Mike, not sure why you started a second thread on Baking Soda, but I do want to review a couple things so that all is clear.
CHEMISTRY
Baking soda is Sodium Bicarbonate while Soda Ash is Sodium Carbonate. You can easily make soda ash by taking baking soda and “cooking” it for an hour at 300 F. What BRS sells is soda ash.
CHOOSING BAKING SODA OR SODA ASH
If the pH of your tank is high, you will want to use baking soda as your alkalinity choice. If your pH is on the low side, you will want to use soda ash as your alkalinity additive. Most tanks tend to run on the low side of preferred pH, so most use soda ash.
MIXING AND EQUIVALENCE
If you wish to make your own Alkalinity solution starting with soda ash (what BRS sells), you use 2 cups of soda ash and mix that in a gallon jug with RO/DI water.
If you wish to use baking soda, you take 2 ¼ cups (NOT 2 ½) and either mix it directly in one gallon jug with RO/DI water OR, first spread it out on a cookie sheet and cook it for an hour at 300F to convert it to soda ash before mixing it.
BRS CALCULATOR (FOR ALKALINITY)
I’ve never accessed this
BRS calculator on a phone and I’m guessing that is where some of you comments are coming from in regard to the calculator. If you access using a computer, after choosing “alkalinity,” and putting in your total tank volume, you now have choices to make…This is Step 3….Put in you current alkalinity (and you have the choice of meq/l, dKH or ppm); put in your desired alkalinity and finally, pick the type of product you are using. There are four choices:
A. 2 part alkalinity (soda ash) solution
B. Dry Sodium Bicarbonate
C. Dry Soda Ash (Sodium Carbonate) Crystals
D. Sodium Bicarbonate Alkalinity Solution***
*** Note that for some reason BRS suggests mixing their Sodium Bicarbonate solution at half strength. If you wish to use sodium bicarbonate, I’d suggest mixing it at full strength (as discussed above) and using the same 2 part calulator you use for soda ash.
Hope this helps.
