DIY KZ Coral Snow (with >97% purity)

[elysics]

I believe Mike Paletta has stated he uses it to kill vermetids. You feed the tank super heavy and get them to come out. Then immediately dose coral snow and it will choke them

It is not reef safe for filter feeders then? Or is that exclusive to vermetid snails? Anyone got experience how clams, sponges, tube worms, tunicate etc react?

 

[vetteguy53081]

I use this with inverts and never had an issue

 

[notclear]

Never have problem with anything, even vermetid snails!

 

[DxMarinefish]

It is not reef safe for filter feeders then? Or is that exclusive to vermetid snails? Anyone got experience how clams, sponges, tube worms, tunicate etc react?

I use this formula and the original KZ coral
Snow with over 20 feather dusters, clams, sponges, truncates, gorgonians, etc with no I’ll effect for over 7 years..with no skimmer…Instead I use a combination of Seachem Purigen, Hypersorb & CupriSorb in two bags. I have had no ill effect to tank inhabitants. I have tons of circulation in the sump!

I now have a skimmer running (last 2 yes) but I don’t collect the skimate, it just goes back into the tank. So skimmer just for oxygen exchange with air fed from outside the house

 

[tjara03]

Hopefully ok the bump this up…

anyone know if this would be ok to use?

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/zoo-med-repticalcium-without-d3

 

[iLMaRiO]

Little bit OT: if Coral snow Is carbonate, it's supposed to increase the kH?

 

[rtparty]

Little bit OT: if Coral snow Is carbonate, it's supposed to increase the kH?

Calcium carbonate is not soluble in our tanks. This won't increase any parameters

 

[rtparty]

Hopefully ok the bump this up…

anyone know if this would be ok to use?

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/zoo-med-repticalcium-without-d3

If it is powdered calcium carbonate, it should work

 

[Karliefish]

UPDATE : I made a few bottles of this already and have been using this now almost daily since October , i don't use any form of carbon and i have to say that my water has been absolutely crystal clear ! Others have also commented on how clear my water has been lately so i will continue to use this daily , its cheap and easy to make . I will admit at first i thought this was just going to be another DIY recipe with no visible results ...... I haven't changed anything else since October and there is a definite difference in water clarity !

AND .............. Its food grade product !!

Really appreciate your post which has motivated me to try it. What product did you buy on Amazon? And who’s post did you use for mixing instructions? Many thanks.

 

[Rmckoy]

Where can I buy food grade chalk to make my own coral snow?

This is the one I bought years ago . There was a recipe at that time to mix this entire bottle with rodi water ( believe it was 750ml
But can’t remember exactly .
Can’t remember how much was dosed either .

 

[notclear]

Add the above powder to 680ml ro/di water to make about 740ml diy coral snow.

 

[Rmckoy]

Add the above powder to 680ml ro/di water to make about 740ml diy coral snow.

Thank you

 

[Rmckoy]

Add the above powder to 680ml ro/di water to make about 740ml diy coral snow.

And to jog my memory with how
Much is dosed ?

does it matter if this bottles expiry date is passed but it’s still sealed ?

 

[notclear]

The real coral snow dosage is 1ml/25 gallons. I have been following this as well.

 

[Rmckoy]

The real coral snow dosage is 1ml/25 gallons. I have been following this as well.

Daily or weekly ?

Other than clarity and removing organics is there any other perks of dosing ?

 

[notclear]

Daily.

 

[Rmckoy]

Daily.

Dose # 1 done . Wife just said it Looks similar to a bacterial bloom I had that wiped out my whole system .

 

[1mbrews8]

trying it out now... fingers crossed!

 

[DIFish]

So Korallen Zucht's Zeovit product line has been around for a while. It contains many products, but one that finds usefulness outside of the ultra low nutrient setups is Coral Snow. In addition, the claims that KZ makes about it are not completely absurd and actually lie in the science of it. They claim it is a 'calcium-magnesium carbonate mix' (aka MgCO₃ and CaCO₃). When dried, it looks like an off-white confectioners sugar, extremely fine ground powder.

It is essentially a calcite chalk. Yes, the same stuff that teachers used to write on chalkboards with, that is bought for pennies and sold in RO/DI at nearly $120 per liter.

Despite being expensive, it does have its benefits. Organics adhere to its surface, as do particulates, acting as a flocculent, being easily removed via protein skimming or small micron mechanical filtration. This leads to unparalleled water clarity.

Thankfully there is a cheaper way to get that same clarifying effect. You can purchase food grade calcium carbonate powder, minimum 97% purity, for around $9 per pound, less if you order more (but that's not really necessary).

It comes as a very fine powder. You will want to mix it with water before dosing. The amount of KZ product in each mL (after it is very well-shaken to thoroughly mix) is 0.4g. This is a bit less than 1/8 teaspoon, and this is good for roughly 100 liters aquarium volume (25 gallons). You can either just put the dry powder into a small container and mix right there, or you can create a stock solution.

For a 250mL solution, use 5 level tablespoons (roughly 115 grams) of CaCO₃ powder and add roughly 230mL of RO/DI water. This should mix right about 250mL. The powder will NOT dissolve, it will stay suspended in the water. Will look like this when you're done.

Mix thoroughly before dosing, and dose 1mL per 100L volume (25 gallons) whenever you feel like. No harm in doing it daily, twice a day, once a week, etc, as it gets removed from the water column. It won't raise your pH, calcium, or alkalinity, as the powder will not dissolve in a reef aquarium, the pH is too high. You can even double, triple the dose without consequence. Your tank will look like this (or actually a bit cloudier, as this is roughly an hour post-dose) for a few hours, then will clear up with much higher clarity than before.

Happy reefing!

Have been using this to great results so thank you for sharing. What are your thoughts on using this in a freshwater system without a skimmer? Do you think it would change the water parameters being freshwater vs salt?

Edit- Realized OP has been inactive for years. Tagging @Randy Holmes-Farley to see if he has any thoughts on Coral Snow and freshwater usage.

 

[ctopherl]

It could be some impurities in it that caused the cloudiness. The one linked originally is 97% pure 1 lb Food Grade 97+% Calcium Carbonate from Ground Limestone

Hm this product looks like the same thing maybe there’s been a switch over the years from the seller. The title says 97% but product label clearly says 94% in picture so that’s frustrating.