randys 2 part caution from randy himself

[doog]

FWIW, I do not know what other brands might be suitable, and what might not.

I think I'll have to put a disclaimer in the the online article.


__________________
Randy Holmes-Farley

Hobby Experience: >10 years with reefs
Current Tanks: 120 and 90 gallon mixed reefs
Interests: Reefkeeping, science, photography


http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1271282

 

[chew*]

Not a big deal to me, I was on the other side of the camp anyway, if it's not designed to be poured in a reef tank then don't do it...........fwiw kalk works fine...

 

[MikeG]

Well, thats not good news. Appears it was changed quite a while ago, 2005! More motivation to get my calcium reactor project finished.

 

[Reef55]

hmm... jury is still seemingly out on whether or not twopartsolution.com's food grade stuff is up to par or not.

 

[Liam]

Not a big deal to me, I was on the other side of the camp anyway, if it's not designed to be poured in a reef tank then don't do it...........fwiw kalk works fine...

was kalk originally designed for pouring into a reef tank then

 

[customclimates]

Well that figures… LOL! I sold my calcium reactor due to a very low demand & figured I would just dose my tank. Yup that’s right; dose it with what ( TWO PARTS )

 

[smcnally]

was kalk originally designed for pouring into a reef tank then

LOL, I was thinking the same thing. Chew, a lot of stuff we put in our tanks aren't designed for pouring in reef tanks. A lot of it is basic stuff with a fishy sticker on the front of it.

 

[smithcreek]

was kalk originally designed for pouring into a reef tank then

AH!!! Now it all makes sense! I could never figure out why they call it Mrs. Wages Pickling Lime instead of Mrs. Wages Balanced Calcium and Alkalinity Reef Tank Supplement.

 

[dz6t]

on the bright side, you don't need to worry about dosing Br. I wish their Iodide level also goes up too.

 

[pvh]

Today is a good day to start using your Dowflake. I'll be using it on my driveway and sidewalk.

 

[stingythingy45]

Great,
Get into hobby.......no more Southdown.
Wait for Dowflake to come out..........can't use it.
So much for saving a little $$$$.
Can Greg Hiller test the Dow Flake for bromide % of the stuff that's in the market now?

 

[JeremyR]

The mrs wages is FOOD GRADE, that's a huge difference there. The dow/mag flakes are road grade.

 

[chew*]

Love the snappy remarks but like i said before in another thread kent marine and ESV to name a couple have alot more to lose by me making posts over the internet about how they're product are no longer safe for a reef tank than ice melt companies..........and since I got snappy remarks here's mine, I TOLD YOU SO!!!!!!!!

 

[dz6t]

the Br level may not be a big deal after all.

 

[Greg Hiller]

>Can Greg Hiller test the Dow Flake for bromide %<

I don't directly have access to any equipment that can test for bromide. It would probably require ICP analysis. There was a company I sent some samples for ICP analysis many years ago that was pretty reasonable, but since it looks like there is no good source of CaCl2 for the future on this, I think those using homemade two-part solutions are going to be out of luck.

I guess I'm going to have to check my old bags of Dowflake. I hope they were purchased a long while back.

 

[Greg Hiller]

FWIW, I just did some calculations based on the changes in the composition of the Dowflake (as listed in the letter posted that was from Dow). For some tank uses it's probably still just fine.

I usually use it primarily for occasional re-adjustments to the Calcium level in my tanks. For this use I might boost calcium by 100 ppm or so at a time, maybe once every few months. If you do the numbers I believe using the newer Dowflake compositions you'd end up adding about 3.9 ppm Bromide ion to your tank water along with that 100 ppm boost in calcium. Since bromide at NSW concentrations is already 67 ppm, this would be just a 5.8% increase in bromide concentration...not enough to be worried about IMO. As long as you do occasional water changes, using Dowflake to boost calcium once in a while should still be fine.

 

[JeremyR]

I'll never understand the willingness by many to buy $200 designer frags that are the size of a dime who then go and use icemelt for their tank maintenance. Everyone likes to save money, but I think it's nuts. I don't have a problem with epsom salts, it's USP and you know what you are buying, but this other stuff is completely unregulated and untested.

 

[TomD]

Fwiw, if anyone is in a bind I have enough of the old stuff to last me 2+ years at the rate I am going.

 

[customclimates]

Interesting thread here today. Maybe I will start thinking about another calcium reactor. I have two bags
of Dow flake but they are in a clean barrel so I do not have the bar code to see if it is o.k. to use! Looks like it is driveway food ...

 

[rbike1331]

that stinks i just picked up two 50 lb bags i guess i will use it in my drive