Dowflake for homemade B-Ionic?

[GoTakuF1]

Hi folks,

I've going to give this homemade B-Ionic from Randy Holmes-Farley (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/april2004/chem.htm) a try. Arm & Hammer Baking Soda and Epsom salt can be found at Albertsons but the local Home Depot doesn't carry Dowflake (http://www.dow.com/calcium/product/dowfl_pp.htm). Has anyone tried this and know where to purchase Dowflake locally? I believe it can be purchased online (http://www.mainstreetseedandsupply.com/saltproducts.htm) but only for 50lbs bags ($22 s/h fee)!

Thanks : )
Minh

[SDRotary]

I have watched randy's threads on this for some time and it seems to work well. Here is a link with a # to call to get a listing of Doflake dist: http://www.dow.com/calcium/distrib/dry2.htm . I will see what else I can drum up.

[Trickman2]

Sweet, B ionic is Expensive...Wonder how much this will make?

[Trickman2]

Did some looking on reef central they say check a pool store

[MrKrispy]

I have been using baking soda and Kent TurboCalcium for a bit, it is working pretty well since I started adding the baking soda to my topoff container.... my 20L was burning thru the alk. since it is primarily SPS

[GoTakuF1]

Thanks for the link Kyle. I called Dow and tracked down a local company by the name of Atlas Chemicals on Commerce in Downtown SD (619-232-7391). They have 50 lbs bags in stock for $18.00 + tax. I'm going to pick up a bag today. I don't think I will need all 50 lbs, does anyone want to split a bag with me? Let me know.

Thanks!
Minh

[Trickman2]

Let me think about it I might want to.

[GoTakuF1]

Trickman2 - Sure, LMK

The address is:

Atlas Chemical Inc
2929 Commercial Street, San Diego, CA 92113
(619) 232-7391

For anyone who is interested in getting a bag.

[Trickman2]

I will go in on half a bag.
thanks

[GoTakuF1]

Trickman2 - Sure, I bought a 50 lbs bag of Hi-94 Calcium Chloride Prill by Hill Brothers for $20 w/tax. This is pure anhydrous calcium chloride (Dowflake is dihydrate calcium chloride) of 94-97% so you just need to use 2 cups instead of 2.5 cups when preparing 1 gallon of stock solution. I've been using it for a week and it's working great : ) Let me know when you'd like to pick up it up!

Minh

[Trickman2]

Where are you located?

[MrKrispy]

watchout for ANY moisture or you are gonna have a 50lb bag of rock.

[GoTakuF1]

Trickman2 - You have PM!

MrKrispy - Thanks for the heads up! : )

[Trickman2]

GoTakuF1 You still using this Recipe and how much do you dose. I finally ran down alll the chemicals and am planning on using it.

[GoTakuF1]

Originally posted by Trickman2
GoTakuF1 You still using this Recipe and how much do you dose. I finally ran down alll the chemicals and am planning on using it.

Terry, I used it for about a year and it worked great. I gave a lot of it away so I ran out a couple of weeks back. I'm now using kalk since I have some of that ready. When I was using the B-ionic substitute, I dripped from two 5 gal jugs to replace all top off water. I mix a new batch every week. Initially, it took awhile to get the drip rate down (its like dialing in a reactor) but once you get it down, the cal/alk stays quite consistent. By the way, when you mix the hi-94, put a little power filter on the mixing resevoir to get out any impurity from the bag : ) Good luck!

PS You probably know this but when you mix the bicarbonate, get the water nice and hot before you start mixing or it will clump up and take forever to dissolve.

[swissfish]

so all in all how much does a gallon of that home made stuff come to?

[GoTakuF1]

Originally posted by swissfish
so all in all how much does a gallon of that home made stuff come to?

Costwise? Well, $20 for a 50lbs bag of hi-94 ca that lasted me a year with a 130g, that's not to bad : ) Arm & Hammer Baking Soda and Epsom salt are pretty cheap too. All in all, you'll be saving a lot of $ if you're currently using any commercial additive.