Cloud1921

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Alvin! you're getting my name wrong here lol.
Yeah, Picked up a nice rhodactis on friday.

The extra sodium ion is probably a result of the combustion.
If H2O and CO2 are leaving, where else can it be coming from other than the the breakdown of baking soda.

As for MgCl, isn't it MgCl2? Mg is a 2+ cation, no?
If considering the excess chloride, I'm guessing it also takes part with sodium ion, but correct me if I'm wrong, it can also be hydrated. Futhermore, there are also other ions present in solution, i.e. potassium.
 
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noodleman

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sorry chris. Yes its Mg2+, but still the Cl- ion outnumber the Na+. The formula on the two part site states: 2 NaHCO3 = Na2CO3 + H2O + CO2 so basically you end up wit half the amount of sodium bicarb. So if you use washing soda you only need half the amount.

Hey spykes, if its to offset the sulfates, why not just use magnessium chloride entirely and not the eposion salts? Where exactly are the sulfates entering?
 

Cloud1921

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np dude.

Just checked up on the formula there, he claims that the formula has a balance by accounting an excess 12% by weight Mg/Na.

After adding 594 grams of baking soda (1 gallon of Recipe #1), we will have added 163 grams of sodium. In natural seawater, magnesium is present at about 12.0% of the sodium concentration (by weight). In order to match the magnesium additions to the sodium additions to leave them in a natural ratio, we need to add 12% of 163 grams, or 19.5 grams, of magnesium for every gallon of the two-part additive that we add.

As I mentioned earlier, he also speaks of how potassium in the dowflake contributes to the residual ions.
 

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