Reef Builders - The Source for Reef Keeping Information

This is for Randy's Two Part Calcium Solution that I've been using for over 4 months now and love how easy it is to add calcium/alk to the tank.

to sum it up... you bake 2 1/4 cups of Baking Soda for 1 hr and mix it with 1 gallon of water... that's your Alk
then you mix 1 gallon of water with 2 1/2 cups of Dowflake and that's your calcium. it's that simple. then you just add both equally every few days to your tank (I add 1 cup every 3-4 days).

I still have 1/4 of a bucket of Dowflakes but I'm going to order another bucket up soon so if anyone wants to get a group buy we can do that and save on shipping. Last I checked Home Depot didn't have any as it was out of season but maybe their starting to stock it so I'll check their first... if not I'll probably order from same place as I did last time which I've been satisfied with.

www.twopartsolution.com

they don't have "dowflakes" but someone just has to confirm this "High Purity Calcium Chloride" is the same thing as Dowflakes basically.

post here if your interested in buying a bucket. one gallon bucket is $15 right now plus shipping. that means you can make about 8 gallons of calcium with it and each gallon lasts you 1-2 months (depending how much your tank uses calcium) so this bucket should last you half a year for under $20

I'm not in a rush to buy this but will make an order within a month so I don't run out

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RIP 75g mixed reef tank. out of hobby now:$

When I started I was baking the baking soda too. I found out that when the baking soda is baked, it turns it into "washing soda"...If your alk is low it is only good for under 8.4 PH. My ph is 8.4 and my alk was stable at 7 so I dripped in some unbaked baking soda. It raised my alk up to 10. Now I keep things stable at that with the regular mixture of Randy's.

Not sure I fully understand what you posted rmh. Basically unbaked baking soda contains CO2 ( carbon dioxide ) and will have a lowering effect on your pH if added that way. By baking the baking soda you drive off the CO2 and it now has a raising effect on pH. So you need to evaluate your pH and make a determination on which way to use the baking soda. It is quite effective at raisng and maintaining alk levels. I dose it with my ACIII and an aquamedic dosing pump at 4 2 minute intervals each day and my alk is rock steady now at 12.8. I regularly test the alk and adjust the dosing times as need to keep it steady.

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(' )< David >( ')

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