different grades of lime

[Snarkys]

I was looking at mississippi limes website today and they have a handful of different grades of lime. They are not the grades that you discussed in your article but rather trademarked names. I was hoping you could point me in the direction of the types that would be appropriate for our uses.

Calcium Hydroxide- hydrated lime
http://www.mississippilime.com/products/hydratedlime

Standard Hydrated Lime


Standard Hydrated Lime products are used in flue gas treatment (for the control of SO2 and S03 emissions), chemical manufacturing, water and waste water treatment, acid neutralization, construction and other environmental applications.

The Standard Hydrated Lime products are manufactured at our plant in Ste. Genevieve, MO and include the following:

Standard Hydrated Lime is a refined hydrate with good flow properties.
Standard Hydrated Lime SP is a hydrate with low iron and magnesium and high available and total Ca(OH)2.
Standard Hydrated Lime FGT is a high surface area hydrate with small median particle size, good flow properties, and high total & available Ca(OH)2.

MicroCal® H Calcium Hydroxide
The Mississippi Lime MicroCal® H Calcium Hydroxide family of products is used in chemical processing where high purity hydrated lime is required. Many chemists requiring high purity lime specify one of the MicroCal® H products – the standard for high purity since 1907.

MicroCal® HF is utilized as a raw material for many chemical processes due to its high total calcium hydroxide content, low impurity levels, and consistent product attributes. MicroCal® HFT20 has all of the benefits of MicroCal® HF as well as controlled top size and steep particle size distribution

VitaCal™ H Calcium Hydroxide

Mississippi Lime VitaCal™ H Calcium Hydroxide is a high purity product which meets or exceeds the 5th Edition Food Chemical Codex specifications. Because of purity and consistency, food processing chemists have specified Mississippi Lime VitaCal™ products for more than 40 years. With ultra low lead (less than 0.1 ppm) and arsenic (less than <0.3 ppm), VitaCal™ H is one of the highest purity calcium hydroxides available for all of your Food Chemical Codex applications.

VitaCal™ H Calcium Hydroxide is available as both a powder, VitaCal™ H, and as a liquid, VitaCal™ LCH.

[Snarkys]

BTW i see they also have Pulverized Quicklime.
Is this the stuff you use or is it a different type of there quick lime ?

http://www.mississippilime.com/products/quicklime

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

They've changed their web site and seem to have renamed products. Any food grade (FCC) calcium hydroxide or calcium oxide would be suitable.


These, for example:

http://www.mississippilime.com/products/quicklime/vitacalocalciumoxide

http://www.mississippilime.com/products/hydratedlime/vitacalhcalciumhydroxide

[Snarkys]

fantastic . there is a distributor for that food grade version 10 miles from here : )

thanks again for your help .

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

:thumbsup:

Happy reefing. )

[jag1979]

Is there any way to order aquarium quality bulk lime online?

[Snarkys]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9071633#post9071633 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jag1979
Is there any way to order aquarium quality bulk lime online?

I think it is kinda up for debate what "Aquarium Quality" really means . Im sure from vendor to vendor it has totally different meanings. Last time i ordered mine it was from custom aquatic in a 25 pound ESV bucket.

http://www.customaquatic.com/customaquatic/brandcategory.asp?brandID=ES&catID=ad

quote from one of randy's articles http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.php
Purity Of Commercial Lime

Lime is graded in a variety of ways. One way has to do with the amount of magnesium it contains. High calcium quicklime (and lime) is derived from limestone (calcium carbonate) containing 0-5% magnesium carbonate. Magnesian quicklime (and lime) is derived from limestone containing 5% -35% magnesium. Dolomitic quicklime (and lime) is derived from limestone containing 35% - 46% magnesium carbonate. Most reef aquarists use high calcium limes since the magnesium is not generally soluble in limewater (a fact discussed in detail below).

Another way of grading lime has to do with impurities present in the lime. Manufacturers may refer to grades in a wide variety of ways, and some of those that are worth knowing are detailed below, along with four brands that claim to meet these specifications (Warner, ESV, Seachem, and Mrs. Wages). Other companies that sell to aquarists (Kent, Coralife, and Two Little Fishies, for example) do not specify the grades used (at least that I can determine). If you use those brands, then you are relying on the manufacturer’s claims to ensure suitable purity.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I do not know of a really cheap bulk on line supplier of food grade lime. :)

[Snarkys]

OK so after talking to a handful of providers and reading your article on it a few times, I have a couple other small questions. I am completely satisfied with the food grade but i was just curious about these things.

Other than food grade, do these grades even mean much to us? Sounded like most the grades weren't even testing for things that would matter to us. I see from your article that as far as you can tell Kent, coralife and Two little fishes don't even bother listing a grade. Sea chem says they use food grade and ESV says they use the Potable drinking water grade.


I was told today by a guy at Western Lime that there is only one provider of Food Grade lime in the country and that's Mississippi lime. Anything food grade comes from them in one way or another. His company (western lime) only sells the potable (drinking) water version. He also said that the potable water version is considered to less pure than the food grade and is not allowed to be used in food. He also said it is less expensive. I have no way of verifying any of this information, its just what the salesmen told me. he basically told me to buy it from a different company (Mississippi lime) because because food grade is better than potable grade but he doesn't have a full understanding of what we are using it for.

Guess my real question is, of all the grades listed (FCC,ACS,USP,WCC) what would be the best fit the title of "aquarium grade" since there is no real aquarium grade regulations.

For whatever reason, when I first read the article I got the idea that the potable water version might be the best but not significantly better. Now that I have a bit more information on the topic and go back to read your article again, I don't really see how I came to that conclusion. Mississippi Lime says their food grade has "ultra low lead (less than 0.1 ppm) and arsenic (less than <0.3 ppm)"Is food grade not only just suitable for our purposes but actually the best grade available ?

[jag1979]

mrs. wages is the cheapest I know of...its around $3/lb

[Warner Marine]

Snarky's

YHPM... :D

[Snarkys]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9107999#post9107999 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Warner Marine
Snarky's

YHPM... :D


thank you : )

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Sounded like most the grades weren't even testing for things that would matter to us.

The heavy metal spec is likely important. Other ones may largely ensure that overall it is fairly pure, without testing the specific things we might be concerned with.

Guess my real question is, of all the grades listed (FCC,ACS,USP,WCC) what would be the best fit the title of "aquarium grade" since there is no real aquarium grade regulations.

Those are likely all acceptable. :)