Help interpreting FAS-DPD FC/CC test results **Sorry, long, techy post**

[JuJuBee]

As I understand it, you lower TA by lowering pH (adding Muriatic Acid). Then you raise your pH by aerating. Repeating this process an necessary to reach your TA goal.

Oxidizing ammonia at a high pH produces less noxious CC than at a lower pH. This is why Ben adised you to raise your pH.

oops, got mixed up. Lots of different things going on and I haven't visited this since Memorial Day - my memory is slow to get back to where I was.

Yes, aerating was to let pH rise on it's own without raising Alk. But it wasn't rising beyond 7.2 so we had to add Borax to get it to 7.8 and keep it there - it kept falling. We haven't added Borax since May 25th, but my efforts to reach and maintain 7.8 were:

Date ------- pH ------- added
5/23 ------- 7.2 ------- 7p - 25.5 oz Borax

5/24 ------- 7.6 ------- 7a
5/24 ------- 7.6 ------- 11:30a
5/24 ------- 7.5 ------- 10p - 1 box Borax

5/25 ------- 7.4 ------- 7:30a - 1/2 box Borax
5/25 ------- 7.6 ------- 11:30a - 1/2 box Borax
5/25 ------- 7.6 ------- 3p - 1/2 box Borax
5/25 ------- 7.6 ------- 10p - 1 box Borax

5/26 ------- 8.0 ------- 8a
5/26 ------- >8.2 ------- 1:30p
5/26 ------- >8.2 ------- 10:30p

5/27 ------- 8.0 ------- 4p

5/29-5/30 ------- Alk 250 ------- added 96oz Muratic acid

-6/1 ------- 7.7 ------- 11:30a ------- Alk / cyn-Alk ------- 225 / 193
-6/2 ------- 7.6 ------- 12:30p ------- Alk / cyn-Alk ------- 200 / 170
-6/3 ------- 7.8 ------- 9:00p --------- Alk / cyn-Alk ------- 200 / 168

TODAY
- 6/5 ------- 7.8 ------- 8:45a
- FC --------- 16.0 ppm
- CC --------- .5 ppm
- CYA -------- 80
- Alk / cyn-Alk ------- 175 / 147 --------- (7 drops changed to pink/purple)
- one more drop ----- 200 / 172 --------- (8 drops changed to bright red/pink)
- Borates ----- 65? 70? (not 50 but not 80)

Adding Borax to raise pH will also raise TA. Raising pH by areating (CO2 outgassing) does not raise TA.

Keep at it until you have less than 1 ppm FC loss overnight and less than 0.5ppm CC plus one more day to be sure. Then your Ammonia will be gone and you can let the FC drift down. At that point you can resume your TA reduction by adding acid and aerating.

Luckily, my testing and maint. log verify I understood this as you have written it and was taking actions accordingly. Only my memory was backwards.