Super-cheap food-grade Calcium Carbonate sale

[MadReefist]

Purebulk.com which already has really low prices on suppliments is doing a 50% off sale on CaCO3. How do these prices stack up to the norm?

Calcium Carbonate (USA) 500g 750cc $10.75
Sale: $5.38
Save: 50% off
Calcium Carbonate (USA) 1kg 1350cc $19.50
Sale: $9.75
Save: 50% off
Calcium Carbonate (USA) 1.5kg 1950cc $27.75
Sale: $13.88
Save: 50% off
Calcium Carbonate (USA) 22.7kg 10000cc $290.75
Sale: $145.38
Save: 50% off
http://purebulk.com/calcium-carbonate-usa

Calcium Citrate & Magnesium Gluconate are also 1/2 off. Would those chemicals be of any use?

 

[nanojg]

How are you planning on using powdered calcium carbonate in a reef tank?

 

[yardboy]

Calcium carbonate, Calcium Citrate & Magnesium Gluconate. Would those chemicals be of any use?

None.

 

[MadReefist]

How are you planning on using powdered calcium carbonate in a reef tank?

Wouldn't that be easier to dissolve than solid carbonate?

 

[nanojg]

Wouldn't that be easier to dissolve than solid carbonate?

Ive never run a calcium reactor, but no I think solid would be easier. Calcium carbonate has to be dissolved (with a low ph substance, CO2, vinegar, etc.) for it to be useful as calcium and carbonate in a reef tank. If that is pure calcium carbonate and you mix it up with some water and add it it will do nothing more than purple up does

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Calcium citrate could be an all in one supplement, providing calcium, alkalinity, and an organic carbon source.

 

[MadReefist]

But vinegar only costs about $1-2 per gallon. Assume a few jugs could dissolve a kilo of CaCO3, for maybe less than $20 that'd provide a lot of product, no?. So how would this stack compared to spending easily hundreds of $ on a reactor + CO2 bottle + regulator + solid media, and then charging it, replacing the media, etc; versus dissolving this fine grade CaCO3 in a bucket and pouring some in as needed??

I know I have a 1kg jug of Seachem Reef Advantage Calcium here, which is calcium chloride. Came with a used tank. $28 price tag on it. In one of my other threads somebody responded to this product as such:

You have an issue in your description above. You are planning on supplementing calcium and alk via. Seachem additives. I might be wrong here, but I believe they are calcium chloride and sodium bicarb. That's all great, and they work well, but you get leftover chloride and sodium ions, so your water gets progressively saltier. Normally the fix is water changes, but you can also track your salinity, and remove some water and replace it with non salted water to reduce the salinity. The issue then is that your water becomes too much like brine, and depleted in Mg, sulphate traces and so on. So you might need to go to a ca reactor. This no water changes business can be tricky...
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2143421

I haven't quite gotten this far into the hobby in the past, but this time around I intend to, I just haven't gotten too far into deeply knowing the in's and out's of this category. I saw this deal in my email newsletter today and thought it might be of use to some.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I agree vinegar is cheap. That's why I choose vinegar. I was just telling you of a use of the citrate.

Dissolving calcium carbonate in vinegar is an explosive disaster due to CO2 release. I've tried it.

The better way is to dissolve quicklime or lime (calcium oxide or hydroxide) into vinegar, which some of us do for vinegar dosing.

But trust us, a DIY two part and limewater are by far the cheapest options for dosing calcium and alkalinty.

 

[MadReefist]

Where does one get "quicklime", and what are the costs? I'm very familiar with a great amny of the things in local hardware stores etc and I've never seen a bag of "quicklime".

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

The cost depends on where you buy it. I got a 50 pound bag of food grade CaO in a reef club buy for less than $0.50 per pound.

It is not usually locally available. It is what calcium hydroxide (lime) is made from by adding water to it.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

This is the product I used:

http://www.mississippilime.com/products/quicklime

 

[nanojg]

Where does one get "quicklime", and what are the costs? I'm very familiar with a great amny of the things in local hardware stores etc and I've never seen a bag of "quicklime".

Mrs. Wages Pickling lime at your local grocery store. Thats what I use in both my ato and mixed with vinegar for carbon dosing. I just dump a 1/2 cup of lime into a gallon of vinegar and dose about 60 ml/day.

I guess I get hosed on vinegar, its around 2.50 I believe...1-2 bucks a gallon?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Just to be clear for everyone, Mrs. Wages is lime (calcium hydroxide), not quicklime (calcium oxide). Both are fine to use.