Tired of BAKING baking soda!!! Seeking Alternative

BeanAnimal · #1 11/24/2006, 09:39 PM

The title says it all.

I use close to 100ml a day of 2-part and I am TIRED of baking the stuff in the oven every few weeks.

Has anybody found an alternative? How many of you guys are using the Washing Soda? Have you had any problems?

Randy have you found a safe source of Sodium Carbonate that is cheap?

I just can't bake another tray of Bicarb!

boxfishpooalot · #2 11/25/2006, 12:25 AM

Washing soda in the grocery store for washing clothes is sodium carbonate. Although it may not be as pure as baking soda for cooking it should be ok.

reefnetworth · #3 11/25/2006, 03:58 AM

i droped the same part of the recipe because of that reason. i still make my own CaC12 and Kalk. now i use Kent Marine, SuperBuffer dKH. its a whole lot easier and faster to mix as well as being more stable.

John,

Freed · #4 11/25/2006, 05:04 AM

Um, I use a calcium reactor so sorry but I can't help you guys out with cooking stuff and adding, etc.

mbbuna · #5 11/25/2006, 06:37 AM

i wouldn't use the super washing soda. ive used it a few times and ive found if you leave it sit for a few hours after its mixed it leaves a residue at the water line. i dont know what it is but it looks and feels alot like soap

Randy Holmes-Farley · #6 11/25/2006, 08:56 AM

Instead of Kent Superbuffer, I'd use unbaked baking soda if the baking is a chore. The washing soda may be OK, but I've not worked up a volume based recipe for it.

Boomer · #7 11/25/2006, 10:04 AM

If you are looking for a pure grade washing soda, Sodium Carboante/Soda Ash, look for Aquatronics Buffex. It has been in is hobby for more than 3 decades. Pete has discontinued many of his water additivies like Buffex, so it is very hard to find but here is one place.

http://www.futurepets.com/cgi-bin/FU...PARTNUM=ATM158

Snarkys · #8 11/25/2006, 12:59 PM

if you are using that much couldn't you just bake a triple batch so you only have to do it a couple times a year ?

once it is mixed up how long does the solution last ?

BeanAnimal · #9 11/25/2006, 01:35 PM

Well 3785 ml in a gallon at 100 ml a day = 38 Days

Tripple batches are hard to bake.

SuperNerd · #10 11/25/2006, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Randy Holmes-Farley
Instead of Kent Superbuffer, I'd use unbaked baking soda if the baking is a chore. The washing soda may be OK, but I've not worked up a volume based recipe for it.

Does this mean you can use the instructions for KentSuperBuffer with unbaked baking soda?

Whaledriver · #11 11/25/2006, 03:45 PM

I cook it all at once. I spread enough for a 5 gallon batch on one large cookie sheet. Two batches at once gets me 10 gallons fills the oven.

I also buy my baking soda at ALDI's discountfood store at about half the price of a regular supermarket

Mike O'Brien · #12 11/25/2006, 04:09 PM

Randy, anymore thought's on mixing with boiling water being enough to drive off the CO2.

Randy Holmes-Farley · #13 11/25/2006, 05:17 PM

It will; do that to some extent, maybe completely, but I'm not 100% sure. But it is a fine way to go if you want to try it.

Does this mean you can use the instructions for KentSuperBuffer with unbaked baking soda?

Probably, but I wouldn't rely on anything on the bottle to guide tank dosing, even using Superbuffer, but you can tell exactly how much baking soda to dose for a certain alkalinity rise using this calculator:

Reef Chemicals Calculator
http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chem_calc3.html

cayars · #14 11/25/2006, 05:55 PM

The only downside to the super washing soda I've noticed is the residual mentioned above. A workaround that could/would help is to still bake your normal batch but then mix some of your cooked batch with the washing soda. Use as much washing soda as you can in the mix until you get to the point of the residual. You get the idea. You could try 50/50 for starters and see how that works.

When I used this before I did get the residual also but it was never enough to clog. I ignored it but moved the drip line so it would drip right over the pump for the skimmer. I figured if any part of the drip wasn't fully mixed the pump would take care of it for me. I'm not sure if it was a good idea or not but I did this for 5 years or so and don't know of any problems from it. That particular pump is still going strong so I know it hasn't shortened the life of the pump that I can tell.

Mike O'Brien · #15 11/25/2006, 05:59 PM

John, if you want to stick with Kent, why not try the coral builder. It doesn't contain borate salt's like superbuffer does.

Snarkys · #16 11/25/2006, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Whaledriver
I cook it all at once. I spread enough for a 5 gallon batch on one large cookie sheet. Two batches at once gets me 10 gallons fills the oven.

I also buy my baking soda at ALDI's discountfood store at about half the price of a regular supermarket

take it the solution has a pretty much indefinite shelf life then?

Randy Holmes-Farley · #17 11/26/2006, 08:32 AM

Yes, it will last forever if closed.

Snarkys · #18 02/04/2007, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Randy Holmes-Farley
Instead of Kent Superbuffer, I'd use unbaked baking soda if the baking is a chore. The washing soda may be OK, but I've not worked up a volume based recipe for it.

one of the mods on our local forum told us that you can mix six parts baking soda with 1 part baked baking soda or washing soda and it will result in an alkalinity additive that will neither raise or lower the PH .

this sound about right ?

Randy Holmes-Farley · #19 02/04/2007, 03:01 PM

Yes, although he exact ratio depends on the pH that it is in tended to not raise or lower. Anywhere from 6:1 to 10:1, with more baked baking soda for high pH. The drop when using pure unbaked baking soda is actually very small.

Snarkys · #20 02/07/2007, 02:33 PM

I just thought id share my experience with the A&H super washing soda . After mixing it i really would not feel safe using it. It smelled like soap to me and made the water brown with some brown scum on the surface of the water.

These are pics of when i added the same amount of baked baking soda to the water. The soda was baked at 450 for 2 hours in a glass dish. These pics were taken with my phone so the quality isn't that great. In person the baked baking soda was almost crystal clear. You can really tell the difference in the shots that are looking down. One you can see the counter and one you cant see more than a few inches through the fluid.

Randy Holmes-Farley · #21 02/07/2007, 02:48 PM

Very interesting. Thanks for the info!

Snarkys · #22 02/07/2007, 03:02 PM

I'm going to try and get these guys to send me a sample of the food grade version and see if the results are the same.

http://www.genchem.com/soda-ash-food-grade.asp

Randy Holmes-Farley · #23 02/07/2007, 03:08 PM

That sounds like it should be a good way to go.

Mike O'Brien · #24 02/07/2007, 03:09 PM

I tried it and some corals had a negative reaction to it. It was recommended to me by a famous reef expert. I'll stick with baking soda.

Trilithon3 · #25 02/07/2007, 05:04 PM

Randy, you said baked soda has an indefinate shelflife if kept in a closed container. What happens if it's left exposed to the air? I usually bake about 4lbs. at a time in a glass dish but I dont put a lid on it afterwards.