water vs water.

[tosiek]

So, been thinking lately about a thought (ironic huh) about a topic that was beeing discussed on making your own alk/calc buffer. Where people would bake the mixture to take out any water that was in the mix and people that didn't bake it enough still had moisture in the mix and it caused algae problems. Which started me thinking about the amount of water in the mix before baking and if its half baked :pimp:.

Now, I have this tendancy to wash my hands after playing with the tank or coral which i've been doing alot since i got the tank up and running. And sometimes you forget something or something topples over or the glue doesn't hold and you need to stick your hand back in. I wash my hands b/c smoking a salty cigarette sucks and soemtimes you get coral goo on your hands and i've already had my face go numb once from it getting on a cigarette.

Now the whole buffer cooking thing got me thinking how much water is really going into the tank from the buffer system that was home made. It can't be more than 2-5 ML of water when its half baked and people have had problems with algae b/c of it. Which led me to start thinking how well do i dry my hands before sticking them back in and how much of that water is absorbed by my hands which is then released (maybe) back into the tank when the hand goes back in.

I've had a cyano problem i can't get rid if. Its not bad, doesn't hurt anything and it comes and goes but i'm starting to think part of the reason i've been getting it is because of that.

When i had my 24g set up and running i never had an algae problem, or never noticed one due to inverts taking care of the problem but i used to wash out the skimmer cup with water :smash: from the tap and put it back with just wiping down the part that touches the water. Pretty sure i had a drop or two worth of water going into the tank every 3 days or so and never had cyano besides the normal cycle before i got the skimmer. And everything was healthy.

Discuss. Or call me a moron :type:. No tang topics on water addition due to the use of tangs in a small tank plz.

 

[masterswimmer]

I can't imagine that the droplets of water on your hands would have any effect on your tank. We're talking about parts per billion (maybe even smaller quantities). I think this is the point of diminishing returns.

swimmer

 

[tosiek]

But you would also thing that the dosing for the calk/calk buffer would also be Ppm. Yet people started to get algae blooms which using it and dissapear when going b-ionic or kalwass.

 

[masterswimmer]

The home made alk/Ca buffers might have other 'unknown's' in there as well. The B-Ionic or factory processed equivalent might have a higher purity and control level.

 

[Deanos]

Initially, I thought the baking was to "bind" impurities in the baking soda which may lead to algae blooms. After just re-reading Randy's recipe, he states it is to drive off excess carbon dioxide and water. I guess I'm still confused

 

[kimoyo]

So, been thinking lately about a thought (ironic huh) about a topic that was beeing discussed on making your own alk/calc buffer. Where people would bake the mixture to take out any water that was in the mix and people that didn't bake it enough still had moisture in the mix and it caused algae problems. Which started me thinking about the amount of water in the mix before baking and if its half baked :pimp:.

Nah, nah, nah. You bake the baking soda to drive off CO2, not the water. The expelled water is a side effect. You do it for various reason but primarily it helps you to keep your ph high. Baking soda is good stuff, its food grade. Now if those people used baking powder thats a different story because the baking powder has phosphates in it. Or maybe they got algae issues because of a whole bunch of other reasons. HTH.

 

[kimoyo]

Initially, I thought the baking was to "bind" impurities in the baking soda which may lead to algae blooms. After just re-reading Randy's recipe, he states it is to drive off excess carbon dioxide and water. I guess I'm still confused

Deanos, just like opening a window to let out CO2 and fresh air in to raise your tanks ph. We're baking it to raise the ph of the solution.

 

[meschaefer]

My understanding is that, as Deanos said, the purpose of baking it is to drive off excess Co2 and Water. The CO2, is partially concentrated in the water so driving out the water also drives out the CO2. Randy Holmes Farley does not reccomend doing this if your tank's PH is high, but only when your PH is at a desirable or low level. This is because the CO2 will bring the PH down.

I don't think that baking the baking soda has anything to do with wheather someone has an algae problem or not, when dosing Randy's Two Part.

 

[Dj Orion]

you get coral goo on your hands and i've already had my face go numb once from it getting on a cigarette.

Please PM me who your coral dealer is, there may be a market for this lol :smokin:

 

[noodleman]

you bake the baking soda to drive off CO2 and water, which is a by product of a chemical reaction happening there...the heat causes the sodium bicarbonate to become sodium carbonate, which can dissolve at higher amounts then sodium bicarb can and a better base