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View Full Version : [chemistry] Usage of alkaline-earth-metal buffers for increasing alkalinity


Pszemol
June 23rd 04, 04:32 AM
Another question in series of water chemistry in reef tanks :-)
Sorry, but I am still very confused with alkalinity of my water...

I have read, using sodium carbonate (washing soda) to bump up
alkalinity also increases pH because CO3- ion attracts H+ ion
and then they form more stable CO2 and we lose H+ ions resulting
in pH increase, sometimes to the levels much too high to accept.

Somewhere else I have read using some natural alkaline-earth-metal
buffers could be better. Some manufacturers even make formulas
using alumino-silicate buffers instead of sodium carbonate...

For me, not chemist "alumino-silicate" sounds kind of scarry: is
it smart for a reef tank to introduce silicates into the solution?
If silicates are limiting factor for diatom blums in a common tank,
aren't we risking diatom blums when using alumino-silicates for
alkalinity increase? Also, will tests designed for carbonate
detection, detect correctly alkalinity levels increased with
alkaline-earth-metal buffers like alumino-silicates?

Anybody here knows the subject? Boomer? Others? Please explain...