Bicarbonate doesn't precipitate when dosing?

stefanm

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I use the aquaforest balling method since February, I don't dose a great deal, especially as a few things have failed on my tank and replacement parts took weeks to be delivered due to the pandemic, I've lost a lot of coral during this time.

Anyway I made up a new solution today and just dosed manually 20 ml of bicarbonate solution, normally I get the white precipitation (if that's the right term) when I dose alkalinity, this time nothing at all, I had made 80 grams of solution to 1 litre of water. Before I switched over to balling I used Randy's two part with soda ash, I didn't wash my dosing container when I switched, today I washed it.

So does bicarbonate at this rate if dilution mix instantly with tank water when added?

The sodium bicarbonate is from a supermarket and the water was 50-60°C when I mixed it up if this Information helps.
 

homer1475

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Soda ash is high in PH and creates that "white cloud" when dumped into the tank, sodium bicarbonate is not as high in PH therefore you don't get that "white cloud".
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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Correct. That white cloud is magnesium hydroxide, that will redissolve when mixed in.

More problematic precipitation of calcium carbonate will be slower and doesn't redissolve.
 
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stefanm

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Thanks for the replies, seems earlier I hadn't cleaned out the containers before switching out to bicarbonate.
 

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