Poll: Starting water

[bulmer4nc]

Alk - 40
ph - 7.4
Calcium - 50

Moving soon so it'll be interesting to see what the new water will be like.  It's going to be from a community well instead of city water we have now.

[tony]

Why do you adjust anything except Cal since you're close to perfect?

I only adjust calc.  I raise it to about 150.  My TA stays at about 80.  PH fluctuates a little...generally drifts down.  I am fortunate to have good water.

[Vinny]

I only adjust calc.  I raise it to about 150.  My TA stays at about 80.  PH fluctuates a little...generally drifts down.  I am fortunate to have good water.

Sorry ... I mixed you up with tonyp just above you ... I thought you did a tub vs tap comparison. Even my new glasses don't help - LOL!!

[tanstaafl2]

From the tap:
pH 8.0+
TA 50
CYA Low via strip but the Bioguard 1200v kit doesn't have a test for CYA or hardness/calcium.

Since I drink the stuff I assume it is safe to sit in...

In my one month old tub I have ozone, N2 and use only dichlor post use and to shock. pH in my tub is maybe 7.4 at most although I think it is right between 7.2 and 7.4 on the scale (after having used some bicarb AND pH up at different times in the past). TA is 120ish and CYA appears to still be low despite all the dichlor.

Would like to get the pH to 7.6 ish on a regular basis and was told I should try to bump up the TA a bit more before the pH would be stable. I have both sodium carb and baking soda. Presume baking soda is better for TA and sodium carb better for pH but not sure what, if anything, to add next.

I presume the dichlor is driving the pH down as I used a fair amount early on but don't use as much now after each soak (heaping tsp at most for 550 gallon tub) and shock maybe every two weeks at most.

Still, it is surprising my tap pH is so high yet my tub pH tends to run low.

[anne]

Still, it is surprising my tap pH is so high yet my tub pH tends to run low.

That is interesting, as I also have water out of the tap @ pH 8.0, and use dichlor daily (with each tub use) and have added Spa Down MANY times, and my pH is still 8.0. I have only had it full 3 weeks, shocked once with dichlor and once with MPS. Wish you knew your secret so you could pass it on! :-/

[Tatooed_Lady]

Alk - 240+
pH - 8.2
Hardness - off the charts high

That's what I got to deal with upon freshly filling the tub. DOH!  I realize softened water contains a lot of "extra stuff" that adds to the TDS....but would that be worse than, say, the acids to lower the TA into a workable range?
Should I look at filling the tub with half softened water, half hard? Maybe all soft? Hmmm....