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Random question about 2 part dosing


dante411x

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Normally, like Tom mentioned also, the calcium mix will warm the water a little bit when you stir it/shake it. I didn't know about it until i mixed up my first batch.

Hmm. They both will warm the water though, right?

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Hmm. They both will warm the water though, right?

 

The alk will not get warm like the calcium mix will. I stir in a plastic container, and it heats up pretty good. Never had that experience with the alk mix.

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Huh. Well that's weird then. It definitely gets warm when I mix it.

The "calcium" mix I got definitely warmed the water when I was making the new gallon earlier. However it also has 11.4 ph and it fizzles when mixed with vinegar.

I just did a quick test to make sure and mixed a little bit of the sodium carbonate powder with water. It definitely warms the water as well. Same as the "calcium" one.

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Hmm. They both will warm the water though, right?

You won't get the same exothermic reaction with baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). I don't think that you'll see it either with baked baking soda (sodium carbonate). You will definitely see it with the calcium additive. That is normally calcium chloride - you know it better as an ice melter. That mixer releases energy and warms up rather nicely.

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Huh. Well that's weird then. It definitely gets warm when I mix it.

The "calcium" mix I got definitely warmed the water when I was making the new gallon earlier. However it also has 11.4 ph and it fizzles when mixed with vinegar.

I just did a quick test to make sure and mixed a little bit of the sodium carbonate powder with water. It definitely warms the water as well. Same as the "calcium" one.

The release of heat will probably be more with sodium carbonate than bicarbonate. But I think that you'll see more released with the calcium chloride. I'd really have to go back to my references to see how much to expect each to release when they dissociate.

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Calcium chloride mixed according to Randy's 2 part recipe actually began to melt my mixing container.. I now shake it with the container submerged in a sink full of cold water.

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Well, I went and got the real calcium :) mixed it up, and it got way hotter than the sodium carbonate ever did. Making another 50 gallons of saltwater, should be done by tomorrow.. Doser is back online and set to no alk, full dose of calcium and normal mag.

Thanks for all the help y'all! I'm still a little freaked out that if I left it for a few more weeks without noticing this, my tank would have crashed. -_-

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Glad you're on track. Keep a close eye out on re-packaged bulk chemicals. Sounds like you ran into a labeling problem. Please provide feedback to your source so they can be aware and correct the problem. Your experience may help others avoid the same problem and, ultimately, help the source keep the confidence of their customers. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well! It's been 10 days since the switch. Just tested everything, and while calcium and magnesium are still low, they're coming up. Alk is slowly going down :)

 

Here's what I got today:

Cal - 340

Alk - 9.1

Mag - 1180

 

This is compared to calcium around 310, almost 13 alk and 1000 magnesium 10 days ago!

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FWIW, the 2 chemicals taste drastically different.

Exothermic reaction happens with both but different by degrees. I've had an alk bottle almost pop after mixing it with water, shaking it up, then capping it.

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