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WHY Calcium carbonate as KH buffer



>Date: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 15:58:39 -0400
>From: "Christopher Coleman" <christopher.coleman at worldnet_att.net>
>
>Hi,
>
>I am in the process of adding a CO2 solution to my planted tank. =
>Currently
>I buffer GH and KH with sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) for KH and
>calcium chloride (NaCl) for GH.
>
>Is there a reason why the CO2 posts here frequently make reference to
>calcium carbonate (CaCO3) as a KH buffer? Is there any benefit to using
>calcium carbonate over calcium chloride?
>
>I prefer my current method simply because the calcium chloride effects =
>KH
>without effecting GH. and because it dissolves very rapidly with water.

<big, huge snip of useless HTML that should've been turned off>

Your statement above is incorrect.  Calcium chloride in and of itself does
not add KH to the water.  It adds GH to the water only.

If Calcium chloride works for you, go ahead and use it to add GH to your
water.  The only factor in Calcium carbonate that affects KH is the
carbonate. 

Beware of the effect of chlorides on plants.  Chlorides directly affect the
salinity of the water.

--
David W. Webb
Live Foods Digest administrator
live-foods at actwin_com