Baking Soda in the Aquarium

[big t]

Nick your calculator is great! Thanks for your help.

 

[bc_slc]

I have been using a combo of baking/washing soda for the last several months. I must say that the alk doesn't seem to stay up as long as I would like, though I have not been super religeous about dosing it daily or any other sort of regular basis.

Two questions:
1) does anyone have any links (read: Nikki please post one of your fabulous links for me) that discuss why to cook or bake the baking soda?
2) a link (again, Nikki throw me a bone) where I can find some info as to whether this buffer is shorter acting than some of the comercial buffers.

Mat

 

[CarlaW]

Check out page 2 of this thread for the answer to your first question.

 

[Scooterman]

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1524&page=1&pp=40&highlight=washing+soda


http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1524&page=1&pp=40&highlight=washing+soda

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.htm

 

[wrightme43]

Like Charlie said, check page 2. To boil down my understanding (limited) LOL I can make washing soda by baking in the oven baking soda. Then I would mix 6 parts baking soda to 1 part washing soda or baked baking soda. I broke stupid and baked mine after the mixing so now I have a ton of baked baking soda mixed with 1 part baked washing soda. So I just mix that back in to unbaked baked baking soda. This makes my brain hurt. I think I will go and drink my coffee. LOL Steve

 

[NaH2O]

Nick - that calculator is fantastic. I'm so glad it was updated with Mg.

Wow - thanks posting the links! If you look back through the thread, there are different posts discussing the baking of baking soda. I personally like this one:

Unbaked baking soda, which is just plain old baking soda will have the least impact on pH and Alk. Adding baked baking soda and washing soda will have more of an impact on both, as the two are mostly all washing soda. Pure washing soda by itself will have the most impact on pH and Alk. So, it is best for the mixture to be 6:1 baking soda and washing soda, no baking at all.

 

[bc_slc]

Got it. For whatever reason, I read the first page, part of the second, got pulled away and came back to read the 4th page.

My questions were clearly answered entirely within this thread.

My only remaining question is if there is another way to keep alk up for a longer period of time? It seems like I should be fine with my calcium reactor and dosing kalk, but my alk always lags behind. My calcium stays fine at about 440-480, but I have been dosing extra alk since my alk hangs around 6 (would prefer it at around 12).

Mat

 

[Boomer]

I posted it long ago, so you are really slow Here is his new one, which I had him modify

http://www.reefnerds.com/ChemPlot/ChemPlot.html

Super is fine, it is just a word game. It is Sodium carbonate and Baking Soda is Sodium bicarbaonte. What are you gong to do with it ?

 

[Boomer]

WoW ! we all posted at the same time :lol:

 

[Boomer]

mat

Your Alk will always lag behind, as it is used up faster and there is much less Alk in proportion to Ca. If you had say 420 ppm Ca and an Alk of 3 meq/ l and then sucked all the alk out to 0 meq / l, there would still be about 380 ppm Ca left in the water.

12 dKh is pushing it and asking for trouble with the Ca that high. Play with the caculator I just posted and you will se what I mean

 

[Boomer]

no baking at all

The reason behind the baking is that the baking soda is food grade and the washing soda is not, so theroy has it that baking baking soda will give a more pure home made washing soda than that which you buy.

 

[Scooterman]

Ok now I'm confused, do we or do we not bake the baking soda? So we mix 6 baking soda to one washing soda right, no baking???? Dam I need coffee!

 

[Boomer]

"""""I"""" don't consider it an issue. Some times I think Randy gets carried away with this purity thing, especially when all the salts suck much worse, analytically speaking. H_ell Scoot, I used Lake Superior tap water, right to the mixer, right into the tank. Some things lived for more than a decade, fish and inverts.


So we mix 6 baking soda to one washing soda right, no baking????

Yes, or 6:1 unbaked baking soda - baked baking soda

Either or is fine with me. If you feel you are a cook, go for it :lol: Then I will just call you "momma's boy " :lol: :lol:

 

[Scooterman]

You know that makes me think about doing water changes, sometimes I think, short term everything looks great after a WC, but If I just leave everything alone about the time I normally would do the wc, it looks best.

There, I had my coffee!

 

[nyfireman3097]

yeah when i was first givin the calculator i was like NICE now im like WOW how did i live without it before lol
Nick

 

[wrightme43]

Bump thread. For help.