Kim this ones for you or anyone else who uses washing soda!

[Tau2301]

Jon, you're right about the scent. It smells like soap to me, but I don't if it should have a smell or not.

Because of this I have only mixed up a small amount and have used it sparingly - about one third the amount recomended on RC.

I have put it into both my tanks ith no apparent ill affects, but remember that was a very low dose.

The other thing is to mix it thourghly in very warm water. I heat the water in the microwave before mixing in the soda. Otherwise the washing soda does not disolve, it will just sit on the bottom of the cup.

I am very interested if anyone else uses this stuff and is there suppose to be a scent?

[Canadian Man]

I dont know if i will use the stuff in my system.
I was going to mix it at the 6 to 1 ratio like recomended, so it would be a low amount but makes me uneasy.

I think i will just bake it for 1/2 an hour (the baking soda that is) like they recomend and that turns baking soda into washing soda.

let me know if you find out anything about the washing soday situation.

[Delphinus]

What brand have you guys got? I haven't tried this in my tank either (I don't blame you guys for not going all gung ho on it until you're 100% certain), but I thought the Arm & Hammer didn't have much of a scent. I'll go see if I have some and see if it's got a scent or not ...

[Canadian Man]

Tony, the stuff Kim and I have is in a blue box,made by arm and hammer and is called Washing soda.

The stuff i have seen from the yanks on reefcentral is arm and hammer as well but it is called Super Washing Soda and comes in a yellow box.

[Delphinus]

Yeah what I've got is "Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda" and I gave it a sniff. A few sneezes later, I can confirm this stuff too has a pretty soapy smell.

I dunno ... sounds like a question for those RC guys.

This is my bookmark of where I first heard of the homemade buffer idea ... it references two threads on RC about it. So, maybe from here we can get an idea of someone we can pose the question to ...

Homemade Buffer (http://www.hawkfish.org/infoctr/homebuffer.htm)

[Delphinus]

Going to move this thread to the main forum in hopes that it catches the eyes of someone who knows the answers we seek...

[Tau2301]

Mine is in a Blue Box that says "Super washing Soda."

[EmilyB]

Washing soda...good God's grief on earth...
:eek:

[Canadian Man]

I just purchased the same washing soda you did and mine has some scent to it. Does yours?
have you been using it regularaly on your tank?
has it caused any negitive effects if your does have the scent that mine does?

[Tau2301]

Hi EmilyB,

I was also dismayed by the term washing soda, but after having read numerous post, it the chemical composition that is omportant and not the name.

See thread from RC where RHF recommends the use use of Washing Soda. I did a search in the Chemistry Form using "Washing Soda" as the keyword.

web page (http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=84720&highlight=Washing+Soda)

What bothers me the most is the scent. Is it supposed to smell like that. The box has no indication of ingrediants except to say that it has no phosphates.

[Aquattro]

Originally posted by EmilyB:
Washing soda...good God's grief on earth...
:eek: <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Deb, I believe Jimmy Chen from RAMR uses this combination of 6:1 baking/washing soda. He might be abe to comment a bit more.

[EmilyB]

Hey Kim, Brad - Thanks ! :D

Yes actually, I know what it is. I've not had to use buffer, but in the event I ever do, I think I personally would go with Seachem. smile.gif

[Canadian Man]

Seachem's great, but why pay $10.00 for the seachem when you could pay $1.50 for triple the amount of buffer and make it yourself.

works well for me.

[Tau2301]

Here is the reply that I received from Randy Holmes-Farley Chemistry Forum on RC.

web page (http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=97747)

I will try the test that Randy suggests. I will also compare it to the Seachem Reef Buffer that I have.

Results will be posted here and on RC.

[EmilyB]

Originally posted by Canadian Man:
Seachem's great, but why pay $10.00 for the seachem when you could pay $1.50 for triple the amount of buffer and make it yourself.

works well for me.<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">http://www.animation-station.com/anigifs/anim1409.gif

I have $7500 invested in that one tank. $8.50 doesn't mean {squat} to me.

Also, I am determined to die in debt. :D tongue.gif ;)

[DJ88]

I hear ya Deb...

Anything that physically goes into my tank I don't cut corners. :D well I try not to.. lol

[ 07 July 2002, 22:08: Message edited by: DJ88 ]

[Delphinus]

Well I don't think there's anything wrong with trying be economical, either. As long as you're 100% sure it's not an unsafe corner that's being cut. And I credit Kim and Jon for making sure before committing to it.

