Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Murray,

The stuff i was talking about is called "damp rid " i bought it in a refill carton from the supermarket in a 1.36Kg waxpaper container (like what the 2 litre milk and juice used to come in before plastic fansastic took over )

Very interesting compound. did some research on in last night, can melt 4X as much ice as normal rock salt, this is due to its moisture absorbing reaction being exothermic (liberating heat) so be a little cautious if you mix it up before adding it to the water as reasonable quantities could reach 60+ degrees. The dangers of ingesting it were listed as burns, but not chemical burns, normal heat burns from it absorbing water from the mouth and throat and heating up

One of the comments on the packet is "can also be used in swimming pools" so i'm fairly confident that it only ingredient is Calcium Chloride.

Its also used as an ingredient in food preperation.

Just a quirky fact for every one that surprised me. Apparently the LD50 (lethal dose that causes death in 50% of test subjects) for normal table salt, is 2.5grams per Kg body weight. So if you weigh 70Kg, ingesting 190 grams of table salt may kill you!

And i wonder why i went to bed at 3am

Murray, you could always make it yourself!

calcium carbonate + hydrochloric acid ===> calcium chloride + water + carbon dioxide

"In normal people speak"

crushed sea sells + swimming pool acid ===> calcium chloride + water + carbondioxide



ALSO

Also if you have previously used "Bi-carb" to raise your PH then take note of the following equation

Bi-carb + calcium chloride -->> calcium carbonate + table salt + water + cabon dioxide

If you put calcium chloride in your tank (aquarium) that has had bi-carb added, then expect a milky white precipitate and some bubbles!

Might cloud the water and drop the PH a little. Just letting you know so you don't freak out

:):) I forgot howmuch i LOVED chemisrty :):)

Steve,
I will cut and paste your post re Damp-Rid etc so I can read and get the sense of it all, I hated Chemistry at school!!!!!
Thanks for the info...I will try a little, I think I will put a couple of fish in a separate small tank and give it a whirl to see what happens.
Thanks
Murray
murray@boatshop.com.au
www.boatshop.com.au

no worries Murray,

Just use the same amount as you would have for the normal salt.

Only problem is that you won't have any bio-filtration in a seperate tank.

ammonia might peak if you intend on keeping them in there for more than a couple of days, esp. if its a small volume. you might want to take a LITTLE of the rocks from you pot to put in the test tank

Steve