Dosing right on my fish: is this dangerous?

[bitwise]

I dose tiny amounts of BRS 2 part (1 - 2 ml at a time) right on top of my vortech. The alk solution causes a bit of a storm for 5 seconds then disappears.

My question is whether this is dangerous if my two clowns are in very close proximity. Often times I am literally dosing right on top of them. They are excited by my presence and will usually come to wherever I am.

My tank is 18g.

[bertoni]

They won't care, IME. The storm is mostly magnesium hydroxide, most likely, and should be safe enough for them. None of my fish ever had an issue.

[bitwise]

Just to follow up:

I'm using:
- soda ash diluted in RO (alk)
- calcium chloride diluted in RO (calcium)

[reefwars]

Just to follow up:

I'm using:
- soda ash diluted in RO (alk)
- calcium chloride diluted in RO (calcium)

Dosed with some time in between ?

you can try to dilute the soda ash down some in more and warmer water :)

[bertoni]

The soda ash supplement has a high pH, so it will tend to encourage more magnesium hydroxide formation.

[Retail_Therapy]

FYI soda ash (sodium carbonate) is not used for increasing alkalinity, we use sodium bicarbonate to raise alkalinity. Soda ash alone will not stabilize pH as marine buffer does, it only raises it. Also anything can be fatal in high doses especially when dealing with very small creatures.

Try distracting the clowns in another part of the tank when dosing.

[reefwars]

FYI soda ash (sodium carbonate) is not used for increasing alkalinity, we use sodium bicarbonate to raise alkalinity.

sodium carbonate (soda ash) and bicarbonate both raise alkalinty and ph , the bicarbonate is dried/baked of moisture and impurities to create sodium carbonate so ends up as a stronger solution and thus raises both alk and ph alot more than bicarbonate does

both are alkalinity supplements and also provide a raise in ph but the bicarbonate has very little to no affect on ph in a runing reef unlike soda ash

[bertoni]

Baking sodium bicarbonate drives off water and carbon dioxide:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php#5

It's the carbon dioxide that lowers the pH of a baking soda supplement, as compared to sodium carbonate.

[bitwise]

I last tested my ph on 10/14. It tested at 8.4. I always test during the day, and it has tested at 8.4 since the reef was started (6 months ago).

Unfortunately I haven't tested ph since I started dosing (~10 days ago). I was unaware that sodium carbonate is used by some to raise ph. I'm now concerned that I have been swinging my ph.

It seems, for me, that because my tank likes to run at a ph of 8.4, that I should dose with sodium bicarbonate.

For what it's worth, I found this article helpful:
http://www.anotherperfectpoolnews.com/wp-content/uploads/Tech_Talk/onbalance_ks_sodaashandbicarb.pdf

[bitwise]

Dosed with some time in between ?

you can try to dilute the soda ash down some in more and warmer water :)

I dose 5 ml of each daily, except on water change day. I'll dose 1 - 2 ml of one, wait 5 - 10 minutes, dose 1 - 2 ml of the other, then repeat.

Thanks for the tip about diluting the solution. :)

[reefwars]

Yes soda ash will raise ph the effect is temporary though and regulatr sodium bicarbonate will have less of an effect but the dosing amounts you'll have to adjust as it takes less soda ash to add the same alk as it would bicarbonate:)

[bertoni]

FYI soda ash (sodium carbonate) is not used for increasing alkalinity, we use sodium bicarbonate to raise alkalinity. Soda ash alone will not stabilize pH as marine buffer does, it only raises it. Also anything can be fatal in high doses especially when dealing with very small creatures.
Sodium carbonate likely is the most common alkalinity supplement. The standard two-parts all use it, as do the commercial alkalinity supplements, in varying ratios with sodium bicarbonate. Sodium carbonate does raise pH as well as adding alkalinity.

The SeaChem Marine Buffer product contains borate, which can keep the pH a bit higher than carbonate and bicarbonate, but it is not consumed by corals and coralline, so adding it to the tank can make it difficult to determine whether the water contains enough carbonate alkalinity. For that reason, I (and various others) don't recommend using it in a reef tank.

[Retail_Therapy]

sodium carbonate (soda ash) and bicarbonate both raise alkalinty and ph , the bicarbonate is dried/baked of moisture and impurities to create sodium carbonate so ends up as a stronger solution and thus raises both alk and ph alot more than bicarbonate does

both are alkalinity supplements and also provide a raise in ph but the bicarbonate has very little to no affect on ph in a runing reef unlike soda ash

True, both products will raise each measurement. However, sodium carbonate is what we use to specifically raise pH and sodium bicarbonate is what we use to specifically raise alkalinity. Conversely, bicarb will stabilize pH while pH does not "stabilize" alkalinity.

I just think the distinction is worth making to fully understand what it is that's going on. The two do work hand in hand, however they certainly aren't interchangeable, which is what I took the original wording to mean and why I challenged it at all.

[reefwars]

True, both products will raise each measurement. However, sodium carbonate is what we use to specifically raise pH and sodium bicarbonate is what we use to specifically raise alkalinity. Conversely, bicarb will stabilize pH while pH does not "stabilize" alkalinity.

I just think the distinction is worth making to fully understand what it is that's going on. The two do work hand in hand, however they certainly aren't interchangeable, which is what I took the original wording to mean and why I challenged it at all.

Yes one has a ph raising effect the other has very low if any ph effect, both add alk :)

Cheers