Y Add Vinegar To Kalk You Ask????

[pham411]

i was thinking about drippin kalk in my tank to raise help keep ph levels up when i though, y is it they mix vinegar with kalk before adding ro water. well this answered my question, i hope it helps some of you out there.


vinegar+kalk=happycorals

latez...

[CarmieJo]

Good article. Thanks.

[Rob]

thanks so much for sharing, i will definitely read that one..

[veriann]

that links an extra sqeeze of the orange!
rob ur right on the money!
thanks for the link posting pham, its a boost of chemistry 101

[pham411]

yah the articlr was techinical yet understandable

[Amphibious]

thanks for that link, Pham411.

[Reefbaby]

Hey pham411 - do you know who actually wrote the article? I read it, found it interesting, but would like to know where the information is coming from (I only could find "briefcase"?)....I'm always a bit cautious of just jumping to the next method just because there was an article written....

However, it makes sense to me and the chemistry appears correct. I'm just not completely sure that you still don't end up with carbonate ions.

Also...do you guys understand this correctly that this means that this solution doesn't always have to be used "fresh" like normal kalkwasser?

[veriann]

who has done a chemistry major?
if not i will find the definate scientific answer by the end of the week!

i will summit it to this bloke, any one in the world i have time for, its this man

http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/people/dr_karl.htm

[Reefbaby]

Well, I have a chemistry minor, but feel a bit rusty. I'll ask some of my colleagues in the lab about it...

[veriann]

fantastic, we will get many sources so that its not regarded as gosspel.
its sounds right, but im used to making green slim and crystals so what whould i know!

[pham411]

well i dont know who wrote it but many reef sites recomend mixing kalk with vinegar before adding ro water because of the benifited chemical reaction.
3 benifits- all in the article but for those who dont wanna read that chem stuff, heres the cliff notes:

First, it will get more Calcium ions (Ca++) into the solution because you are dissolving the Ca(OH)2 in an acid instead of water, and forming Calcium Acetate, which exists as a dissociated equilibrium of free Calcium ions and Acetate ions.
Second, the Acetic Acid (Vinegar) provides an equivalent of all the CO2 you need to avoid precipitating the newly-added Calcium ions as useless white Calcium Carbonate powder.
Third, after all the cool Calcium ion chemistry is over, the leftover Acetate ions from the broken-down Vinegar leaves you with free organic Carbon in the water that feeds the bacteria in your tank so that it converts more poisonous Nitrates to NO2 gas (a very good thing).