Pool Chemicals

[RayRay1983]

Just wanted to pick the experts brains on this topic... I work for a pool and spa supply distributor and have skid upon skids of bulk chemical and was wondering if any has used any of these products for a DIY 2 part system. I know a couple of them meet food grade standards but not sure if they all would be safe for the aquarium. Any advice or warnings would be great!

 

[bertoni]

The sodium bicarbonate likely is fine. The calcium chloride is more of a gamble, but people have been successful with a wide variety of products. It'd take a lot of expensive testing to determine the safety.

 

[RayRay1983]

I only had the data sheet for the calcium which states safe for aquatic life Which translates to fish and corals to me. But with how sensitive our tanks can be I dont want to risk it. maybe I will set up a small test tank and do some experiments lol

 

[bertoni]

"Safe for aquatic life" means it won't kill a fresh water stream, which I agree is true, but the concentration and situation will be rather different in a tank, IMO.

 

[syrinx]

i have used pool chemicals before-the calcium at least. no problems- but i would recommend using what has been tested by others.

 

[RayRay1983]

very true! in a stream over time it would dilute but in our closed systems it would build up...

 

[RayRay1983]

Could you tell me which brands have been used with out issue? The calcium pictured there says 77% flake on the other side of the bag if that makes a difference.

Cheers
Ray

 

[bertoni]

Anything based on Dow Flake seems fine. There are so many brands, I can't remember all the ones that have been posted.

 

[HighlandReefer]

If you decide to use these industrial chemicals (sodium bicarbonate is food grade and is fine), one major concern you can test for is the amount of ammonia present. If the ammonia level is ok, then the other major concern is the heavy metal levels. I would run GAC to help remove these heavy metals as they become attached to dissolved organics and use a good skimmer to remove any heavy metals that become attached to larger organic particles in the tank water. I would not increase your alk or calcium levels to much at one time when using the industrial grade products since the heavy metals are in more toxic ionic forms and could reach high enough levels to cause problems. Once dissolved in the tank water the heavy metals in toxic ionic forms will attach to organic material and become much less toxic.

 

[RayRay1983]

If a chemical is food grade or pharmaceutical grade would it be less likely to have ammonia and heavy metals?

 

[bertoni]

If it's food grade, it's less likely to have such contaminants. I don't know enough about the definition of pharmaceutical grade to help much. Some products like epsom salts that generally aren't used internally might have looser restrictions, for example.

 

[HighlandReefer]

If a chemical is food grade or pharmaceutical grade would it be less likely to have ammonia and heavy metals?

The food grade and pharmaceutical grade products are tested to make sure they pass the tolerance levels set for each standard. The industrial grade chemicals are not tested and there are no standards set for them.

That said, just because the chemicals pass does not mean they don't contain trace levels of ammonia and heavy metals. Both standards do allow some tolerances.

 

[HighlandReefer]

For a more involved explanation regarding chemical grading and the complexities of trying to figure it out see this thread from a professional Chemistry Forum: :lol:

http://yarchive.net/chem/chemical_grades.html