Anyone using baking soda?

I saw this email from r2r. If you dose 2 part, then you are already using baking soda. The soda ash is baking soda that is baked to remove the moisture from it.

Cheaper to do baking soda .

I use grocery store baking soda to raise my Alkalinity (dkH) from time to time when my kalkwasser dosing doesn't keep things where I want them. I mix a 1/4 teaspoon at a time in a cup of RO water and add to my sump. Like all other alkalinity products, it's not recommended to go more than 1 dkH per day. My personal experience of doing this for about a year is positive.

Yes it's cheaper, but the question is, "What's your time worth. I did a quick search online and found a 4 lbs container of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)  at this site it goes for $6.60.

Through BRS (this link) a 35 lb bucket of Soda ash (sodium carbonate) is $85.

To make the math work, lets say you buy 35 lbs of baking soda at $1.65 per pound multiply by 35 it will cost you $57.75.

Keep in mind you haven't baked it yet to make it sodium carbonate. Is the $27 worth it to you?

Side note:
How long will 35 lbs last you? for me it lasts about 2 years. that's dosing 110ml per day. which equates to an extra $0.04 a day.

Not to mention that the BRS blend is the purest form we can get, which equates to less build up of unwanted impurities in the tank which can cause problems years down the road...

Also, way back then, hobbyist didn't have a choice but to make their own Alkalinity, calcium and magnesium from over the counter supplies like ice melt and baking soda. That worked ok for people, except that there were a lot of impurities that came with these products that weren't intended to be used in salt water reefs, which in my opinion the build up of all these impurities was the main cause of many tank crashes.

Ever since these products have become readily available by companies like BRS, Everyone in the hobby had a better alternative and just about everyone stopped making their own. Which has led to less reports tank crashes.

Why this has become a hot topic again is beyond me. Yes it's a cheaper (monetarily) way to run a tank but in my opinion it's archaic. Why trust something that wasn't intended for reef aquaria? $0.04 a day is a small price to pay for piece of mind... Especially in this hobby, you can't cut corners.