Soda Ash or Sodium Bicarbonate for KH?
 

Soda Ash or Sodium Bicarbonate for KH?. When using one of these products, or having a choice, which is preferred? and why?

Bicarbonate.

Go to the bulk reef website. They have a video explaining the difference.

In fact here is the page.

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/...aquariums.html

Soda Ash is the most commonly used from BRS. It's recipe 1 and meant to raise your ph. Recipe two uses the other but not many people are trying to lower their ph.

No bicarbonate does not lower your ph unless you dose too much.

If you don't need to raise your ph then soda ash will mess your ph up. At least that was my understanding.

Feel free to educate me if I am mistaken. Because then maybe I bought the wrong one.

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/video?file_name=14

Soda ash only temporarily raises the PH so you end up with PH swings... as well as precipitation. A stable, slightly lower PH is better IMO.

+1

Here's where I was getting my info:

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/...t-instructions

Use Recipe 1 if pH is between 7.8 and 8.3

Use Recipe 2 if pH is above 8.3

So now I'm confused. Says right on there recipe 1 is most common?

Why would I get swings if I'm using a doser and it's being spread out evenly throughout the day?

I dose soda ash 16 times per day to keep my alkanity at 8 and it does not affect my PH one bit.

I even dosed 20 times a day, and the PH still went up when the Sodium Carbonate was dosed, then it would slowly normalize due to the CO2 level in the room. Dosing Sodium Bicarbonate did not effect the PH when it was dosed.

Sodium bicarbonate is baking soda which before I ever bought soda ash from brs was always read people were dosing. I was just following BRS ph guidelines when choosing... now I'm a bit worried I should have been using the other (as 35lbs is on its way to me LOL).

Did you bake yours?

No, it was high density soda ash. The baked stuff is likely much more gentle.

I thought baking it changed it to something else?

Also, Using a doser may change product for all I know, but I'm an occasional ( twice weekly) doser. Bicarbonate is my choice anyhow. Based on brs video.

No I meant your baking soda... don't most people bake theirs?

I actually thought baking the baking soda turned it INTO sodium carbonate (soda ash)?

+1. That's what I thought too.

baked baking soda = soda ash = sodium carbonate
plain baking soda = sodium bicarbonate

Yes, that is what it does. I don't think it would be as stong (completely transformed) as high density soda ash, but since I'm way too lazy to bake the baking soda I really don't know.

Then by buying the BRS soda ash all I'm doing is saving myself a step (baking it... according to RHF anyways). His instructions also include the baking of the baking soda (which means he's using soda ash).

Exactly. You might want to cut it with baking soda if you find you get a snow storm when you dose. I found it precipitated out a lot of calcium carbonate when I dosed it pure, almost doubling my calcium chloride consumption.

I've always dosed into my overflow box and it gets mixed up really well actually...

I have been using Soda Ash (BRS) for over a year now and everything appears fine - its what BRS recommends for daily dosing - I follow Recipe 1

I dosed onto the waterfall where my fuge emptied into my sump. Coated the sump in calcium carbonate.

If there is any precip it'd end up in the filter sock and then most likely erode away from there. I have a lot of water going over the 2 foot wide overflow and when I sometimes need to adjust I'll toss 100mL directly in there and it's swished up crystal clear pretty fast.

I have been using the Fauna Marin Sodium Bicarbonate for several years now on a dosing pump and am very happy with the results as you can keep you alk in the 7-7.5 dKh range and my pH is rock solid at 8.3

I would recomend that if you have a high coral load in your tank you should test often, especially if you are trying to maintain your alk close to NSW (7 dKh).