Baking soda for dkh?

[RonSwanson]

You guys are nuts! If you use half a gallon per day of dosing solution then you should switch to calcium reactor. This dosing and DIY stuff baking is so much work when combined with all the other things that’s tank brings. Where do you have time for all this?? Calcium reactor all the way! The only thing it needs is greased silicone tubing for parastaltic pump once every few weeks. Everything else lasts for months before needs cleaning or adjusting. Could you imagine not having to mix and dose the solution again??

 

[homer1475]

Here's some DIY instructions from Meleev's Reef with pictures: https://www.melevsreef.com/articles/diy-make-your-own-soda-ash-cheaply

I don't recommend using aluminum foil. It can potentially leach aluminum. This paper shows ppm levels of aluminum when cooking (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6804775/).

Was using it for 3 years, no issues. Even an ICP test show undetectable amount of aluminum. If it's leaching into my baking soda from baking it, it doesn't show up anywhere.

Some people around here worry about the stupidest stuff(not personal attack on you, just a general observation), that most old school reefers have been doing for years.

 

[Gtinnel]

You guys are nuts! If you use half a gallon per day of dosing solution then you should switch to calcium reactor. This dosing and DIY stuff baking is so much work when combined with all the other things that’s tank brings. Where do you have time for all this?? Calcium reactor all the way! The only thing it needs is greased silicone tubing for parastaltic pump once every few weeks. Everything else lasts for months before needs cleaning or adjusting. Could you imagine not having to mix and dose the solution again??

While I would agree if using a half gallon of 2 part a day (is there anyone that even comes close to that) then dosing isn't the way to go. But in my case, and I'm sure many others, I fill up my dosing containers and I don't have to touch it for 2 months. So it isn't that big of a deal to me to bake some baking soda and dump it into a container with rodi water a few times a year. Compared to many of the other chores that come along with a reef tank this seems like a fairly minor one to me.
Hopefully I will still feel the same way in a year or two when my demand increases, besides I don't have room in my stand for a calcium reactor anyway. I struggled to find place to put two little kamoer dosing pumps.

 

[NanoCrazed]

Will let you all in on a little secret... if you are comfortable with the idea of using non-food grade stuff (which if you are already using stump killer, and pedadow, etc. is probably not a big leap)... Consider A&H Super Washing Soda. It's soda ash basically. I use it with no issues... and don't have to deal with baking.

 

[homer1475]

Will let you all in on a little secret... if you are comfortable with the idea of using non-food grade stuff (which if you are already using stump killer, and pedadow, etc. is probably not a big leap)... Consider A&H Super Washing Soda. It's soda ash basically. I use it with no issues... and don't have to deal with baking.

Forgot about washing soda! But in my defense, it's not something you normally see over here in the states. If I remember right, Randy said washing soda is fine to use, but the purity is suspect. As long as you can verify thats all there is in there is washing soda, it's fine. But I think(again not sure and going off memory)Randy said most washing soda's have "extra" stuff in them?

 

[NanoCrazed]

Forgot about washing soda! But in my defense, it's not something you normally see over here in the states. If I remember right, Randy said washing soda is fine to use, but the purity is suspect. As long as you can verify thats all there is in there is washing soda, it's fine. But I think(again not sure and going off memory)Randy said most washing soda's have "extra" stuff in them?

I get mine at my local ACE. $5 a box.

I read the MSDS and it's mostly 98% soda ash with 2% accounting for water. There might be trace stuff in there potentially... but ICP comes back fine. And I keep lots of high end sps with no issues... ( i might the issue, though... but that's a diff story. > ).

Randy's comment if i recall was that it could have stuff in there. but, he hasn't looked in detail. safe to assume about purity vs food grade baking soda as a guess. but if you're dosing and medicating, you're already introducing a bunch of other things and probably leave purity of anything and everything in question. So, seem like a reasonable risk. Again, my ICP came back reasonably decent so don't have anything that I am concern with comparing ICPs over 5 months time (beginning and end or window).

Anyway, when you're someone like me that uses Prestone driveyway heat for CaCl, and pedadow equivalent for Mg, you worry less about trace in washing soda. hah.

 

[Gtinnel]

Will let you all in on a little secret... if you are comfortable with the idea of using non-food grade stuff (which if you are already using stump killer, and pedadow, etc. is probably not a big leap)... Consider A&H Super Washing Soda. It's soda ash basically. I use it with no issues... and don't have to deal with baking.

Is it weird that I dose prestone driveway heat, and in the past I was dosing stump remover but a product that may have been manufactured near detergents makes me a little uncomfortable. I am completely just guessing (probably incorrectly) that just because the washing soda is made for laundry that it is made near detergents.

But in my defense, it's not something you normally see over here in the states.

Maybe that is a local thing because although I've never bought it I just looked and I can buy it at Walmart or lowes either one.

 

[homer1475]

Yes available, but not outright on the shelves and used like say Tide. You have to go looking for it at walmart.

It's certainly available, but not readily used like some other "detergents". You certainly never see commercials for it.

I honestly had never heard of washing soda before I started reefing.

I'm perfectly fine using it, and as an old school reefer, have used many questionable products over the years that had questionable ingredients.

