulkreefsupply. If you want to play it safe. |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: March 29 2015 at 10:06pm
|
Tell us more about it. Brand and name, etc. As you know, there is no need to spend a lot of money on these chemicals. The Calcium Chloride I bought at Walmart is a 9 lb. jug for $8. It's the same purity, perhaps even manufactured at the same plant, as Prestone Driveway Heat. http://www.mortonsalt.com/for-your-home/snow-and-ice-melters/ice-melt-products/98/morton-safe-t-power-heavy-duty-ice-melt" rel="nofollow - http://www.mortonsalt.com/for-your-home/snow-and-ice-melters/ice-melt-products/98/morton-safe-t-power-heavy-duty-ice-melt Aloha, Mark  ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member 
|
Posted By: Indu
Date Posted: March 29 2015 at 10:51pm
I don't have any handy.
|
Skulldozer wrote:Posted By: Indu
Date Posted: March 29 2015 at 10:51pm
Great. Pls let me know what you have got and how much.
|
Posted By: Indu
Date Posted: March 29 2015 at 10:52pm
Yes, it is the same thing.
|
Posted By: badfinger
Date Posted: March 29 2015 at 11:02pm
| I will pretty much sell it for the same price as BRS, since that's where I buy it from |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: March 30 2015 at 6:38am
|
Yes, that is pure Calcium Chloride(CaCl2), the exact same chemical as the products that can be bought through the online and Local Fish Stores. The reason this CaCl2 is less expensive as an ice melt is because manufacturers sell it by the truckload for pennies per pound to large stores like Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, etc. Massive volume buying/selling provides low cost products that we can use in our little corner of the world. Same goes for Baking Soda. The exact same Alkalinity chemical is used in food and available to hobbyists for much less at the grocery store than when repackaged and marked up for the Local Fish Store shelves. Online, Bulk Reef Supply(BRS) has been around for about 10 years. They have made a name in the hobby because of moderate volume buying which they pass on as moderate cost savings to hobbyists. Still, they sell 1 gallon of CaCl2 for $19 plus shipping. Compare that to $8 for a gallon of the exact same stuff at Walmart. Aloha, Mark ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
|
Posted By: Indu
Date Posted: March 30 2015 at 9:02am
|
Thanks Mark for the confirmation. badfinger, What do you have available?
|
Posted By: Adam Blundell
Date Posted: March 30 2015 at 10:16am
|
It's safe, used bags of it in my tanks. Adam ------------- Come to a meeting, they�re fun! |
Posted By: faviasteve
Date Posted: March 30 2015 at 12:17pm
|
I'm going to buy a bag of Briner's Choice calcium chloride from Ebay. It's food grade so I suspect it will have less dirt/insoluble stuff in it. It's a little more per pound than peladow or safe-t ice melt but still much cheaper than BRS. One thing to consider when buying bulk calcium chloride is how it is produced. Dowflake xtra and Briner's Choice are "manufactured" by a reaction of an underground salt solution (which is pumped to the surface) with lime. It doesn't use ammonia or the "Haber process", so it shouldn't have residual ammonia in the calcium chloride. I bought a bag of Peladow from Janitor's Closet in Salt Lake, but they stored it in the same shed as nasty cleaning chemicals and the smell (ammonia + who knows what else) has soaked through the plastic bag and I think it could be contaminated. I think I'll just use it on my driveway. ------------- Steve Burton Logan, Utah |
Posted By: J_Palmer
Date Posted: April 17 2015 at 2:31pm
|
I know that the snow is now melting but I was curious how the Briners Choice worked for you. I have a http://immaculatecarpetutah.com/carpet-cleaning-services-in-utah-county/" rel="nofollow - carpet cleaning company in Alpine and I use a number of softer chemicals and I come across many carpets that have been damaged by ice melt. But if this is a softer ice melt that wont hurt carpets as much maybe I could recommend it to my customers. ------------- http://www.immaculatecarpetutah.com/ - Jamie Palmer |
Posted By: dmw913
Date Posted: May 13 2015 at 8:02am
|
Ok, I knew I was risk averse in general, but I just had a near panic attack at the thought of putting Prestone Driveway Heat in my fish tank. I fully appreciate the logic and science that it's the same product, but I will happily continue to give BRS, ESV and all my specialty chemical folks their extra money for making me feel better! :) Cheers to you adventurous Utah reefers out there! I learned something new today!
