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DIY KZ Coral Snow (with >97% purity)


jedimasterben

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jedimasterben

So Korallen Zucht's Zeovit product line has been around for a while. It contains many products, but one that finds usefulness outside of the ultra low nutrient setups is Coral Snow. In addition, the claims that KZ makes about it are not completely absurd and actually lie in the science of it. They claim it is a 'calcium-magnesium carbonate mix' (aka MgCO3 and CaCO3). When dried, it looks like an off-white confectioners sugar, extremely fine ground powder.

It is essentially a calcite chalk. Yes, the same stuff that teachers used to write on chalkboards with, that is bought for pennies and sold in RO/DI at nearly $120 per liter.

Despite being expensive, it does have its benefits. Organics adhere to its surface, as do particulates, acting as a flocculent, being easily removed via protein skimming or small micron mechanical filtration. This leads to unparalleled water clarity.

Thankfully there is a cheaper way to get that same clarifying effect. You can purchase food grade calcium carbonate powder, minimum 97% purity, for around $9 per pound, less if you order more (but that's not really necessary).

It comes as a very fine powder. You will want to mix it with water before dosing. The amount of KZ product in each mL (after it is very well-shaken to thoroughly mix) is 0.4g. This is a bit less than 1/8 teaspoon, and this is good for roughly 100 liters aquarium volume (25 gallons). You can either just put the dry powder into a small container and mix right there, or you can create a stock solution.

For a 250mL solution, use 5 level tablespoons (roughly 115 grams) of CaCO3 powder and add roughly 230mL of RO/DI water. This should mix right about 250mL. The powder will NOT dissolve, it will stay suspended in the water. Will look like this when you're done.

20150826_190144.jpg


Mix thoroughly before dosing, and dose 1mL per 100L volume (25 gallons) whenever you feel like. No harm in doing it daily, twice a day, once a week, etc, as it gets removed from the water column. It won't raise your pH, calcium, or alkalinity, as the powder will not dissolve in a reef aquarium, the pH is too high. You can even double, triple the dose without consequence. Your tank will look like this (actually a bit cloudier, as this is roughly an hour post-dose) for a few hours, then will clear up with much higher clarity than before.

20150826_181336.jpg


Happy reefing!

  • Like 38
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jedimasterben

Thanks everyone! I'm mostly just passing data along with mixing instructions, the real credit goes to biom at RC. :)

 

Cool. I just started running carbon and can't believe how much it cleared the water. I can't imagine it any clearer.

I run ROX 0.8 carbon, which is arguably the best for reef aquariums, and it even surpasses that. :)

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Looks like a great way to keep that water sparkling. Just did a search on Amazon for the CaCO3 and found 10# for $21 and free shipping. Is there anyway I would ever possibly go through all 10lbs?

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jedimasterben

BUT BEN. THAT 3%

WHAT ABOUT THE 3% :P

Considering that coral snow is yellowish in appearance, got a guess as to how pure it is? ;):lol:

Looks like a great way to keep that water sparkling. Just did a search on Amazon for the CaCO3 and found 10# for $21 and free shipping. Is there anyway I would ever possibly go through all 10lbs?

If you have a 1000 gallon tank and did a double dose daily, then maybe lol
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I can get about 250g of 100% pure over here for $20AUD. A few pharmaceutical companies sell it to help with arthritis. It is also used in cooking as Ben said but my guess it will be slightly less pure.

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jedimasterben

I can get about 250g of 100% pure over here for $20AUD. A few pharmaceutical companies sell it to help with arthritis. It is also used in cooking as Ben said but my guess it will be slightly less pure.

Yeah, the cooking stuff is probably in the 95-97% purity. Dunno what coral snow is, but it's probably WAY lower. :)

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Yeah, the cooking stuff is probably in the 95-97% purity. Dunno what coral snow is, but it's probably WAY lower. :)

Yeah, my thoughts exactly. Fun fact, it is also added to plaster and render to help it set or make it thicker, you can get lower quality stuff from your hardware store I found.

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jedimasterben

Well, does it make a huge difference? 250ml is actually like 7.77 ounces. Can I just use the extra .23 ounces of water?

No, all of the above is approximate anyway. As long as you're in the ball park, it will still work the same with the same dosage :)

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I don't know if this was addressed, but if I make a stock solution, how long will it keep and should it be stored at room temp? Should it be used within a certain timeframe?

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