Canreef Aquatics Bulletin Board  

Go Back   Canreef Aquatics Bulletin Board > General > Reef

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 10-23-2002, 05:22 PM
Aquattro's Avatar
Aquattro Aquattro is offline
Just a guy..
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Victoria, BC
Posts: 18,053
Aquattro is a jewel in the roughAquattro is a jewel in the roughAquattro is a jewel in the roughAquattro is a jewel in the rough
Default Who has used washing soda for buffer?

What brand and did you get soapy bubbles from it?

Thanks
__________________
Brad
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 10-23-2002, 05:26 PM
reefburnaby reefburnaby is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Burnaby, B.C.
Posts: 766
reefburnaby is on a distinguished road
Default

Hi,

Arm & Hammer.

- Victor.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 10-23-2002, 05:49 PM
Aquattro's Avatar
Aquattro Aquattro is offline
Just a guy..
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Victoria, BC
Posts: 18,053
Aquattro is a jewel in the roughAquattro is a jewel in the roughAquattro is a jewel in the roughAquattro is a jewel in the rough
Default

Victor, any bubbles? I used a brand called VIP and they treat their product with a surfactant. Like a box of Tide in the city water fountain!
__________________
Brad
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 10-23-2002, 06:37 PM
Delphinus's Avatar
Delphinus Delphinus is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Calgary
Posts: 12,896
Delphinus has a spectacular aura aboutDelphinus has a spectacular aura aboutDelphinus has a spectacular aura about
Send a message via MSN to Delphinus
Default

Does your Arm & Hammer have a "fresh scent" to it? The boxes a bunch of us over here got had some kind of lemony-fresh zesty scent to it. Nowhere on the box does it say what ELSE there is in the box other than just sodium carbonate or bicarbonate whatever one it is. In the end, none of us dared to try it in our reefs because of that. If there is some additional detergent in there ...

The guys at RC who use A&H swear there is no scent to the stuff. The stuff I buy periodically ... it definitely has a scent. :? (It all ends up being used for laundry. Don't trust that scent.)
__________________
-- Tony
My next hobby will be flooding my basement while repeatedly banging my head against a brick wall and tearing up $100 bills. Whee!
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 10-23-2002, 09:36 PM
reefburnaby reefburnaby is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Burnaby, B.C.
Posts: 766
reefburnaby is on a distinguished road
Default

Hi,

I think Arm & Hammer only sells their Super Washing Soda so I think you are smelling something else....your nose burning from the caustic powder ?

Washing soda is caustic and it will feel very slippery when dissolved in water. This can be confirmed by measuring the pH and it should be around 11.5. So, it is not a very good idea to smell this stuff. Washing soda is Sodium Carbonate and Baking Soda is Sodium Bicarbonate. You can also make washing soda by baking Baking Soda in the oven. Just bake at 350F for an hour or so. Again, you can use the pH method to figure out if you have washing or baking soda. Baking soda has a pH of around 7.8.

However, the main purpose of the 1 to 6 ratio is that the buffer solution has roughly the same pH as the NSW. Baking soda has a lower pH and Washing soda has a higher pH -- the correct ratio gives about 8.2-8.4 pH. There is nothing wrong with just adding baking soda or just washing soda, but the pH will temporarily shift a bit. However, this state is temporary and it will re-establish a new bicarbonate/carbonate ratio for the given tank conditions. The final ratio may be 1 to 7 or 1 to 6.5, but the water will automatically do that for us.

Hope that helps.

- Victor.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 10-23-2002, 10:35 PM
Aquattro's Avatar
Aquattro Aquattro is offline
Just a guy..
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Victoria, BC
Posts: 18,053
Aquattro is a jewel in the roughAquattro is a jewel in the roughAquattro is a jewel in the roughAquattro is a jewel in the rough
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by reefburnaby
Hi,

I think Arm & Hammer only sells their Super Washing Soda so I think you are smelling something else....your nose burning from the caustic powder ?

Washing soda is caustic and it will feel very slippery when dissolved in water. This can be confirmed by measuring the pH and it should be around 11.5. So, it is not a very good idea to smell this stuff. Washing soda is Sodium Carbonate and Baking Soda is Sodium Bicarbonate. You can also make washing soda by baking Baking Soda in the oven. Just bake at 350F for an hour or so. Again, you can use the pH method to figure out if you have washing or baking soda. Baking soda has a pH of around 7.8.

However, the main purpose of the 1 to 6 ratio is that the buffer solution has roughly the same pH as the NSW. Baking soda has a lower pH and Washing soda has a higher pH -- the correct ratio gives about 8.2-8.4 pH. There is nothing wrong with just adding baking soda or just washing soda, but the pH will temporarily shift a bit. However, this state is temporary and it will re-establish a new bicarbonate/carbonate ratio for the given tank conditions. The final ratio may be 1 to 7 or 1 to 6.5, but the water will automatically do that for us.

Hope that helps.

- Victor.
Wonderful, but do you get any bubbles?? :?
__________________
Brad
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 10-24-2002, 12:30 AM
reefburnaby reefburnaby is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Burnaby, B.C.
Posts: 766
reefburnaby is on a distinguished road
Default

Hi,

Bubbles...not really...nothing like dish washing detergent. Do you get bubbles when you mix kalk ?

- Victor.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 10-24-2002, 02:45 AM
Aquattro's Avatar
Aquattro Aquattro is offline
Just a guy..
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Victoria, BC
Posts: 18,053
Aquattro is a jewel in the roughAquattro is a jewel in the roughAquattro is a jewel in the roughAquattro is a jewel in the rough
Default

Victor, I got tons of bubbles from the VIP brand of washing soda. Turns out they add a surfactant to the mix.
What does the box of arm&hammer look like that you have? The stuff I can get stinks of perfume!!
__________________
Brad
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 10-24-2002, 02:52 AM
StirCrazy's Avatar
StirCrazy StirCrazy is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Kamloops, BC
Posts: 7,872
StirCrazy is on a distinguished road
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by reef_raf
The stuff I can get stinks of perfume!!
Maybe mix it to a past and put a bit behind your ears and the nape of your neck 8)

Steve
__________________
*everything said above is just my opinion, and may or may not reflect the views of this BBS, its Operators, and its Members. If cornered on any “opinion” I post I will totally deny having ever said this in a Court of Law…Unless I am the right one*

Some strive to be perfect.... I just strive.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 10-24-2002, 02:53 AM
reefburnaby reefburnaby is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Burnaby, B.C.
Posts: 766
reefburnaby is on a distinguished road
Default

Hi,

If you are worried about the perfume, then you can bake baking soda in the oven to get washing soda. Its the Super Washing Soda that I got while I was in the states....maybe that's what the difference was.

Or...forget washing soda and just add baking soda. The effect will be the same (i.e. it will add alk), but the pH will temporarily drift low for a couple of hours (about 0.1 to 0.2...depending how much buffer you added).

- Victor.
Reply With Quote
Reply


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 07:09 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.3
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.