DIY all for reef not mixing together

[Cell]

Final product for the most part, needs a little more mixing, but pretty close and pretty fast for hand mix no heat.

 

[Shirak]

Measured everything perfectly in grams and im still getting a slurry

What happens if you let it sit still with no mixing for 30 minutes or so?

My magnetic stirrer has a max of 1000rpm... I run about half that speed. Just enough to keep the particles swirling but not fast enough to suck air down the vortex at the center. I also heat the water to about 110-120 or so.

Does your carbo ca look like fine particles of sand? I guess it's possible something is wrong with it but based on your previous photo it looks like a super fine suspension of air to me.

 

[PegasisR]

What happens if you let it sit still with no mixing for 30 minutes or so?

My magnetic stirrer has a max of 1000rpm... I run about half that speed. Just enough to keep the particles swirling but not fast enough to suck air down the vortex at the center. I also heat the water to about 110-120 or so.

Does your carbo ca look like fine particles of sand? I guess it's possible something is wrong with it but based on your previous photo it looks like a super fine suspension of air to me.

It turns into a viscous clump that can't be stirred at all and I have heated the water before aswell with no mixing. The carbo calcium also had little tiny rocks of carbo, I would say 99% is sand like particles but not fine particles

 

[Shirak]

Maybe @Lou Ekus can help.. I have no further ideas on what could be going on

 

[Lou Ekus]

@PegasisR I've read through this thread and I'm sorry to say that I can't see anything you are doing wrong from what you have said. That being said, the result you are getting is absolutely not correct. We have a LOT of Carbocalcium out in the field, and a LOT of people using the DIY AFR method, and I have to say, I have not seen this issue come up before. I also don't believe that we have ever had a "bad batch" of Carbocalcium or AFR. So I am at a loss for what is going on in your process. As a first step, can you send me in email ([email protected]) or post here, the lot number of your Carbocalcium? I want to see when it was made. The only other thing I can think to do, is to have you send me a small sample of the Carbocalcium, so I can check its solubility here in our office.

I assume there is some "variable" that has not come up in this thread, that we are missing. But I can't think what that might be. As I said, with all the product we have out there, I have not seen this issue come up before. So chances are we are missing something! I just don't know what that is yet.

 

[Shirak]

@PegasisR I've read through this thread and I'm sorry to say that I can't see anything you are doing wrong from what you have said. That being said, the result you are getting is absolutely not correct. We have a LOT of Carbocalcium out in the field, and a LOT of people using the DIY AFR method, and I have to say, I have not seen this issue come up before. I also don't believe that we have ever had a "bad batch" of Carbocalcium or AFR. So I am at a loss for what is going on in your process. As a first step, can you send me in email ([email protected]) or post here, the lot number of your Carbocalcium? I want to see when it was made. The only other thing I can think to do, is to have you send me a small sample of the Carbocalcium, so I can check its solubility here in our office.

I assume there is some "variable" that has not come up in this thread, that we are missing. But I can't think what that might be. As I said, with all the product we have out there, I have not seen this issue come up before. So chances are we are missing something! I just don't know what that is yet.

Thanks for helping out Lou! really strange for sure.

 

[Shirak]

Is it possible it's the bio calcium? Only other thing I can think of..
Maybe the OP was sent bio calcium by mistake and didn't catch the error? The containers look kinda similar.

 

[Lsuhunter]

Is it possible it's the bio calcium? Only other thing I can think of..

This was my thought as well.

When I mixed mine, I use a 1.5 liter bottle and shake it versus stir. I also heated up a pot of hot water and would put the bottle in there to warm the solution every once in awhile.

 

[Lou Ekus]

Is it possible it's the bio calcium? Only other thing I can think of..
Maybe the OP was sent bio calcium by mistake and didn't catch the error? The containers look kinda similar.

Haha....I thought that too! It is the only thing I can think of that could actually react like this. I figured I would find that out directly from @PegasisR when we touched base on this. But great observation @Shirak . Maybe you need to get a job in the office here with TM!?!?!?!?!

 

[Shirak]

Haha....I thought that too! It is the only thing I can think of that could actually react like this. I figured I would find that out directly from @PegasisR when we touched base on this. But great observation @Shirak . Maybe you need to get a job in the office here with TM!?!?!?!?!

OOO well if my wife ever kicks me and all my reef tanks out of the house I know where I can go!! )

 

[PegasisR]

Guys, I've found the problem.... it was bio calcium. I'll get some carbo calcium asap, thank you all and @Lou Ekus for the help

 

[Shirak]

Guys, I've found the problem.... it was bio calcium. I'll get some carbo calcium asap, thank you all and @Lou Ekus for the help

Glad you found the problem!!

 

[PegasisR]

I was so confident in having carbo and buying carbo calcium that I blindly mixed the ingredients together... and didn't even realize it was the wrong ingredient XD

 

[Shirak]

I was so confident in having carbo and buying carbo calcium that I blindly mixed the ingredients together... and didn't even realize it was the wrong ingredient XD

All good now and you can get the proper stuff

 

[PegasisR]

All good now and you can get the proper stuff

Just ordered 1400g of carbo calcium, haha!