-
******* To read about the changes to the marketplace click here
DIY Calc Alk
- Thread starter sciknen
- Start date
RiverReefer
Toothless Reefing
its baking soda not baking powder..don't make that mistake
mors3000
Non-member
ok this is an old thread but im curious about randys 2 part I was thinking about using it and just started testing it an first off is the baking soda just tested at 10.0 ppm phosphate??? is that because I used wallmart brand? Ive been thinking about more sps and from what I understand adding phosphate laden product would cause sps not to grow...???? I hear alot of good about this system but now Im curious
I've been using baking soda and Dow Flakes for calcium for years with no issues.
Im not sure why you tested baking soda for PO4.But,as far as I know,baking soda is baking soda no matter where it comes from.
I get mine in the BIG bag from BJs.
Im not sure why you tested baking soda for PO4.But,as far as I know,baking soda is baking soda no matter where it comes from.
I get mine in the BIG bag from BJs.
I found this doing a search one day. If you bake one pound and mix it with either 5 or 6 pounds of unbaked baking soda, the PH will be around 8.3 --- now I cant remember if it was a 1:5 or 1:6 ratio. Maybe someone can post what I am talking about, if not I will try to find it later and post it.
You can bake all of it if you want and drive off the CO2.
I don't because I don't believe in chasing PH.I just keep the alk in check.
I don't because I don't believe in chasing PH.I just keep the alk in check.
But if its all baked it will increase your PH. This way PH stays somewhere in the middle not low and not high.
I should note that mixing baked and unbaked soda will not act as a buffer.
Last edited:
dcforester1
Finally enjoying my tank
I have been using it to make adjustments, as I have a cal reactor I never had any issues, and I am sure its the same stuff you buy from BRS or something like that.
Not sure what you mean by this.
I've baked the baking soda and not baked it,all of it.
And have never really seen any change in PH.But,then again I rarely test for that anyways.
I wouldn't drive yourself crazy and try and mix ratios.Just mix it unbaked and use it for alk suppliments.
Agree,although Mag. takes much longer to be depleted in a tank.
It's important to keep alk and calcium stable.
Baked baking soda increases PH. Unbaked baking soda lowers PH but it changes PH less than baked baking soda. Hahah. Or something like that.
Some people have PH around 7.9, so you want to be careful when dosing unbaked baking soda. If your PH is around 8.4 you want to be careful when dosing baked baking soda. So a mix is the best of both worlds. Im not an ALK expert so you should still double check and do some research if you want.
I also dont measure PH anymore. I gave up on reading those stupid colors.
Anyways, like everything, there is a way to over complicate things. I just mixed 1lbs of baked with 5lbs of unbaked and never measured PH again. Everything is doing fine.
Last edited:
mors3000
Non-member
ok Ive been topping off with kw for some time simply by adding some to a 6 gal bucket filling with ro letting stand for 8 to 24 hrs and then syphoning into my sump.. the system is 200 gal total and I have a chemist's ph meter so I started watching that pretty close and ph stays pretty stable maybe a little low but not much approx 8.06 if I do some water changes with this dosing method It might rise to 8.15 so I wasn't woried about ph....
the reason I tested the baking soda ro mix was a lfs told me not to use this system because po4 in the baking soda and then I was told by the same person that would realy slow sps growth....
what started me on this mission was I changed saltmixes I went from reef crystals to norman instant ocean the reef crystals caused all of my corals to grow like crazy... that led me to think I might kneed to dose other nutrients so I pulled out the full kent line and started a low dose and the coral started to look better.. but almost no growth??? so now ive been thinking that po4 might be the problem though maybe magnesium after reading randys 2 part because ca is appox 500 kh seems solid at 8 not budging... so would low mg cause slowed growth of all coral?? I had zoos that were like weeds I would blink and they would doubble in size...
My reef has been running a soid 15 years but latley ive been trying to stepup my game and keep some sps and I have some but I want to have sucess with it I think my setup is starting to get close to whats kneeded damb this hobby can be confusing sometimes
the reason I tested the baking soda ro mix was a lfs told me not to use this system because po4 in the baking soda and then I was told by the same person that would realy slow sps growth....
what started me on this mission was I changed saltmixes I went from reef crystals to norman instant ocean the reef crystals caused all of my corals to grow like crazy... that led me to think I might kneed to dose other nutrients so I pulled out the full kent line and started a low dose and the coral started to look better.. but almost no growth??? so now ive been thinking that po4 might be the problem though maybe magnesium after reading randys 2 part because ca is appox 500 kh seems solid at 8 not budging... so would low mg cause slowed growth of all coral?? I had zoos that were like weeds I would blink and they would doubble in size...
My reef has been running a soid 15 years but latley ive been trying to stepup my game and keep some sps and I have some but I want to have sucess with it I think my setup is starting to get close to whats kneeded damb this hobby can be confusing sometimes
"Unbaked baking soda lowers PH but it changes PH less than baked baking soda"
I've never heard of this or seen it happen in years of using baking soda to raise ALK,not PH.
If you raise alk with baking soda reguardless if it's baked or not PH will rise.
PH follows alk.
True baking the baking soda will raise PH a little bit more.
You simply have to measure your alk,dose a small amount of mixed baking soda supplement and see how much your alk and PH raise.
I personally never test PH,as long as my alk is between 7-11 dkh I could care less where the PH is.
There's also a calculator for showing how much Randy's 2 part it would take to raise alk.I'll see if I can locate this.
It give an approx. amout of supplement to the amount somebody need to raise it.
I've never heard of this or seen it happen in years of using baking soda to raise ALK,not PH.
If you raise alk with baking soda reguardless if it's baked or not PH will rise.
PH follows alk.
True baking the baking soda will raise PH a little bit more.
You simply have to measure your alk,dose a small amount of mixed baking soda supplement and see how much your alk and PH raise.
I personally never test PH,as long as my alk is between 7-11 dkh I could care less where the PH is.
There's also a calculator for showing how much Randy's 2 part it would take to raise alk.I'll see if I can locate this.
It give an approx. amout of supplement to the amount somebody need to raise it.
