A test on Sea-lab no 28 claims
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You'd have to smash it with a hammer first, otherwise it wouldn't count.I wonder if one could bolus dose these well known weathered buffers to fix the broken buffer systems we all have going…
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mizimmer90
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I can give more excuses for why I've been so busy (I haven't even had time for my actual tank ) but instead I'll ask for forgiveness for the delay! Better late than never!
Some updates to the setup:
I mixed 1L of fresh waterbox saltwater (using RODI with a TDS measurement of 0) because it's what I have on hand. Measured to 35.8 ppt using hanna and cross checked salinity with refractometer.
Alkalinity was measured at 8.2 dKh and Calcium was measured at 410 ppm, using hanna and red sea tests respectively.
Then I added 5g AFR powder (didn't want to go too crazy lol).
Then I added 1 sea lab cube to this mixture alongside 1L of RODI water as a control.
Seems to be fizzing a bit already!
This is day 1 and I will take pictures of the cubes periodically to check their progress dissolving.
Again sorry for the delay but here we go!
) but instead I'll ask for forgiveness for the delay! Better late than never!Some updates to the setup:
I mixed 1L of fresh waterbox saltwater (using RODI with a TDS measurement of 0) because it's what I have on hand. Measured to 35.8 ppt using hanna and cross checked salinity with refractometer.
Alkalinity was measured at 8.2 dKh and Calcium was measured at 410 ppm, using hanna and red sea tests respectively.
Then I added 5g AFR powder (didn't want to go too crazy lol).
Then I added 1 sea lab cube to this mixture alongside 1L of RODI water as a control.
Seems to be fizzing a bit already!
This is day 1 and I will take pictures of the cubes periodically to check their progress dissolving.
Again sorry for the delay but here we go!
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I can give more excuses for why I've been so busy (I haven't even had time for my actual tank
Some updates to the setup:
I mixed 1L of fresh waterbox saltwater (using RODI with a TDS measurement of 0) because it's what I have on hand. Measured to 35.8 ppt using hanna and cross checked salinity with refractometer.
Alkalinity was measured at 8.2 dKh and Calcium was measured at 410 ppm, using hanna and red sea tests respectively.
Then I added 5g AFR powder (didn't want to go too crazy lol).
Then I added 1 sea lab cube to this mixture alongside 1L of RODI water as a control.
Seems to be fizzing a bit already!
This is day 1 and I will take pictures of the cubes periodically to check their progress dissolving.
Again sorry for the delay but here we go!
What was AFR used for?
Is there any water mixing?
From his initial post: The AFR was used to raise the levels of the various elements to above the concentrations that the magical cube would detect as "normal" and thus the cube would never release any of those elements.
The premise is that if no element is "needed" then the magical cube should never dissolve.
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mizimmer90
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I was back and forth on the AFR. My reasoning for including it was to prevent anyone from saying that the salt mix I used didn't have enough of some trace element. So 5g AFR should make the solution in extreme excess and remove that attack, but of course comes with the complication that it's difficult now to track alk and Ca. However, at the end of the day, this test has a binary outcome: either the cube dissolves or it doesn't.
No dedicated flow here, unfortunately. I know this will slow the dissolution down significantly, but I will lightly stir both solutions and couple times a day.
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mizimmer90
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Just for clarification, this test isn't about how fast the cube dissolves or even it's relative rate (we do expect the RODI control to dissolve faster because of mass action). If the cube in the salt mix dissolves at all, then the sealab claims are false, end of story!
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FWIW, I would not have added the AFR. Definitely not that much. That's a huge increase in alk (if bacteria metabolize the formate) and calcium.
Dry AFR is close to 30% calcium by weight. 5 g in 1 L adds more than 1500 mg of calcum, driving calcium close to 2,000 ppm before the experiment even starts.
Alk could push over 200 dKH!!!!
Dry AFR is close to 30% calcium by weight. 5 g in 1 L adds more than 1500 mg of calcum, driving calcium close to 2,000 ppm before the experiment even starts.
Alk could push over 200 dKH!!!!
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mizimmer90
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Yupp!! I didn't want the levels to even be close lol. If the cube can dissolve in this extreme excess then there is no defense for sealab!
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I would expect significant calcium carbonate precipitation taking place if the formate does get metabolized.
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mizimmer90
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Ahh that's a good point. Do you think the precipitation would impact the interpretation even if the cube dissolves?
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Maybe. It will be obvious if precipitation takes place. Either the water willg et cloudy all through it, or crystals will grow from the sides.
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mizimmer90
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Day 2.
No crashing out of solution yet!
Both pellets still looking strong. Though as a teaser, when I stir each beaker I see some white powder coming off of each cube and dissolving into solution.
Will follow this one through and monitor cube size. If things crash out of the saltwater due to the AFR I'll redo this with plain saltwater and monitor params!
No crashing out of solution yet!
Both pellets still looking strong. Though as a teaser, when I stir each beaker I see some white powder coming off of each cube and dissolving into solution.
Will follow this one through and monitor cube size. If things crash out of the saltwater due to the AFR I'll redo this with plain saltwater and monitor params!
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Have you tested calcium before the block was added but after the AFR? You need to do that to detect a rise in calcium.
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mizimmer90
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I tested alk and Ca before the AFR but not afterwards. Adding the AFR definitely complicates any testing afterwards, but I figure that the end result of the experiment is if the cube dissolves.
I can test the RODI control afterwards though to see what was released! Happy to even send off an ICP analysis of that water.
I can test the RODI control afterwards though to see what was released! Happy to even send off an ICP analysis of that water.
BriDroid
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I'm ashamed to say that 30+ years ago I used these blocks. My LFS was the one who pushed them on me. That was back in the days of ocean plucked live rock and whole LPS colonies. I had a 29 gallon with a HOB overflow and a 10 gallon sump with a tower of plastic bio balls. I remember dropping one of these a month into the sump. Seemed like a good idea back then .
I'm interested to see how they dissolve in this experiment though!
. I'm interested to see how they dissolve in this experiment though!
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