dante411x September 4, 2014 Author Share September 4, 2014 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime September 4, 2014 Share September 4, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dante411x September 4, 2014 Author Share September 4, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami September 4, 2014 Share September 4, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dante411x September 4, 2014 Author Share September 4, 2014 It's also very easily possible that I've no idea what the calcium chloride reaction looks like. Since apparently I've never mixed it before Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami September 4, 2014 Share September 4, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Decadence September 4, 2014 Share September 4, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dante411x September 4, 2014 Author Share September 4, 2014 Oh wow. Yeah, it got warm, but nowhere near that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dante411x September 5, 2014 Author Share September 5, 2014 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. -_- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami September 5, 2014 Share September 5, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dante411x September 15, 2014 Author Share September 15, 2014 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dante411x September 15, 2014 Author Share September 15, 2014 Everything in the tank is responding very well. And I even acclimated my black Molly that I've had in freshwater for a year to take care of the algae in the frag tank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k September 17, 2014 Share September 17, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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