Balling. Questions about reagents.

Emma

In light of the ongoing discussion regarding the reagents used in balling, let's share our experiences on this matter and try to determine what the "branded" products for balling consist of and how they differ. It's also simply interesting to know what everyone is using and what the feedback is on various products.

Joshua8425

Could you please clarify what exactly you want to "define"? Are you interested in what is included in the solutions of classes 1, 2, and 3 of classical balling? Or are you interested in the "purity" of the atoms? If it's the latter, how do you plan to determine the purity of the atoms?

Jeanne

I believe that "branded" balling uses calcium chloride in a more purified form than what is sold in chemical reagent stores. Especially in stores! Personally, I use balling from Tropic in. And I would never recommend pouring into an aquarium anything that is not intended for aquarium use! But that's just me...

Theresa5149

There are companies that deliver reagents according to German catalogs, packaged in Germany. Their calcium chloride is more expensive for well-known reasons. The cost of the reagent is comparable to that of specialized aquarium products. The only advantage compared to our chloride is the possibility to buy it in a dihydrate form, eliminating the need to calculate the amount of water. Sodium bicarbonate sold by our companies also varies, as indicated by the pH of the solution ranging from 7.5 to 8.5. Finally, an important point for the pedants of this method is that salt without sodium chloride is not sold in chemical reagents.

Lindsey3362

Is it currently possible to measure the level of purification of branded ballast salts? Then it would be possible to compare branded reagents with reagents available for sale in our stores.

Jennifer7578

I think so. But a laboratory analysis is needed for that!

Andrea

Yes, but there are also two-component proprietary additives where the addition of salt without NaCl is not provided.

Allison

I misspoke: is there a possibility of such a comparative analysis for the interested participants of the forum?

Gary6376

But this is no longer classic balling. I haven't used it like that. I haven't used salt without salt for a long time, as I was doing water changes weekly, and the correction was made through the changes. If the aquarium has no water changes, it makes sense to use salt without salt. We have a two-water German chloride that costs 75 kg.

Alan273

Here you have answered yourself that they package tropical marine, marine fauna... Clearly not HCH! They buy the same reagents from the same manufacturers as we do. Only with one difference: they need to package it and make a profit.

John3165

Then why is the German CDA 15 times more expensive than the Russian and Chinese "PHARM"? Do the Germans really build in such profitability?

Rodney

I have a question that bothers me: why can clothes in boutiques cost several thousand dollars, while the same items in a regular store cost a couple of hundred? I chose the German one because a friend works in a pharmaceutical company and recommended it to me. They supply this calcium chloride to pharmacies. I was hesitant to take the Russian 6-hydrate, and I've never heard of the Chinese one before. But I think none of us would be surprised if it turns out that the German one is actually the same as the Chinese one or the Tropic Marine one... P.S. I have long forgotten about reagents; I set up a good calcium reactor and have no problems.

Cassandra1840

Why are you all fixated on the word "pharm"? Each reagent has its own purity. Just for reference, German dihydrate calcium chloride of purity Ch.D.A. costs 75 per kilogram (and it still needs to be delivered, customs cleared, VAT paid, and a markup added, so the purchase price is at best around 35). The Russian "Ch" anhydrous chloride is 15. So where is the fifteen times difference? This same Russian calcium chloride is used in the balling of the brand "MA". I haven't seen pure Chinese chloride. As for pharmaceutical soda, this is the first time I'm hearing about it.

Anthony

Dear, I have been trying to tell you multiple times that pharmaceutical purity is not the same as cleanliness; it is a standard for use. Any pharmaceutical product has its own purity. Where have you seen pharmaceutical soda? If you have it, please provide a link; I would gladly buy it.

Zoe7451

Volodya, to be fair, I must say that the Tropic package B (presumably NaHCO3) did not fully dissolve for me. No matter how much I stirred, there was still residue... However, package B from the same batch dissolved perfectly in the summer! The answer: water temperature.

Colin1418

My baking soda also didn't dissolve completely (neither did the non-baking soda). I found a solution in the following: I first warmed up the water a bit. As the soda dissolved, the water cooled down a little by itself.

James

I see that you don't believe me at my word. I'm attaching the document. Maybe I'm reading it wrong, or I'm not hearing what the sellers are telling me? And if you're interested in this soda, I can give you a couple of one-kilogram bags. I have some.

Breanna9982

Why don't I believe? Why are you all looking for tricks? I was really interested since I farm. I haven't seen this soda for sale yet. But I don't need it because it's second-grade soda (see the standards), and in our stores, first-grade soda is readily available and very inexpensive...

Melissa1838

Alright. I will make a correction. Under conditions where tropicmarine soda dissolves completely (whether it be the necessary temperature or a longer dissolution time), the Chinese soda with the characteristics mentioned in my previous post will not dissolve completely.

