Just wanting to verify the order of some things I should be doing..
I don't have exact numbers in front of me but I'm sitting somewhere around
FC=10, CC was around .5 last I checked
CYA <20 (filled to the brim of the beaker in the TFP kit I can still easily see the black dot, but it is "cloudy")
TA around 20
PH 6.8 (or less I guess)
Haven't bothered testing CH yet.
Thanks to the low CYA the FC can be maintained relatively low, and we've got a weather reprieve with cloudiness all week so not losing too much from sun.
Right now I'm chlorinating with Trichlor shock from Wal-Mart to get the CYA up, however I know this also has the negative effect of lowering PH.
IIRC from last year, it was best to get TA in the target zone before fiddling with PH. Last year I was apparently running a TA of around 50.
Looks like I need to add about 13lb of baking soda to get the TA set, but also looks like the tri-chlor is going to pull the PH down faster than the baking soda brings it up. Should I be mitigating PH simultaneously, and if so, what's the best thing to use for PH Up?
Also, my baking soda turned into a brick over the winter.. can I safely toss the brick into a skimmer and let it self-disolve, or do I need to break it up and broadcast? Or just get a new bag of baking soda?
Thanks!
I don't have exact numbers in front of me but I'm sitting somewhere around
FC=10, CC was around .5 last I checked
CYA <20 (filled to the brim of the beaker in the TFP kit I can still easily see the black dot, but it is "cloudy")
TA around 20
PH 6.8 (or less I guess)
Haven't bothered testing CH yet.
Thanks to the low CYA the FC can be maintained relatively low, and we've got a weather reprieve with cloudiness all week so not losing too much from sun.
Right now I'm chlorinating with Trichlor shock from Wal-Mart to get the CYA up, however I know this also has the negative effect of lowering PH.
IIRC from last year, it was best to get TA in the target zone before fiddling with PH. Last year I was apparently running a TA of around 50.
Looks like I need to add about 13lb of baking soda to get the TA set, but also looks like the tri-chlor is going to pull the PH down faster than the baking soda brings it up. Should I be mitigating PH simultaneously, and if so, what's the best thing to use for PH Up?
Also, my baking soda turned into a brick over the winter.. can I safely toss the brick into a skimmer and let it self-disolve, or do I need to break it up and broadcast? Or just get a new bag of baking soda?
Thanks!