How to Safely Add Soda Ash or Sodium Bicarb to a Swimming Pool | Orenda Procedures
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This video explains how to safely and properly add the pH adjustment chemicals Soda Ash and Sodium Bicarb to a swimming pool. Dry chemicals need to be pre-dissolved in a bucket prior to adding to the water.
Soda Ash (sodium carbonate) has a pH of 11.3-11.8. If it is not pre-dissolved or added too quickly, it can cloud up a swimming pool rapidly. This clouding is called "carbonate clouding", and happens because of the sudden change in pH, which converts bicarbonate ions into carbonate ions. Carbonate ions are very attracted to calcium, so they bind and form calcium carbonate (CaCO3), which precipitates out of solution and turns white. Hence, the clouding. Eventually, this will fall to the floor of the pool as calcium dust or will re-dissolve over time.
The other reason Soda Ash can cloud up water is that it is sodium CARBONATE. It is a direct addition of carbonate alkalinity, and those carbonates can bind to calcium. This is why it is beneficial to chelate calcium with a product like SC-1000, which inhibits this binding reaction from occurring.
Learn more about Soda Ash here: https://blog.orendatech.com/why-does-...
Bicarb (sodium bicarbonate) has a slightly basic pH of about 8.3. It is bicarbonate alkalinity that swimming pools primarily have because their operating pH should be between 7.2-7.8, ideally. At these pH's, bicarbonate is the dominant species of alkalinity. Sodium bicarb raises alkalinity but has a minimal impact on pH.
It takes far less Soda Ash to accomplish the same pH and alkalinity increases as Bicarb.