JDM Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 been checking my KH daily for 2 weeks now, started at 5 :-? im aiming for 8 which i have been at for just over a week, been using reef builder (seachem) between 2 to 3 teaspoons per day to keep it stable interested to hear if this is a high amount for me to be needing or if its fairly normal, i guess it would largely depend the stocking level of the tank, im largely soft corals with 3 sps. what KH level do you mataine your tank at? what do you use? how much of it do you use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 My tank uses up a teaspoon or so of baking soda per day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 I use around 20 grams of baking soda every day. Try and keep alk in the 10 - 12dkH range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drifty Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 how do you mix the baking soda, I have tried and it doesnt mix well at all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 It's reasonably soluble, you can dissolve 100 grams in a litre of water. I premix 300 grams in 4 litres of water for using during the week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogmatix Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 are magnetic stirers cheap ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 how do you mix the baking soda, I have tried and it doesnt mix well at all did you bake it first? bake it and mix it and its a PITA. goes rock solid almost immediately touching water. need to start stirring hard core the second you add to water! try heating the RODI in the microwave first makes it a little easier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fay Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 I put it in a 5ltr drink container that has a tap you can get them from the plastic shop. Just put it in with a little water at first then shake the hell out of it then top it up The idea of the tap is so I can drip it in over night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 I don't bother baking it, it's not really worth the effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 I don't bother baking it, it's not really worth the effort. but just think of the baking soda you save coz you need to dose less to achieve the same effect! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 If you find it hard to mix try this, works for baked baking soda also. Put the baking soda & the water in a bucket, and knead the baking soda with your fingers. Will dissolve easy as. Prior to that I went to all sorts of trouble heating water etc. My wife got so crappy about the whole thing I could only do it when she was out. It was hassles like that which was one of the things that induced me to give up 2 part mix in the end, way too much work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 Put the baking soda & the water in a bucket, and knead the baking soda with your fingers tried that, no difference for me, still went rock hard really quick. found i had to add a little at a time and mix quickly! (thats 500 grams baked for 1 hour on 150 degrees Celsius) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 but just think of the baking soda you save coz you need to dose less to achieve the same effect! :lol: But when you bake baking soda, you can be left with only 60% of the weight you started with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cracker Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 Im confused, My baking soda never goes hard. I just put a few tablespoons in a one litre jug, fill it up and stir it, then chuck it in! It has never gone hard for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDM Posted June 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 why bake it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 Dude, something wrong there, I still mix a little every now & then, easy. I just dump it all together, and mix with my fingers. & it is baked. Same stuff that drove me to distraction trying to mix it any other way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cracker Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 did you bake it first? bake it and mix it and its a PITA. goes rock solid almost immediately touching water. need to start stirring hard core the second you add to water! try heating the RODI in the microwave first makes it a little easier Hey chim, dont bake it then. Tanks dont need carnbonates. Bicarbonates are fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cracker Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 why bake it? Maybe they missed out on cooking classes at school!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cracker Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 Dude, something wrong there, I still mix a little every now & then, easy. I just dump it all together, and mix with my fingers. & it is baked. Same stuff that drove me to distraction trying to mix it any other way. Why do you use your fingers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 Why do you use your fingers? Well I used to have major drama trying to mix it. In the end I used to have water boiling in a pot, take the baking soda out of the oven hot, stick it in in spoonful sized doses all the while stirring the crap out of the pot, and by the time it was all done I was absolutely ready to give up using 2 part. Then one day when I had some stuff that had cooled, I gave it a shot using my fingers, and it just dissolved easy as, and did do from then on. Couldn't believe how much work I'd been through doing it other ways. Surprised it doesn't work for Chimera, perhaps he has a different finger technique :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 why bake it? Normal baking soda releases some carbon dioxide when added to the tank water, causing a temporary dip in Ph. If you bake it, this Co2 is removed & then when added to the tank there is not a temporary dip in Ph. All depends wether you are adding enough that it will be an issue, but if adding baking soda, 1/2 way through the lighting period would be best to minimise how low Ph will go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 just made 4ltr of ca and bs up. Took about 10mins. Bs did not take much to dissolve, added warm water first (about 1ltr) then added the rest. Try mixing as much as you can, then leave over night then mix again, you should have no problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 People worry too much about the dip in pH it's not a problem, and is usually not significant unless you're adding a lot at once. A 0.5 meq/L (1.5 dkH) addition temporarily drops the pH by 0.04, which is nothing to be worried about. Also at a pH of 8.3, carbonate provides about 7% of the buffering, compared to hydrogen carbonate which provides around 90%. So why convert so much of the hydrogen carbonate into carbonate by baking the baking soda? All it does when it hits the tank, is grab CO2 which you just spent so much time (and energy) trying to drive off in the oven. Just use the baking soda without baking, it's easy to dissolve, literally a couple of minutes and it's done. Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 Well I'll concur Layton, you have certainly put tremendous effort over the last few days, and have learned a thing or 2 about the EXACT extent of the "swing". :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 So what's the dip in PH going to be? Somewhere around .00Fall. Seriously as long as you're not adding massive amounts at once does it really matter if the PH dips a barely measurable amount for half an hour? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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