|
Posted By: PDoug
Date Posted: May 17 2015 at 5:45pm
|
Ok, I knew I was risk averse in general, but I just had a near panic attack at the thought of putting Prestone Driveway Heat in my fish tank.  I fully appreciate the logic and science that it's the same product, but I will happily continue to give BRS, ESV and all my specialty chemical folks their extra money for making me feel better! Cheers to you adventurous Utah reefers out there!  I learned something new today! Where do you think BRS gets theirs from  ------------- (307)679-7898 Phillip Douglass 75 Gallon Reef Tank |
Posted By: dmw913
Date Posted: May 17 2015 at 9:04pm
|
@PDoug, I have no idea where BRS gets their stuff, but I will continue to believe it comes from a land with rainbows and unicorns and rapidly dividing ultra ricordea and not from Dow Chemical or their ilk.
 |
Posted By: PDoug
Date Posted: May 25 2015 at 4:05pm
Fair enough Ignorance is bliss  ------------- (307)679-7898 Phillip Douglass 75 Gallon Reef Tank |
Posted By: sh2007
Date Posted: May 28 2015 at 10:19am
| when I add the magnesium chloride (Costco ice melt) with the magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt) they react and form a white milky liquid. Is that normal?. Do you use the milky stuff or just the clear water on the top of the milky liquid only. Thanks |
Posted By: Trevor40
Date Posted: June 03 2015 at 10:56am
Try mixing them in separate containers and letting them dissolve in the water before combining to add to the tank. That should help with the milky liquid on top. ------------- Call or Text (801)834-3119 |
Posted By: Lewy
Date Posted: June 03 2015 at 1:44pm
Are you using R/O water or tap water? When I do this I use distilled and don't have any milky stuff. ------------- 40 gal w/ 20 sump |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: June 04 2015 at 4:56am
I thought this thread started as a discussion of Calcium Chloride ice melt for making a Ca supplement?When I use the CaCl2 ice melt formulations, I mix it in a large open container using the same RO water that is used for aquarium top-off. After mixing to full saturation, I let it sit for a few hours then siphon out the clear liquid into a separate dosing bottle. The remaining top foam and bottom sediment layers are washed down the drain. The minute impurities probably don't really matter to my reef, but I feel better.  Magnesium Chloride and Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom Salt) are for making a Mg supplement. Combining the two is not necessary. They can be used separately. They can also be used dry in the sump where they slowly dissolve. A filter bag, if used on the drain, is where the dry Epsom Salt and Ice Melt can be poured. I wonder if that Costco Magnesium Chloride ice melt is formulated into a convenient particle form for throwing out over the driveway, This may mean there are some impurities similar to Prestone Driveway Heat and other brands of CalCl2 ice melt. My understanding is that pure Magnesium Chloride crystallizes as a flake, sometimes sold as "Magnesium Flake". If left out in the air, it attracts moisture to become a milky slurry. Just thought you might want to know more about it.  Also, like Lewy said, the more pure the water, the less impurities there are for the wanted chemical to react with. My 2 cents. Aloha, Mark ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
|
Posted By: ReefdUp
Date Posted: June 04 2015 at 5:27am
Because it's expensive, especially on large tanks. Dosing the generic chemical version is just fine and cheaper. ------------- www.reefdup.com Diving since 2009, reefkeeping since 2007, & fishkeeping since 1987 200g, 75g, & 15g Systems PADI Advanced Open Water |
Posted By: Lewy
Date Posted: June 04 2015 at 5:26pm
|
I use the mag from Costco and it gets slimy if let out in the air and it is a flake not powder or prill. ------------- 40 gal w/ 20 sump |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: June 04 2015 at 9:37pm
|
Cool ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
|
Posted By: sh2007
Date Posted: June 05 2015 at 7:37am
| thanks Mark for the explanation. |
Posted By: jsol12
Date Posted: July 29 2015 at 11:04pm
|
Mark, how do you know how much to dose and how often to dose the ice melt and baking soda? ------------- 150gal/25gal sump Red Sea Max S650, started 3/28/15 |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: July 30 2015 at 8:17pm
|
Testing. ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
|
Posted By: Adam Blundell
Date Posted: July 30 2015 at 9:53pm
|
I'm lazy. I've always loved this calculator... http://reef.diesyst.com/chemcalc/chem_calc3.html Adam ------------- Come to a meeting, they�re fun! |
Posted By: jsol12
Date Posted: July 30 2015 at 10:35pm
|
That seems efficient, not lazy Thanks! ------------- 150gal/25gal sump Red Sea Max S650, started 3/28/15 |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: July 30 2015 at 11:15pm
|
That's a neat calculator that he must have done a lot of work to produce, checking each product for the amount it delivers. Something I would have expected Adam to come up with. I'm a DIY'er. I found that I could increase the saturation of my homemade solutions by letting them sit so in my case the calculator isn't as useful. Also, Every tank has different demands. All organisms eat Alk, Ca, Mg, etc. at different rates. Testing is the only way to know for sure how much to continue adding to keep them feeding properly. If it isn't clear already, I consider these chemical components as food. Aloha, Mark ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
|