PDA

View Full Version : pickling lime


kooky
09-11-2010, 02:21 AM
Does anyone know where i can get pickling lime in Calgary, i tried Walmart and Superstore but both don't carry it.

thanks

loveless
09-11-2010, 03:02 AM
http://www.bulkfoods.com/search_results.asp?txtsearchParamCat=1&txtsearchParamType=ALL&txtsearchParamMan=ALL&txtsearchParamVen=ALL&txtFromSearch=fromSearch&txtsearchParamTxt=4330

This is where I got mine from. It made it across the border. I found it hard to come by in edmonton as well and couldnt even find it in Canada, aside from the lfs who wanted like $10 pound for it.

marie
09-11-2010, 03:53 AM
Or you could just get kalk from the chemmaster, he is a sponsor on canreef and good to deal with
http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=26588

Delphinus
09-11-2010, 04:54 AM
Yeah you can't buy pickling lime in Canada, it's banned.

ChemMaster, BulkReefSupply, and Oceanic Corals come to mind as places you can get bulk kalk from.

bvlester
09-11-2010, 06:42 AM
It is not banned just the demand for it is so low these days they do not bring it in any more I think the last time I got some it was at TC. If it were banned you could not import it at all customs are very sticky about that kind of thing.. Chemmaster would not have a supply of it shipped in to Canada either. I am not giving you crap over this I would have just worded it differently as it can get others in to a predicament. I hope this helps clear things it is not banned just not available very readily.

Bill

Delphinus
09-11-2010, 07:47 AM
Interesting. I had always heard it was illegal as a food substance or additive but not as a chemical and that's why it was (basically) impossible to find Mrs. Wages brand pickling lime in stores up here whereas it's pretty easy to find Stateside... the only thing that I can find at the CFIA site is a listing for Univar's calcium hydroxide in two different powdered forms but both listed as acceptable. I can't find anything online about whether it really is banned except for basically threads like this on aquaria boards but without links to back up the claim it's just hearsay. So I guess I've learned something new tonight. For like 10 years I thought you couldn't buy it (as pickling lime that is) because it wasn't allowed to be sold that way.

Nevertheless whatever the explanation, bottom line is it's still hard to find as a pickling lime, but easy to find as kalk, and our fine sponsors would be happy to sell some, so my recommendation there still stands. :)

Another thought is that you get what you pay for. I bought Mrs. Wages pickling lime in a group order from the U.S. by Canreefers a few years ago (before it was easy to buy in bulk from places like Bulk Reef Supply et al), and it was nice because it was moderately cheaper but the stuff was nowhere near as nice to use as real kalk. My kalk reactor water would get yellow/brown within a few days and look really gross. Whereas the BRS kalk stays white in the kalk reactor. I'm assuming it's a purity thing and for that reason alone I'd still recommend that pickling lime isn't worth the wild goose chase. :)

cheers

phyto4life
09-11-2010, 02:28 PM
my next order will be from one of the sponsor's fore sure

$4 to $10 a lb is really good

for the amount I use in a 29G and another 29G on it's way

Bryan
09-12-2010, 09:26 AM
Try a farm supply house, you can buy it in 50 lb bags. Used in the dairy industry.