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DIY KZ Coral Snow (with >97% purity)


jedimasterben

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I have soft water, can push 100 if i wanted to without a booster. I run mine at 80. I'll always use DI, to each there own. I use the BRS Ro unit 5 stage.

Whoa, how are you getting 80PSI without a booster? That's some serious water pressure.

 

The only reason I'm skipping the DI stage is that I know what's in the water, there aren't that many unknowns like if I had municipal water.

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I just know there is another component to the KZ stuff, mag chloride, not sure. Do you have there actual materials containing there ingredients, besides the obvious. just curious not trying to be a dick.


Whoa, how are you getting 80PSI without a booster? That's some serious water pressure.

 

The only reason I'm skipping the DI stage is that I know what's in the water, there aren't that many unknowns like if I had municipal water.

I'm running off a sink roughly 5 feet from the softener and tank. dunno why, but i was hearing a strange noise coming from the RO unit and was maxed out at 100%. I installed a valve to reduce the pressure. I don't turn off my unit, I leave it on and pressure going to it 24/7.

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I just know there is another component to the KZ stuff, mag chloride, not sure. Do you have there actual materials containing there ingredients, besides the obvious. just curious not trying to be a dick.

Magnesium chloride isn't a component - otherwise dosing Coral Snow would alter the magnesium level in the tank. Magnesium carbonate is one of the impurities in the KZ product - the others are 'unlisted', but they are simply impurities, such as phosphate, which is common in limestone quarries (along with magnesium carbonate). If you dry some out, you'll notice that it is not a white powder like it looks when dosed in the tank, it is an offwhite color, due to the impurities.

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Magnesium chloride isn't a component - otherwise dosing Coral Snow would alter the magnesium level in the tank. Magnesium carbonate is one of the impurities in the KZ product - the others are 'unlisted', but they are simply impurities, such as phosphate, which is common in limestone quarries (along with magnesium carbonate). If you dry some out, you'll notice that it is not a white powder like it looks when dosed in the tank, it is an offwhite color, due to the impurities.

gotcha! I mix other things I dose with the KZ stuff. When dried mine is a very lite yellow chalk left.....not sure, but probably from the other additives. I have the stuff to make some in my amazon list i just haven't purchased it yet.

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No sir - sodium carbonate is washing soda. It will raise your alkalinity and pH significantly.

 

Some expensive washing soda LOL.... Sent the email telling them about their screw up, hope they respond soon!!! :angry:

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Then I'll just post teh same thing I sent sancho lol. Are you looking for cheaper up front or cheaper long run? If cheaper long run, you may be best served by a better RO membrane (higher rejection) and a booster pump (even higher rejection and much faster processing). What is your tap TDS and RO only TDS, and what is your pressure like?

 

No sir - sodium carbonate is washing soda. It will raise your alkalinity and pH significantly.

 

You mean the combo of the two or the KZ shit versus CaCO3? If the latter, how would a less pure version do better?

 

And FWIW, I have a well, TDS 332 from the tap, very hard water, booster pump pushing to ~90PSI through a Spectrapure 'standard' membrane, output TDS is 2 (so ~99.4% rejection). I use that water directly into the tank, I no longer use the DI cartridges. :)

 

My TDS preflight's is low 90s. It was 54 until they flushed the lines and added this subdivision several months back. Pressure is 75 PSI. I made it 6 months on my unit but I was also making 5 gallons at a time as I didn't have a brute setup for a long time.

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jedimasterben

 

My TDS preflight's is low 90s. It was 54 until they flushed the lines and added this subdivision several months back. Pressure is 75 PSI. I made it 6 months on my unit but I was also making 5 gallons at a time as I didn't have a brute setup for a long time.

jesus. with a good membrane you should be getting like 1tds or less!

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jesus. with a good membrane you should be getting like 1tds or less!

 

Meant to say prefilters but my computer changed it.

 

After DI I have 0 obviously. I'll pull it apart this weekend and put the sensor after the membrane before the DI to see what I'm getting. My old condo had 120 TDS about 8 blocks from my house. I didn't think it could get any lower.

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jedimasterben

 

Meant to say prefilters but my computer changed it.

 

After DI I have 0 obviously. I'll pull it apart this weekend and put the sensor after the membrane before the DI to see what I'm getting. My old condo had 120 TDS about 8 blocks from my house. I didn't think it could get any lower.

I didn't mean that you were getting a bunch, that was me being jelly about it being so damned low to begin with :lol:

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Some expensive washing soda LOL.... Sent the email telling them about their screw up, hope they respond soon!!! :angry:

 

They didn't respond so filed A-Z claim w/ amazon.... 4 days later they finally decided to just refund it, didn't even want the stuff back. Anything else besides DIY alk dosing that the stuffs any good for since I have 5lbs free of 99.8+% ? :wacko:

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Soooo considering that this is calcium carbonate does it have any effect on the calcium levels in our tanks? Im assuming no but any input as to why would help me understand :)

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jedimasterben

Soooo considering that this is calcium carbonate does it have any effect on the calcium levels in our tanks? Im assuming no but any input as to why would help me understand :)

The pH in our tanks is much too high for it to dissolve, so it has no effect on calcium, all, or pH levels.
The first one does not list purity. The second is what I purchased and recommend.
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The pH in our tanks is much too high for it to dissolve, so it has no effect on calcium, all, or pH levels.

 

 

 

That makes more sense! One more stupid question, Should i pull my filter socks before i use this? or will the filter socks help pull so me of the gunk like the skimmer will?

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jedimasterben

That makes more sense! One more stupid question, Should i pull my filter socks before i use this? or will the filter socks help pull so me of the gunk like the skimmer will?

More than likely they'll fill up super fast, so you'll probably need to change them right after. The carbonate acts as a flocculent and makes other particles adhere to it, so essentially making a larger particle that is more easily skimmed out or filtered out mechanically. I use it in my planted tank, as well, with only filter floss, so it works very well without a skimmer, just have to keep flow up so it doesn't settle out in the tank.

just bought it! Nice write up benny boy

Thanks! Everyone post up their results when they try it.
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Hey Jedi. Big fan <3

 

I bought some, and mixed up a batch. Over the past month I've added about 5 doses. Each time it does nothing to my clarity. Most of the time I have a haze in my tank from very fine sand and an active melanurus wrasse. I'm going to put another dose in now since I added a 200 micron filter sock. Crossing my fingers...

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jedimasterben

Hey Jedi. Big fan <3

 

I bought some, and mixed up a batch. Over the past month I've added about 5 doses. Each time it does nothing to my clarity. Most of the time I have a haze in my tank from very fine sand and an active melanurus wrasse. I'm going to put another dose in now since I added a 200 micron filter sock. Crossing my fingers...

If you have fine sand and a fish that likes to stir it up, this won't really help clear that up unless it is dosed constantly (as in a couple of times daily). The main thing that is happening for you is that the tiniest particles of the sand are being kicked up in a different spot and settling back again before they can be skimmed or filtered out. What do you have in the tank for flow?

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My sun corals love it lol not sure why but when I dose it they respond immediately.. I been using this for weeks now and swear by it and love it thanks ben

 

( no affects on coral or macros or fish) thought I would add this i see alot of concern I have a mixed reef not one issue exept change your sock/pad after

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