Sara

Although according to the indicators this soda is of the first grade, and if it meets the specified standards, everything should be fine. The Russian soda of the first grade also dissolves in room temperature water with some residue. However, if you pour out a little of the solution and add more water, it will dissolve completely. There may be a slight inaccuracy in the calculations.

Destiny

I really wish everything was fine; after all, I bought a whole box of this stuff... But it's not fine. I had to shell out for Tropic Marin. Not because I'm swayed by labels, but simply because I haven't found enough safe chemical products for aquariums available on the market. E.K., I hope you understand that I'm participating in this discussion not to show off but to get to the bottom of the issue. However, to this day, I have personally confirmed one thing: the chemicals I got from Makrohim are harmful to the aquarium. What the reason is? I don't know... I hope specialists will help me figure this out.

Guy

Don't think that I'm trying to joke; I seriously suggest you try our regular baking soda. The fact is that this factory has been producing it since the Soviet era, and the technology and standards have remained the same. Moreover, the GOST is written on it. Believe me, I am capable of buying imported reagents, but as someone who once had a bit of understanding of chemistry, I just don't see the point.

Tricia7885

Thank you. Of course, I used regular baking soda in paper bags. However, not for long. By the way, it dissolves much better than the Chinese one. Speaking of which, someone on the forum had some negative comments about it (supposedly the silicates are off the charts). So I was hoping to find something "cleaner." It didn't work out.

Zachary

It seems like... If it’s a guest aquarium, it doesn’t smell of silicates there. They’re not in the formula. And no one has done any analyses. In my opinion, the role of silicates is greatly exaggerated. I saw an aquarium in Donetsk (by the way, it belongs to someone who has been working with the sea for a long time and makes money from it) that is filled with regular silicate sand, and it has been doing just fine for several years.

Kevin262

Well, why did no one do it? I personally did. I dissolved a teaspoon of soda in 1.5 liters of RO DI water and got more than 2 mg/l of SiO2 (JBL test).

Nicole7268

More or less? How about the imported one?

Kimberly4253

More. I haven't measured the imported one. Tomorrow, out of curiosity, I will measure the Tropik Marinovskaya.

Kimberly

Here's another one. Before TM, I was using Fauna Marin's balling for six months. There were constant fluctuations in KH... With TM balling, the KH parameters are stable!

Jennifer5371

In principle, this is about 0.02%, which is within the normal range.

Vincent

Maybe! But after that soda, a week later I got a good bloom of diatoms...

Stefanie9771

Do not undermine the global economy. Off-topic: I am not a "sailor," but I know a bit about pharmaceuticals (I have worked a lot in this field and continue to do so). 90% of all medications produced in the world are made from raw materials from China and India... and the prices differ significantly. As for all the other "things," I think it's pointless to discuss and analyze.

Adam

I know of some very good aquariums where a lot of money has been spent, and there's no talk of saving. Until recently, only branded reagents were used, and now there is a reactor, but the problem of diatoms and cyanobacteria is present. This is primarily an aquarium problem. I currently have diatoms as well, but they have arisen for a completely different reason.

Melissa2062

Well, you can't say that either! It's one thing when a European or American company builds a factory in China and produces its products under strict control, and another thing when the Chinese try (!) to simply copy some products. And everyone with common sense knows what comes of that! Off-topic: Apple also assembles its computers in China, but that doesn't stop them from being the best in the world!

Amy9618

But I didn't say that this outbreak definitely happened because of that soda! It could have been a coincidence... But that was enough for me to never pour anything not intended for aquarium purposes into my humble reef again!

Leslie

Offtopic, I will repeat myself. And this is a fact, and I can also add that no antibiotic is synthesized... about 14,000 drug names are registered, and to cure 96% of all ailments, 2,500 existing medications are sufficient. I haven't written anything about counterfeits. And thinking about the rest of the chemicals is again completely pointless.

Elizabeth6302

Unfortunately, there is still a lot of uncertainty in marine aquaristics, so we have to experiment. And these experiments are not always positive. I was absolutely sure that an aquarium could be started with dry reef rocks; now I know for sure that it is possible but not advisable, as it leads to so many problems that it's overwhelming.

Jose

if you don't know, why the hell are you posting

Susan

Is this about the Red Sea?

Anne4851

Yeah. I've been using this salt for quite a while and I can't say anything bad about it. In my opinion, it's the optimal salt for substitutions. Basically, I think all manufacturers use practically identical reagents for production.

Tanya

For a long time, I had issues with algae on my Red Sea Coral Pro, but as soon as I switched to Tropic Marin, everything returned to normal.

John1464

Recently (in the last 2-3 years), there have been some impurities observed in the RS. They appear to be insoluble (in the form of sediment/debris, etc.). They are "insoluble" on the outside, but thanks to them, what emerges... here, it's more about the "technique"/practice.

Jessica9188

Maybe it's something like Red Sea Coral Pro, like Aqua Medic not so long ago? Left...

Christopher7213

Most likely, RСi overcomplicated something on their end.

John3432

I took it from different places... I used up 3 buckets... Igor is probably right.