Hmmm..... now for some reason I'm questioning what I thought I read in
@onBalance bicarb start up guide and your comments a little earlier in this thread. I guess I'm confusing myself between just focusing on CSI of +0.4 to +0.6 (which seems to be what you are trying to drill into my head) and what I read in the bicarb start up guide that TA should be a minimum of 200 ppm.
If I'm on the right track I'll just focus on any chemicals to keep CSI in the target range and forget about the TA minimum. Assuming so, I just keep pH high like you said (8.0-8.2) and will be adding acid if getting above that and possibly bicarb if the new pH reading after acid pushes CSI down below +0.4 to bring it back up (using pool math to simulate what TA needs to be to get in range.
Are you suggesting testing more frequently than once a day?
By the way I have some trichlor pucks floating around the pool now. I opened it up for the most flow. Do I just keep it full and wide open for the first 30 days?