using washing soda to boost alk

[Anonymous]

am i doing something wrong here?

it is time for my normal 5 gallon water change. i figured i could add a little washing soda to the new 5 gallons to boost the alk level of my tank.
so i added just one teaspoon of arm & hammer super washing soda to the bucket of saltwater. the bucket has a little powerhead running to help mix.
an hour later and the saltwater looks like soy milk or something. just one teaspoon of washing soda was added.
is the water supposed to look like this?
i have not changed the water yet. i am afraid the murky new water will foul my tank.

 

[Grumpy Vet]

Hi there....

I use baking soda and baked baking soda (in lieu of washing soda) @ a 6/1 ratio for my PH & alk buffer. It seems to work rather well.

What I do is put the recommended amount of the sodas in a 30G rubbermaid container, add in the prescribed amount of pickling lime and dump in oodles of RO/DI water......drop a super duper high flow pond pump in there to mix it all up - then let it sit for 12 hours. A bunch o' crud sits at the bottom - but the water on top is as clear as could be....

HTH...

GV

 

[Anonymous]

Can anyone tell me if I can add this 5 gallons of murky water to my tank, or should I make a new batch of just saltwater?

 

[Grumpy Vet]

your very welcome.....

I would not add that to the tank the way it is....you will have settle out and it will stress the fish & corals...

GV

 

[Anonymous]

thanks.