Reef Buffer for alk

[04V10]

Hey guys,

I'm just curious what i should do. I am almost empty on my red sea foundation b that i have been using for my alk, and my wife was to pick me up another bottle, but they didn't have any and they sold her seachem reef buffer. It says on the bottle that it raises pH to 8.3 but also raises alk. Then on their website it says that you should use reef builder for alk control. Should i still use this? I'm not close to a lfs so earliest i could get some is Sunday, and I'm going to run out on Thursday.

[e46er]

Use baking soda
Goggle reef chemistry calculator and plug in what your alk is the target value what your tank volume is and product used

[04V10]

Sounds good, but can i use this until it's gone? I'd hate to have chemical that I'm not going to use.

[Nano]

Is it aragamilk? I think I used it before but was told on here not to use it.

[FragIt Dan]

It should be fine to use. Most alkalinity supplements are pretty much the same... a mixture of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and sodium carbonate (baked baking soda). As you alter the ratios in the mix, you change the short term effect this has on your tank's pH, but it will return to it's normal pH within hours as it re-establishes equilibrium, regardless of what you add. The 8.3 version just has a slightly different ratio of the two and is fine to use, as is baking soda as it will ultimately have the same outcome.


Dan

[04V10]

Thanks for the reply Dan!! That's great news. Now I just gotta figure out my daily dose for the mix I'm going to make and I'm good to go..lol

[FragIt Dan]

You're welcome :). If I recall, I use about 20g of dry to raise 100Gallons about a degree, but there are really handy reef calculators out there that will tell you exactly how much to add. About 10g/100ml will give you a saturated solution and you are fine to raise by a couple of degrees and even more per day. Good luck!


Dan