New RANDY's 2 part

Randy, you had mentioned one of the ways to deal with the change in Dow flake was to switch to Lime. Since I already use saturated lime water for all my top off water in the evening and in addition dose my stony tanks with your 2 part solution, at 1ml/gallon, earlier in the day, can I do a slurry of concentrated lime in AM and then top off with saturated lime water in the evening? :confused:

Is their a limit as to how much lime slurry can be added especially if your already topping off with Lime water?

Is CO2 a limiting factor using that much lime? if so what happens to the excess hydroxide that doesn't get a chance to imidiatly combine with CO2? if there isn't enough CO2 initially would the hydroxide convert later to carbonate and/or bicarbonate when CO2 gradually becomes available?

Are there any particular problems asciated with the use of a lime slurry? :confused:

Thanks for your help!
 
The concern with adding lime all at once, either a solution or as a slurry is the instantaneous pH rise. Another concern is that impurities do not get a chance to settle out,a and the solids may land on something delicate before fully dissolving.

If the morning pH is low, you may be able to add a fair amount without the ph getting too high, but how much depends on what pH you are normally at.
 
I like to thank everyone for there input on this subject,and for RANDY big ups! a man with knowledge and the wisdom to share it for the greater good of our reef tanks and oceans. thanks!
 
2 part stupid question- Randy - wht the need to bake the baking soda to dry it out when its being added to water. Whats the raeson behind the baking ???
 
At work I just ordered from Univar some calcium chloride that they claim is low in bromide.
They claim Honeywell manufactured it for Nestle for their bottled water specially because of the bromide concern.
Anyone know about this?
This might be a safe option. I had to buy a decades worth though so I dont know if you are going to be able to find it in smaller quantities.
 
After thinking about this bromide issue for a while, I still do not know if there is a concern, but since so many reefers are using new batches of Dowflake and have not observed (or at least reported) a problem, I think the concerns may not be particularly significant.
Click to expand...

Randy,

I have a batch of Prestone Driveway Heat that the labels leads me to believe was produced 02-06. I contacted Scottwood Industries with all info from bag with no answer....not surprised. So to my question.

Is it worth dosing anymore of this for fear of bromide and elevated levels of heavy metals or would I be better off ordering some food grade anhydrous calcium chloride from twopartsolution.com?

Secondly, what is your choice of salt mix? Currently, I have this huge concern with the amount of heavy metals in IO and Reef Crystals. I really don't like the slimy, brown residue in the bottom of my Brute can either. Appears this wasn't such a bargain buy for $30 for 160gallons of mix.

Any comments would be appreciated in you busy day.

Thanks,
Frank
 
I do not know if it would have excess bromide or not, nor am I sure how big the problem is with it.

I use Instant Ocean which I boost with 70 ppm calcium from Dowflake and 150 ppm from MAG flake. The data that I have seen actually suggests that IO is pretty low in metals compared to other mixes.
 
The data that I have seen actually suggests that IO is pretty low in metals compared to other mixes.
Click to expand...

Where have you viewed these results? Personal testing or IO "claims"? I'm basing my assumption on Ron Shimek's article in Reefkeeping Mag. The article is "The Toxicity of Some Freshly Mixed Artificial Sea Water: A Bad Beginning For A Reef Aquarium."

This article can be found in the chemistry section of the site in past issues. Is this material outdated? This article depicts Coralife and IO as poor choices when compared to Bio-Sea Marinemix and Marinemix Bioassay. The comparison was against "natural" seawater. Obviously, I'm not rearing sea urchin offspring as Ron had for this study but I do favor the best choice for my livestock. I'm about to buy another bucket of salt and the time to change would be now if need be.

Oh, one last question about the two-part solution alkalinity portion. When mixing the baking soda, I usually add ~160F water. Does this drive off CO2 as baking and result in this acting more like Recipe 1 rather than recipe 2? I have a problem with high alkalinity and pH and wonder if this may be the culprit. I have not experimented with mixing "cold" baking soda and dosing this yet. Just wondered your thoughts on baking versus mixing with very hot water.

Thanks Randy for humoring a OCD reefer, I appreciate your advice and comments and believe your an RC asset.
Frank
 
Last edited:
Randy,
In advance thank you for helping me so much over the last few months.
I have three questions:
Does there exist a spreadsheet with recommended suggestions for 'boosters' on other salt mixes?

Also, a question from a non-tech... How does one translate the ppm to dosage amounts?

I have a large Kalk stirrer that I use for ATO on approx. 3 gals/day on my 210g mixed reef. In order to keep parameters (420 calc/8dkh/1300mag) I have to dose an additional 500ml of 2part and I am now fighting to keep PH above 8.0. Does this sound right?
 
Where have you viewed these results? Personal testing or IO "claims"? I'm basing my assumption on Ron Shimek's article in Reefkeeping Mag. The article is "The Toxicity of Some Freshly Mixed Artificial Sea Water: A Bad Beginning For A Reef Aquarium."


Ron pretty much went into that test with the intent to show an answer he wanted. Note he hardly compared any other mixes. In fact, I don't think he tested any himself, just reported previous data that fit his hypothesis.

I base it on my own testing (copper) and a test by the maker of IO and RC, where IO looked to have lower metals than RC:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/sept2004/feature.htm

Also on this independent test where IO was among the lowest for many metals:

Feature Article: Inland Reef Aquaria Salt Study, Part I
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/11/aafeature1

Feature Article: Inland Reef Aquaria Salt Study Part II
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/12/aafeature1
 
Last edited:
Also, a question from a non-tech... How does one translate the ppm to dosage amounts?

This calculator is the way to go:

Reef chemicals calculator
http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chem_calc3.html

I don't have any sort of spread sheet, but you can look a the values for calcium and magnesium in various salt mixes that Billy got (a thread also stickied in this forum) and adjust your favorite as you see fit. :)

I have a large Kalk stirrer that I use for ATO on approx. 3 gals/day on my 210g mixed reef. In order to keep parameters (420 calc/8dkh/1300mag) I have to dose an additional 500ml of 2part and I am now fighting to keep PH above 8.0. Does this sound right?

It could be right. Every tank has different demand. Limewater alone is adequate for mine. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

R
DIY Trace Solutions
Replies
6
Views
768
CowZoa
C
P
New saltwater toxic?
Replies
8
Views
184
pelagic
P
E
What's Old is New Again
Replies
2
Views
488
Uncle99
Uncle99
C
High Zinc in ICP Test & Switching to ATI Essentials – Need Advice
Replies
17
Views
3K
Reefing102
Reefing102
D
Help with new tank cycling
Replies
12
Views
1K
wvned
wvned
Back
Top