BRS Soda Ash Precipitation

Fennel

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Just had to LOL at this!

Just read his name. might tell you who he is.
Oh ok what's his name. Nice to meet you. Whose virtual teeth have to get pulled to get info around here? I am not here to brown nose, kiss a, suck up or bother with naming whose who. The ocean is bigger than all of us and is a sustaining factor of life we all share. I am here to learn, not dote on he said she said who wrote what about how. So sick of the asinine... Yeah, thank you. I mean no offense, but this is a forum, not a coffee house.
 

homer1475

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Oh ok what's his name. Nice to meet you. Whose virtual teeth have to get pulled to get info around here? I am not here to brown nose, kiss a, suck up or bother with naming whose who. The ocean is bigger than all of us and is a sustaining factor of life we all share. I am here to learn, not dote on he said she said who wrote what about how. So sick of the asinine... Yeah, thank you. I mean no offense, but this is a forum, not a coffee house.
You really need to slow your roll there a little.

Your speaking to the man who pioneered most of the chemistry we use in this hobby. Show a little respect!

Everything chemistry question your asking has already been answered by @Randy Holmes-Farley in his reefkeeping articles.

 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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Ok great tell that to the brs you tube guy.

I suspect you misunderstood them. If you want to point out where they specifically said one type of alk additive gives a permanent pH boost and another does not, I will certainly take it up with them as it is unquestionably wrong. I also expect they know this already.

Apparently for entertainment and to learn. since you wanna run your mouth but with hold info, why don't you just say whether or not nitrifying bacteria will live and if algae will die doing that.

One step at a time works best, IME. One of the things that I have learned as an expert chemist running reef chemistry forums like this one for the past 20 years is that folks often "need" an answer to a question that is different than the ones they actually asked, because they aren't asking what they really need to know.

The recipe of things you are adding makes no sense to me for any purpose I can understand. If you clarify the purpose, I may be able to help guide the recipe (or possibly say it seems appropriate) to accomplish the task at hand, regardless of whether it is safe for bacteria and algae.
 

Fennel

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lol

Welcome to MY reef chemistry forum. :)
It's great, thank you. While you're forum has some tech issues, like freezing up, glitching and cannot handle large high clarity photos I have had questions answered quickly about hitch hikers, that I truly appreciate. Now calling beginner noob actions something crazy, was not nice. Call it what it is, ignorance. Your forum oughta have a donation button to assist in future upgrades so you can obtain quality photos for identification. I am a spoiled rotten housewife, mother of a teenager and am a college student.. expect ignorance, smart arsed ignorance and lots of questions. I expect to get squelched. Thanks Mr. Holmes Farley, for your time and jovial attitude that contributes to a positive educational experience here. Thanks for popping up at the mere mention of cooking a reef rock, which is a big dangerous no no that could explode. Responsibility is a quick action out of you, I appreciate that. Thank You.
 

reefinnewb

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Oh ok what's his name. Nice to meet you. Whose virtual teeth have to get pulled to get info around here? I am not here to brown nose, kiss a, suck up or bother with naming whose who. The ocean is bigger than all of us and is a sustaining factor of life we all share. I am here to learn, not dote on he said she said who wrote what about how. So sick of the asinine... Yeah, thank you. I mean no offense, but this is a forum, not a coffee house.
@Randy Holmes-Farley is one of the most helpful people on this entire forum, and others. You hardly have to pull his "virtual teeth" to obtain any type of useful information from him. I'm going to assume here that you're new to the hobby and this forum. Like mentioned above, I'd slow down on the attitude; there are other forums for that. I've been in this hobby for ~16 years (don't let the username fool you) and have had the unfortunate opportunity to be a part of many other reef forums. There is nothing out there that can hold a candle to the community @revhtree has built here. Enjoy the information and be kind.
 

Fennel

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@Randy Holmes-Farley is one of the most helpful people on this entire forum, and others. You hardly have to pull his "virtual teeth" to obtain any type of useful information from him. I'm going to assume here that you're new to the hobby and this forum. Like mentioned above, I'd slow down on the attitude; there are other forums for that. I've been in this hobby for ~16 years (don't let the username fool you) and have had the unfortunate opportunity to be a part of many other reef forums. There is nothing out there that can hold a candle to the community @revhtree has built here. Enjoy the information and be kind.
Great time, thank you. It's emotional IQ, not attitude showing. You know the psychology behind the learning and motivation to keep doing so. Anyway after the rocks got a bath in the naughty housewife special, self neutralizing acidification, without rinsing the rocks, just setting the tank up.. it supports life, marine blk/wht spotted dual claw hermit crab life. It made the rocks more porous giving it more character. I did add live sand and shells. Still cloudy. But the cathartic action was beneficial. Comon btw I am 42, at this age I am nothing but sweet, saucy, all happiness and ignorant.. married 18 years! Happily too. My child is an advanced placement high schooler doing homeschooling now. So yeah the forum is my outlet. Just bear with me, if you would kindly, it is a place to let the academic frustration out. Thank you for the exceptional welcome. It is so nice to have a place to just get guided and work the ignorance out. It's a good time. I do not drink alcohol so marine aquaria is my vice.. Have a great time.
 
