Bonehead Maneuver

[Piscevore]

I made RHF 2 part solution.
Baked my Sodium BiCarb, boiled it, mixed it up, decanted it
into several 1 liter containers for ease of application.
I'm sitting there, looking at it tonight, and I suddenly realized I didn't use RO water. I used plain old tap water.

So the question is, should I keep it, and, am I a bonehead?

 

[NateHanson]

I'd do your laundry with it. Or brush your teeth.
But I probably wouldn't put it in my reef. Won't cost you much to do it again, right?

My tap tests around 200 TDS, so I try to keep it pretty far from my tank. Maybe yours isn't so bad.

 

[Noel]

Bone Head

But we've all done worse..

I think for the cost of a box of baking soda .. I'd start over.. but if I may..

After disolving it .. add enough RO to dilute to 2 gallons total... if you don't .. you'll soon discover why I suggest it.

`Nuff said...

Regards
Noel

(Ok Ok .. a hint .. looks like rock candy .. but tastes like s**t)

 

[Tstone]

Ryan to be honest How much of this is going into the reef? How big is the reef? What would the ratio be of tank water to your bonehead water?

If you had a 5 gal nano and were using this for top off then I say start over. If you have a 120 and using it for top off I would not worry about it.

But hey thats me, I am a bonehead sometimes also.

 

[Scuba_Dave]

What is your tap water TDS? My Tap water is bad, I wouldn't use mine

 

[Lam]

My vote is to dump and remake. It pays to be a perfectionist when it comes to your reef and the animals you make happy. It's just the inconvenience...

 

[Matt L.]

Why the heck are you baking Sodium bicarbonate?

Sodium carbonate is pretty inexpensive, and you know you're getting a pure product. Who knows what will happen if you don't convert all the bicrbonate to carbonate for some reason,

Matt

 

[Piscevore]

I'm baking a new batch as we speak ....

 

[Greg Hiller]

Matt,

You need to go back and read Randy's article. I don't think it's a big deal if a little bit of tap water goes into your tank, the addition is going to be slow and over a long time. However, it's true that baking soda is mighty cheap and it's not hard to do it again.

 

[Matt L.]

Greg,

Are you addressing this response to me or to Ryan? I never expressed qualms over the accidental use of tapwater.... In fact, tap water slips into my system all the time.

I just thought that baking sodium bicarbonate to make sodium carbonate was, well, a little silly when sodium carbonate is readily available and so inexpensive. Also, if for some reason, your reaction should not go to completion, then you have in reality a mix of sodium bicarbonate and sodium carbonate (or just all sodium bicarbonate) when you think you have sodium carbonate. Then, when you go to mix your buffer, the target pH will be wrong (lower).

Matt

Matt,

You need to go back and read Randy's article. I don't think it's a big deal if a little bit of tap water goes into your tank, the addition is going to be slow and over a long time. However, it's true that baking soda is mighty cheap and it's not hard to do it again.