Baking soda user ???? Why ???

[MATTT]

I have a very successful 75gal reef tank right now, and have been dripping kalk like normal. I know that a few reefer have been using baking soda and food graded lime powder instead of marine kalk. How do you do that ? and does it really work ?

Matt.

 

[Anemone]

Kalk and "food graded lime powder" (Pickling lime) are the same thing.

Baking soda, OTOH, is the same as marine "buffering" powders. You don't need to add baking soda with pickling lime (Mrs. Wages and Ball's are two pickling limes that get mentioned a lot).

Kevin

 

[Nathan1]

In a reef you NEED Calcium AND Carbonate. Both Kalk and Pickeling lime give you this. Baking Soda gives you pure Carbonate, but no calcium. So if you want to use baking soda, you will also need a calcium supplement like Kent's Turbo Calcium.

Both Kalk and Pickeling lime (in essence the same thing) raise your pH. If you have a hard time with high pH, you can add calcium and carbonate separately by using baking soda and Turbo Calcium. That's the main reason why people do it. Also dripping kalk is a *pain-in-the-a$$*, and that's another reason. It's also the reason why people buy a calcium reactor which inputs both calcium and carbonate.

-Nathan

 

[esmithiii]

I dose Kalk and I cannot keep my alk up w/out adding buffer.

E

 

[MATTT]

Thanks for the reply every one.

But where do you buy pickling lime ? For baking soda, do you mean the yellow box that has an arm holding a hammer ?

Thanks, again

Mattt.

 

[mgk65]

Pickling Lime is available in the canning section of most grocery stores.

The two brands I know about are Mrs. Wages and Balls.

mgk

 

[esmithiii]

FWIW- Dripping kalk is not that big of a pain if you have the right equipment. Granted, it is not as easy as a Ca Reactor, but is not that big of a deal with the right tools.

Ernie

 

[MATTT]

Laurie, when you said arm and hammer washing soda. You mean the one that came in a small yellow box with an arm and hammer right ? Then what is baking soda ? And, what is the container look like. All these time, I thought baking so da is baking soda.

Thanks,

Mattt.

 

[Laurie]

I wouldn't add straight baking soda to my tank either. I use the homemade mix of 6 parts baking soda to 1 part Arm and Hammer washing soda. There is a reason for this that I used to know but cannot remember now. The washing soda offsets something - duh!

I also use Mrs. Wages pickling lime and spike it with white vinegar. I have a 32 gal. food grade trashcan set up with a Liter Meter which pumps about 7 liters per day to my tank. All of my top off water is kalk. I still have to use Turbo Calcium as well.