Reef Chemistry Question of the Day #162 Calcium Carbonate Precipitation

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

As to the organics answer
F. Organic compounds getting onto growing calcium carbonate crystals, effectively shielding the crystal for additional precipitation to take place

That too happens.

I've tried it myself with polyacrylic acid, where I showed I can greatly reduce the precipitation rate of calcum carbonate from a highly supersaturated solution by mixing the organic into the solution.

I had hoped to use this as a growth accelerator for SPS corals in a high nutrient solution, and it might still work, but I never tested that aspect of it.

 

[beaslbob]

The question was which is NOT likely to be preventing precipitation.

woopsies












again