chemical reaction with supplements

[radar!]

i use sea chem's "builder" and "calcium" supplements for my tanks. i know a chemical reaction will happen if the two supplements are combined in the same container upon adding it to the water. i don't do it myself but i also don't know how to illustrate why it's important not to do this to someone i know who does this. any ideas or illustrations?

 

[Anonymous]

Not too sure what is in the builder, but can you mix them and see anything happening visually?

 

[Anonymous]

I think the worry is they will form calcium carbonate and precipitate out of the water column.

You might try calcium chloride for calcium and baking soda for the carbonate. Bout the same thing but much cheaper. here is a thread on the results of that process: http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.p ... highlight=

 

[radar!]

i just mixed a cup of the two and expected a precipitate to form but it only produced much effervescence. the colour of the mixture was opaque white. i still don't think it's good practice but don't know the harm of it all either.

 

[polcat]

Reef "calcium" is gluconated calcium meaning in laymens terms sugar based. Reef "builder" is KH buffer meaning some type of carbonate. Add into all this the manufacturers marketing lingo and basically the two products "should not" precipitate calcium carbonate as the gluconate is a totally different product. That said, I wouldn't use either of these products. I used the reef "calcium" and it fueled an algae bloom. The reef "builder" is amusing in that it says it raises KH buffer while not effecting PH and also increases calcium. Not sure how that's possible in one product? kalk will do it but PH will be increased? Calcium chloride and sodium bicarbonate mixed together would do it but at the risk of precipitation? Maybe we have a chemist around here that could help us understand....

 

[Anonymous]

but it only produced much effervescence. the colour of the mixture was opaque white.

What you witnessed was a precipitation event. The "opaque white" was a cup full of freshly formed Calcium carbonate crystals.

 

[Anonymous]

Once it come out of the solution like that it is pretty hard for you to put the calcium back into the sea water to be used for the coral. You just wasted the supplement.

 

[polcat]

Hmmm, did you mix the two together in water, saltwater, or just with each other?

Pretty unlikely anything precipitated if you just mixed these two together based on the makeup of the products. If you mixed it in SW I would expect it.

 

[radar!]

i mixed them in a container of salt water from the sump. nothing precipitated - just appeared quite cloudy when i poured a bit back into the sump.