Sodium Bicarbonate or Soda Ash?

[Royal Aquariums]

This question is for the people that are dosing calcium/alk into their tanks. Do you use sodium bicarbonate or soda ash for the alkalinity portion of dosing?

 

[Darryl_V]

I think you will find most people using sodium carbonate (soda ash).

 

[Neopimp]

Soda ash is the norm.  Bicarbonate or Baking soda typcally gets heated and turns into carbonate before use.  I think it will eventually knock the water out of balance and also affect ph differently.

 

[spyd]

I agree. Soda Carbonate.

 

[Salty Cracker]

Yep, the BRS is soda ash.  As in the other thread, we are all probably game for a cheaper alternative.  I may always be plugging BRS, but only because their customer service is top notch.  I would buy local if possible! 

 

[teebone110]

I used to use arm and hammer baking powder (sodium bicarbonate) but it is recommended to bake it first, this became a PIA after I did it twice.

Soda Ash is easy to order, cheap, and dissolves quickly

 

[AdamS]

If you were to pay full freight ($85.00) for 5gal of soda ash at bulk reef supply, by my calculations, it would cost you about $0.11 per day to dose 200ml and would last 757 days. This does not take into account shipping.

I have no idea how much everyone is dosing but it seems to me that there is not a lot of margin for savings here...

If the market is so large, why not just do a huge group buy of 5gal pails, have them shipped to port huron for free, pick them up pay some taxes and them resell here? Hell you could even offer refills to ppl who have 1 gallon jugs. If a local store did this the margins would be the savings in shipping and convenience of getting it at LFS with satisfaction of knowing it is the same stuff you have always been using plus it supports the LFS.

Or maybe im way off base, which is usually the case.

 

[spyd]

If the LFS got caught re-selling BRS products, I am certain their would be some legal actions taken so I don't think that would happen. Getting everything shipped to Port Huron is an option for some in the area. Not so much for people that live hours away. The shipping costs of a 5 gallon bucket is the same price of the actual bucket itself. So, I personally think there is a market there but I could definitely be wrong. A BRS Canada or similar company would be awesome!!!

 

[Petercar (RIP Dec 2017)]

There actually is a BRS canada. Only charges 9 dollars shipping.  Comes from the east coast

 

[spyd]

Really? I know of reefwater.net that sells BRS stuff but when you take into account their prices and the fact you get half the amount of product in most cases it is actually a fair bit cheaper to go with BRS even with shipping.

 

[unibob]

All links to the Canadian brs, were dead links...that I could find. I think if there was one more people would know about it, I have done one order from reef water  for frag plugs but just order off eBay now as reef water was more expensive.

 

[AdamS]

As far as i am aware, there is nothing illegal about reselling a product. In fact, i know someone from london that did this exact thing with cars for years, and the car companies could do nothing to stop it.
I wasnt suggesting individuals do it as much as i was the LFS's.