Now with the defense of that idea being said, I should probably point out that I'm using the Seachem Reef Builder and Seachem Calcium on my tanks, and not any washing soda or baking soda. And, although they cost me $30 each (which I thought at first was a little rich), they are well on their way to lasting me about 6 months, so it looks like a $120 per year investment.

Hmmmmm. Ok, that argument doesn't sound so convincing now that I read it back to myself. I WAS going to say "And so that's not too bad." But sheesh, $120, that's more than a metal halide bulb. At that kind of coin, it doesn't take very long for a Calcium reactor to pay for itself. A couple years, tops.

So, I'm going to go crawl back under a rock now, now that I have completely forgotten what original point I was trying to make.... :D

[JimE]

Another source for this is the swimming pool/hot tub industry. "Washing soda" AKA sodium carbonate AKA soda ash is sold as ph up/ph increaser. Definately wont have any soap in it and has no odor. Walmart/CTire have it this time of year - s/b $2-3 per kg.

Jim

[Canadian Man]

Definitley want the best for my tank but it seems to me that I should provide an analogy that I was thinking about after Debs post.

If you are purchasing a brand new car and money was no object. Why would you pay more from one guy just cause you have the money, if another guy was selling it for alot cheeper.
I sure as heck wouldnt.

I am not trying to raise tempers here or get anyone mad. Hey I purchased the expensive additives in my first year of reefing too.
I just cant see paying more for something that a manufacture packages for the reef hobby.

This is exact reason I made a trip to the USA to purchase 18 lbs of BALLS pickling lime for super cheep so I could stop paying BIG AL'S 24.95 for the same amount of product labeled under the Kent name.

Phew that was the longest post in a while for me.
Fingers are tired,,,,,,,must sleep redface.gif

[ 07 July 2002, 22:50: Message edited by: Canadian Man ]

[Delphinus]

Oh geez Jon, now you've gone and done it. I'm just MAD now!!!

;)

No seriously. I agree. It's just like what "Bill Gates" said in the Simpsons when he bought out Homer's internet business "you don't think I got rich by WRITING CHEQUES now, do you?! (insert evil but geeky laughter here).

If it's the same product, why pay more. Just be sure it's the same product ... as you and Kim are doing.

[EmilyB]

W O W

[EmilyB]

Originally posted by Canadian Man:
If you are purchasing a brand new car and money was no object. Why would you pay more from one guy just cause you have the money, if another guy was selling it for alot cheeper.
I sure as heck wouldnt.

redface.gif <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Are you seriously comparing cars to reef inhabitants ?

[Aquattro]

He couldn't be!! Cars would rust in a reef tank! :D

[Canadian Man]

He couldn't be!! Cars would rust in a reef tank!
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">:D
Are you seriously comparing cars to reef inhabitants ? <font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">No, just trying to give something people can relate to when trying to make my point.

[Tau2301]

Test Results

Procedure: For each test I place 6 oz of fresh water into a cup then place it in a microwave for 1 minute on high – needed to dissolve Washing Soda and Seachem Reef Buffer.

Both items are used to raise the Ph of water.

Added one teaspoon of Washing Soda to one cup and Reef Buffer to another and stirred for until all the powder was dissolved. Let solutions sit for about one minute.

After sitting both solutions had a thick white film on top.

The Reef Buffer had no smell.

The Washing Soda had a faint smell. The lesser smell was probably due to the smaller concentration Washing Soda as compared to a box full of the stuff.

Observation: They both reacted and looked the same when mixed with fresh water.

Conclusion: I still don’t like the smell of the Washing Soda. Will have to contact the manufacture to see if a scent has been added.

I am currently using the Washing Soda in a load of laundry – waste not, want not.

[Canadian Man]

Kim, I went to Canadian tire and purchased 1kg of pool ph increaser. I am assuming this is what you were talking about when you were over.
I dissolved a few sprinkles easily into a glass of WARM water.
looks good.

On a side note.EMILY B you will like this one.

They also had Alkalinity increaser for pools for extremely cheep.
1kg was something like $3.50

[JimE]

Originally posted by Canadian Man:
They also had Alkalinity increaser for pools for extremely cheep.
1kg was something like $3.50<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">sodium bicarbonate AKA baking soda

[Canadian Man]

Kim mee too, just added it to my laundry this morning! smile.gif