Prestone Driveway Heat

[orucco]

Just checking on Prestone Driveway Heat that is listed as a calcium chloride product that can be used for the part 1 diy supplement. Besides calcium chloride the product states it contains potassium chloride, sodium chloride, and calcium bromide. Is it still ok to use?............Thanks!

 

[bertoni]

It's fine. Just use about 10% less for the DIY formula.

 

[laga77]

What really scares me about using chemicals from a hardware store and not from a place where the chemicals are intended for human or pet consumption, is not the quality of the chemical, but the handling and storage of it. When you buy at the hardware store the driveway heat could have been stored next to, or underneath, the cleaning agents or pool chlorine. For the savings offered, it is not worth the risk IMHO.

 

[Drewl117]

Is that replacing 2 part? Seems that 2 part is cheap enough not to take the risk of putting ice melt into a tank with all that $$ in there.

 

[dkeller_nc]

When you buy at the hardware store the driveway heat could have been stored next to, or underneath, the cleaning agents or pool chlorine. For the savings offered, it is not worth the risk IMHO.

The proximity of cleaning agents, pool chlorine or bleach don't concern me, but storage in close proximity to pyrethrins or other pesticides do. I'm in your camp - buying it from Bulk Reef Supply or another 'net dealer instead really doesn't significantly raise my reefing bill.

 

[blanden.adam]

I agree, some people use it and it's fine, but I don't really trust industrial-grade chemicals. Even if it's fine today, the manufacturer could change their process tomorrow such that it's no longer OK for a reef, and is under no obligation to notify you. These manufacturers also have really no economic reason to maintain the "OK for a reef tank" standard, and the regulatory standards are much more lax than say, things made for human consumption or pharmaceuticals. So, BRS CaCl2 and baked baking soda for me.

 

[hkgar]

Randy's recipe suggests Dowflake. My problem with it is buying the 50 lb bag. It tends to become rock solid before I can use it all.

 

[blanden.adam]

As a point of order, the Dowflake used for Randy's Recipe doesn't exist anymore (they changed the formulation). But some people use the new stuff successfully.

 

[Ron Reefman]

I've been using the 'new stuff' very successfully for about 5+ years now in 4 different tanks. Dow Flake, Soda ash from a pool supply store, Magflake and bulk Epsom salt. All in 25 or 50 pound bags. I go through a bag of Dow Flake about every 18 months. It costs me $18 or $0.36/lb. The same thing from BRS in 1 gallon bottles (7 lbs /bottle) would cost me over $140 or about $2.80/lb. That difference is crazy. The other chemicals have similar savings.

Now I admit, not too many reefers have 600g of saltwater tanks in their house, so I use a bit more than the average guy. But I also pass along most of the savings to my friends who buy it from me in old BRS 1 gallon bottles for just $4.00 instead of $20.00.

You can see how badly using cheap chemicals has impacted my 180g reef.

 

[ryeguyy84]

I've been using it for about a year or so, no issues. the first batch I used the normal dosage and didn't know why my calcium was through the roof. so yeah use 10% less to match the BRS recipe.