Soda Ash

[CapMorgan]

What is soda ash and where can i buy it.

Thanks,
CapMorgan

[Vinny]

Soda Ash is PH Up and can be bought almost anywhere. It affects the PH and not the alkalinity.

[Snowbird]

And is a lot cheaper.  I bought a 5 lb bucket from Doc and it works every bit as good as pH up.

[Vinny]

Actually most of the spa chems are also pool chems ... much cheaper and can get in larger quantities.

I just found a 4 lb bucket of MPS from Leslies pool supplies hiding in my garage, it was there for about 4 years from my pool - now I have enough for a long time.

I bought calcium increaser from there as well and it was cheaper to buy that quantity than at the spa quantity.

Now, if you had a place to store 50 lbs of dichlor ...

[Brewman]

I was at Sam's Club the other day, and they had a #70 bucket of Dichlor for a little over $100.  That works out to less than $1.50/pound.  Damn good price considering what they get for smaller containers.

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

Soda Ash is PH Up.

Wrong

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

soda ash is sodium carbonate. pH up is typically sodium bicarbonate.

Sodium carbonate (soda ash) has a pH of 13.0 and contributes carbonate to total alkalinity. Because it has a high pH, soda ash will raise both pH and total alkalinity. 1 lb of soda ash added to 10,000 gallons of water will increase TA by 11.33 ppm and will increase the pH by about 1.0 unit.

Sodium bicarbonate (sodium bicarb, bicarb or baking soda) has a pH of 8.3 and contributes bicarbonate to total alkalinity. Because the spa water pH is close to the pH of the bicarb, it will have a greater effect on TA than pH. So if you want to raise just the alkalinity with a small rise in pH, use bicarb. 1 lb of bicarb added to 10,000 gallons of water will increase TA by 7.15 ppm and increase pH by about .1 to .2 unit.

[Snowbird]

soda ash is sodium carbonate. pH up is typically sodium bicarbonate.

Sodium carbonate (soda ash) has a pH of 13.0 and contributes carbonate to total alkalinity. Because it has a high pH, soda ash will raise both pH and total alkalinity. 1 lb of soda ash added to 10,000 gallons of water will increase TA by 11.33 ppm and will increase the pH by about 1.0 unit.

Sodium bicarbonate (sodium bicarb, bicarb or baking soda) has a pH of 8.3 and contributes bicarbonate to total alkalinity. Because the spa water pH is close to the pH of the bicarb, it will have a greater effect on TA than pH. So if you want to raise just the alkalinity with a small rise in pH, use bicarb. 1 lb of bicarb added to 10,000 gallons of water will increase TA by 7.15 ppm and increase pH by about .1 to .2 unit.

Thanks Doc.  This forum is a great source of info and you have always steered me right.

It appears I am doing it correctly, but I am swagging the amount (appx 2 oz) rather than measuring.  Since I don't have a 10,000 gallon hot tub, can you point me to a chart that would show how much to add for 550 gallons?  I am NOT an algebra kinda guy.  

[Dr. Spa™ Ret.]

This is cool.. I just found a bunch of charts, and even some interactive forms to make the calculations......... It's a big page, so scroll to find things....

http://www.rhtubs.com/info/water.htm

[Snowbird]

This is cool.. I just found a bunch of charts, and even some interactive forms to make the calculations......... It's a big page, so scroll to find things....

http://www.rhtubs.com/info/water.htm

Bee-you-tee-full ! ! !                

Thanks again Doc.

[96SC]

Doc

Ditto on the thanks for the website.  One of the biggest concerns I have had about buying a spa is 'how in h*ll am I going to keep the thing balanced and clear'.

I read all sorts of advice in this forum but can never remember where it was, now I, and everyone can go directly to one place to find the answer.

Thanks again

[Gomboman]

Doc, I need something to lower PH without affecting my Alkalinity. Is there anything out there?

[Vinny]

I found out something new today!!

[CapMorgan]

Doc, I need something to raise PH without affecting my Alkalinity. Is there anything out there?

Thanks,
CapMorgan