Re: Buffers

To: Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
Subject: Re: Buffers
From: u7211aa at sunmail_lrz-muenchen.de (Michael Irlbeck)
Date: Tue, 18 Jul 95 12:04:49 EDT

>From: Grant.Gussie at phys_utas.edu.au (Grant Gussie)
>Date: Tue, 18 Jul 1995 09:47:51 +1000
>Subject: Re: Aquatic Plants Digest V1 #188
>
>>I don't suppose anyone has an opinion of Kent Marine pH Stable?
>>
>>The label states the contents as Carbonic Acid Monosodium Salts.
>>Strangely enough, it is supposed to increase buffering capacity.
>
>This makes no sense to me unless their definition of buffering capacity is
>different from mine. I take buffering capacity to be synonimous with
>alkalinity, in which case this statement is wrong. Carbonic acid is in
>equilibrium with CO2, so adding carbonic acid salts is chemically
>equivalent to CO2 injection.

Nope. Carbonic Acid Monosodium Salt is Sodium Bicarbonate which is Baking Soda. It will increase KH and buffering capacity. 

> CO2 does
>however change carbonate hardness, 

Not significantly.

> This is a dumb definition of buffering capactity though, since if
>you increase H3O+ ions along with an increase in the carbonate &
>bicarbonate ions you have no NET change in the waters ability to resist
>downward changes in pH, which is what any reasonable working definition of
>sea water buffering capacity should require.

You just answered your previous point yourself.

Michael


 _________________________________________________________
|                       |                                 |
|Michael Irlbeck        |  u7211aa at sunmail_lrz-muenchen.de|
|Dept. of Physiology    |  mik at physiol_med.uni-muenchen.de|
|University of Munich   |                  CIS:100277,343 |
|_______________________|_________________________________|