Chemistry!

alyssabentley · 12-01-2011, 11:28 PM

So, a couple of you may be familiar with my no-gravel 20 gallon tank that I set up a couple months ago now... I've been dosing it daily with about a quarter teaspoon of Flourish Excel (liquid carbon, for the plants) and about the same of liquid calcium, intended for reef aquariums, but being used by my snail.

I was thinking about it and tossing around element names and realized that calcium carbonate is a thing, and suddenly got a little panicky that the calcium and carbon would combine using the oxygen my plants produce and create calcium carbonate... which then would lock up both calcium and carbon AND deoxygenate the water!

>.> My fish are just fine, the plants look great, the snail's shell isn't being eaten away by my admittedly tannin-full water (from driftwood... though it's not bad anymore. driftwood's a couple years old...)

I was reading about calcium carbonate, and it was suggested that it might actually just be soluble, and thus wouldn't form in water unless it was in tremendously super ultra-saturated water and the water was evaporating, so I'm not too scared.

Anyone else ever think about this? Am I just crazy? Should I be doing reefs if I wanna do chemistry in my aquarium? (I don't want to do a reef...)

Also, I don't know what is actually going on within the bottle of liquid calcium or of flourish excel. I'm fairly certain they're not just elemental carbon and elemental calcium in solution.

Anyone know?

Lanfeixue · 12-01-2011, 11:53 PM

I also want to know the answer……

jrman83 · 12-02-2011, 03:57 AM

There is probably more than enough calcium in your tap water.

Russell · 12-02-2011, 05:13 AM

The carbon in Flourish Excel is in the form of short chains called aldehydes which, if I recall long ago organic chemistry, have the double bond of oxygen to carbon that CO2 has but have additional carbon chains attached. It is not free elemental carbon.
Don't know what's in the calcium bottle.

alyssabentley · 12-02-2011, 08:38 AM

@jrman: past experience with mysteries says if I don't dose, they lose their shells in my water and die in a couple months. My water tends to veer towards the 6.2 ph in my tanks if I don't, primarily because of the driftwood. One bottle of Kents Marine Liquid Calcium lasts forever, though.

12-01-2011, 11:28 PM	#1 (permalink)
alyssabentley Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 59 Location: Seattle, WA, USA My location Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 1 Times Said "Thanks" 14 Times Was Thanked 12 Times in 10 Posts	Chemistry! So, a couple of you may be familiar with my no-gravel 20 gallon tank that I set up a couple months ago now... I've been dosing it daily with about a quarter teaspoon of Flourish Excel (liquid carbon, for the plants) and about the same of liquid calcium, intended for reef aquariums, but being used by my snail. I was thinking about it and tossing around element names and realized that calcium carbonate is a thing, and suddenly got a little panicky that the calcium and carbon would combine using the oxygen my plants produce and create calcium carbonate... which then would lock up both calcium and carbon AND deoxygenate the water! >.> My fish are just fine, the plants look great, the snail's shell isn't being eaten away by my admittedly tannin-full water (from driftwood... though it's not bad anymore. driftwood's a couple years old...) I was reading about calcium carbonate, and it was suggested that it might actually just be soluble, and thus wouldn't form in water unless it was in tremendously super ultra-saturated water and the water was evaporating, so I'm not too scared. Anyone else ever think about this? Am I just crazy? Should I be doing reefs if I wanna do chemistry in my aquarium? (I don't want to do a reef...) Also, I don't know what is actually going on within the bottle of liquid calcium or of flourish excel. I'm fairly certain they're not just elemental carbon and elemental calcium in solution. Anyone know?

12-01-2011, 11:53 PM	#2 (permalink)
Lanfeixue Lanfeixue's Photo Gallery Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 11 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 0 Times Said "Thanks" 0 Times Was Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Chemistry! I also want to know the answer……

12-02-2011, 03:57 AM	#3 (permalink)
jrman83 ....has no life.... jrman83's Photo Gallery Join Date: Jul 2010 Posts: 9,463 Name: Ben Location: White Plains, MD My location Feedback: 16 / 100% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 3,382 Times Said "Thanks" 478 Times Was Thanked 2,431 Times in 2,286 Posts	Re: Chemistry! There is probably more than enough calcium in your tap water.

12-02-2011, 05:13 AM	#4 (permalink)
Russell Russell's Photo Gallery Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 56 Feedback: 1 / 100% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 32 Times Said "Thanks" 7 Times Was Thanked 15 Times in 14 Posts	Re: Chemistry! The carbon in Flourish Excel is in the form of short chains called aldehydes which, if I recall long ago organic chemistry, have the double bond of oxygen to carbon that CO2 has but have additional carbon chains attached. It is not free elemental carbon. Don't know what's in the calcium bottle.

12-02-2011, 08:38 AM	#5 (permalink)
alyssabentley Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 59 Location: Seattle, WA, USA My location Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Welcome to Aquarium Forum" 1 Times Said "Thanks" 14 Times Was Thanked 12 Times in 10 Posts	Re: Chemistry! @jrman: past experience with mysteries says if I don't dose, they lose their shells in my water and die in a couple months. My water tends to veer towards the 6.2 ph in my tanks if I don't, primarily because of the driftwood. One bottle of Kents Marine Liquid Calcium lasts forever, though.

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