storing baking soda/rodi water kh mix

[salt01]

can i make up a big batch of baking soda/rodi water in a bottle and have it sit around weeks at a time? Like making a batch and use it as I need it throughout dosing will this be ok to do. Thought about having to shake the bottle up before i dose my tank to make sure nothing has settled. Any thoughts suggestions?

 

[ccCapt]

I've been doing that for years. I take 2 1/4 cups of Arm&Hammer baking soda, spread it out on a cookie sheet (with tin foil down first to make it easier to get out) and bake it in the oven at 350 for 1 hr. Once it cools down, I pour that into a 1 gal jug of RO/DI water (actually I fill the jug about 3/4, pour in the baking soda then fill it up the rest of the way with RO/DI water). You have to shake it good to dissolve all the baking soda, but once it dissolves you are good to go. It will last indefinitely.

 

[salt01]

ok thanks baked mine first like u mentioned and just been adding like 1/2 teaspoon per cup rodi. Will do this so I can just dose and not have to make it up every week. Also anything on market that can keep my kh stable? keeps dropping through out the week? or is this normal?

 

[ccCapt]

It's normal for it to drop if you have coralline algea growing or hard corals growing in your tank.

Just remember, if your testing alk and seeing that drop, your calcium will also be dropping. When caclification occurs, as in coralline or hard corals growing, a defined amount of alkalinity, calcium and magnesium is used in the process. For every 2.7 dKH drop in alk, you will also have a 18 ppm drop in calcium and 2 ppm drop in magnesium. Depending on what salt you use and how often you do water changes, you may not see the calcium drop (some salts are very high in calcium), but it is dropping none the less.