 

[NanoCrazed]

Is it weird that I dose prestone driveway heat, and in the past I was dosing stump remover but a product that may have been manufactured near detergents makes me a little uncomfortable. I am completely just guessing (probably incorrectly) that just because the washing soda is made for laundry that it is made near detergents.


Maybe that is a local thing because although I've never bought it I just looked and I can buy it at Walmart or lowes either one.

LOL. That's pretty funny... I had similar reaction the other way around with stump killer ... the name itself gave me pause. you use something to kill what?, and you want me to use it in my tank?

just to help settle some concerns... my ICP from start and end of 5 month window (everything converted to ppm)...been using said off label items from much longer before then... Ignore elevated Li. that's from overdosing trace and minerals...a diff kinda pain and hurt. but not topic of this thread...

 

[homer1475]

I am completely just guessing (probably incorrectly) that just because the washing soda is made for laundry that it is made near detergents.

just guessing, but since it's made by Arm&Hammer, it's probably made in the same plant regular old baking soda is, and is probably never even near any detergents.

 

[NanoCrazed]

just guessing, but since it's made by Arm&Hammer, it's probably made in the same plant regular old baking soda is, and is probably never even near any detergents.

That was my guess when I took the plunge... it was too hot here to bake baking soda and I said what the heck. why not... and never looked back

 

[homer1475]

Yup I've dose all those same things to my tank at one time or another also, and most of them I still do! Sometimes purity just isn't a concern.

Only thing with stump killer was the purity. Whenever I mixed it up, it always had "stuff"(for lack of a better term) floating in the container. I used it for years, never had an issue I could attribute to it, but never felt comfortable. I have since switched to brightwells neo-nitro as I just couldn't trust the stump remover.

 

[Gtinnel]

LOL. That's pretty funny... I had similar reaction the other way around with stump killer ... the name itself gave me pause. you use something to kill what?, and you want me to use it in my tank?

just to help settle some concerns... my ICP from start and end of 5 month window (everything converted to ppm)...been using said off label items from much longer before then... Ignore elevated Li. that's from overdosing trace and minerals...a diff kinda pain and hurt. but not topic of this thread...

I had the same feeling with stump remover at first but quickly got over it. I probably still won't be switching to washing soda especially since I just bought 12lbs of baking soda that will likely last me for nearly 2 years. Plus I don't mind the extra step of baking it.

just guessing, but since it's made by Arm&Hammer, it's probably made in the same plant regular old baking soda is, and is probably never even near any detergents.

I have absolutely no idea but you're likely correct.

 

[homer1475]

That was my guess when I took the plunge... it was too hot here to bake baking soda and I said what the heck. why not... and never looked back

Being too hot in the summer was another reason I stopped baking it and just switched up to recipe 2.

I may have to go looking for washing soda(totally forgot about this!) on my trip to wally world today. Wonder what the price difference is? Huge #12 pound bag of baking soda is like $8, and even $2 cheaper if you go to the pool section and buy "pool shock". Same exact stuff as you buy in the food isle, just packaged different.

 

[NanoCrazed]

@Gtinnel -- in case you decide to try out A&H Washing Soda, I did the math based on RFH's recipe... It would be 1.4 cups of washing soda filled up to 1G line.

RFH's recipe starts from baking soda... so some high school chem was needed to work out the exact equivalent straight from the box. I eyeball between 1.4 - 1.5... and as long as you watch the alk for each new batch and make small adjustments to compensate, you're golden. I find this to be about 10ml up or down from where my last batch is... that's cuz I am eyeballing..

 

[NanoCrazed]

Being too hot in the summer was another reason I stopped baking it and just switched up to recipe 2.

I may have to go looking for washing soda(totally forgot about this!) on my trip to wally world today. Wonder what the price difference is? Huge #12 pound bag of baking soda is like $8, and even $2 cheaper if you go to the pool section and buy "pool shock". Same exact stuff as you buy in the food isle, just packaged different.

With Recipe 1, my pH stays between 8.1 - 8.3... so kept using it. before then, I was throwing straight baking soda manually into the overflow and calling it a day. hah

 

[Courtney Aldrich]

Was using it for 3 years, no issues. Even an ICP test show undetectable amount of aluminum. If it's leaching into my baking soda from baking it, it doesn't show up anywhere.

Some people around here worry about the stupidest stuff(not personal attack on you, just a general observation), that most old school reefers have been doing for years.

Fair enough. but the paper I attached showed high levels of aluminum were leached using ICP, hence my concern. This was from cooking food with some liquid, not a dry powder.

 

[Grallster]

I’ve used Arm & Hammer washing soda for years. Get it at Walmart

 

[lafarrow]

Use this calc to figure out how much to add(remember not to go ver 1DKH/24 hours).

Is the harm to livestock the only risk of raising dKh too quickly? Is there a chemical issue to be concerned about as well? I have seen reef calculators that indicate that you should keep an eye on ph so you don't increase it too fast. Is there another concern as well?

 

[NanoCrazed]

Is the harm to livestock the only risk of raising dKh too quickly? Is there a chemical issue to be concerned about as well? I have seen reef calculators that indicate that you should keep an eye on ph so you don't increase it too fast. Is there another concern as well?

for SPS yes.. more than 1dkh per day swing and you will likely wind up with decorative coral rubble.