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Randy Holmes-Farley

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It's great, thank you. While you're forum has some tech issues, like freezing up, glitching and cannot handle large high clarity photos I have had questions answered quickly about hitch hikers, that I truly appreciate. Now calling beginner noob actions something crazy, was not nice. Call it what it is, ignorance. Your forum oughta have a donation button to assist in future upgrades so you can obtain quality photos for identification. I am a spoiled rotten housewife, mother of a teenager and am a college student.. expect ignorance, smart arsed ignorance and lots of questions. I expect to get squelched. Thanks Mr. Holmes Farley, for your time and jovial attitude that contributes to a positive educational experience here. Thanks for popping up at the mere mention of cooking a reef rock, which is a big dangerous no no that could explode. Responsibility is a quick action out of you, I appreciate that. Thank You.

FWIW, I have no responsibility or control over the software aspects of the forum. Only this specific section, "Reef Chemistry" is mine. I'm a chemist, not a software engineer.

My emotional IQ is not good enough to be sure whether you are being sarcastic, and if so, which sentences, so let's just start again.

Let's look at the progression of the discussion to see what exactly I was calling crazy and why so we can have a mutual understanding of things.

you said:

"Permanent pH change with soda ash, temp with baking soda. "
"I guess that's how it permanently changes alk by going creamy chunky and slimy like that.. "
"No matter the amount of soda ash used, it always goes creamy like that on me.
"Maybe boiling baking soda would prevent the cloud.. "

The first sentence is untrue. So is the second, by inference.

The third sentence is exactly normal for any high pH additive. It causes a temporary precipitate of magnesium hydroxide that will mix in and redissolve, assuming you added the alk supplement to a high flow area. If it does not redissolve eventually, add it more slowly to a higher flow area, perhaps with more dilution of fresh water.

The fourth sentence is what spawned my comment about not needing to try crazy things. Since the precipitate is normal, trying to avoid it isn't going to succeed, but we also know that boiling a baking soda solution will convert it to a sodium carbonate solution, and so it will have the same effect as baking the solid first. How complete that conversion is will be determined by how long you boil it.

I have tested and published the exact effects of all of the normal alkalinity additives.

Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) slightly lowers pH when first added.
Washing soda (aka baked baking soda or sodium carbonate or soda ash) boosts pH when first added.
Hydroxide boosts pH about twice as much as sodium carbonate.

Once the aquarium receiving these solutions has a chance to equilibrate with air, the pH moves back in the original direction, to a slightly higher pH value than the start, assuming the air hasn't changed its CO2 levels and the alkalinity remains at the higher boosted level.




.
 

blackstallion

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This was an intriguing thread to read lol...didn't expect this when I googled "BRS Soda Ash precipitation"!!

However, getting back to the ORIGINAL POST, I am having the exact same "issue", with the BRS Soda Ash turning into white snowflakes, even when added into high flow areas.

From what I gather in this thread, it's just Mg precipitating, and will dissolve in the tank? My concern was it would just build up in the tank, and not provide the boost in Alk and pH I'm looking for.
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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This was an intriguing thread to read lol...didn't expect this when I googled "BRS Soda Ash precipitation"!!

However, getting back to the ORIGINAL POST, I am having the exact same "issue", with the BRS Soda Ash turning into white snowflakes, even when added into high flow areas.

From what I gather in this thread, it's just Mg precipitating, and will dissolve in the tank? My concern was it would just build up in the tank, and not provide the boost in Alk and pH I'm looking for.

Yes, it is expected to see initial precipitation, and normal for it to redissolve. if it does not redissolve (e.g., collects in a pile on the bottom), that's problematic, and suggests more dilution, slower addition, or switching to sodium bicarbonate may be preferable in your case.
 

madweazl

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I've used this product since it came out and have had no issues with it. I was dosing about 120ml/day in the 75g and am only doing 26ml/day in our 150g (along with pretty much every dose in between over the past years). I've gone through many bags of it.
 

Roli's Reef Ranch

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What's your PH? If PH is high, you will have precipitation. Take it from a guy with a concrete sandbed.
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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What's your PH? If PH is high, you will have precipitation. Take it from a guy with a concrete sandbed.

High pH and high alk are contributing factors to calcium carbonate precipitation, independent of what you dose to get there. :)

So is new sand, low magnesium, and low phosphate and low organics.

Many of these are hallmarks of new systems, which is why sand hardening is so common in new setups.
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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To try and smooth daily pH swings, would it be advisable to dose the Soda Ash ONLY after lights out, something like 7:30pm-7:30am?

For pH stability, yes, but not for alk stability.

Alkalinity is mostly used during the day.

Which aspect most concerns you may determine when you dose.
 

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