Low PH Even After Adding Sodium Carbonate

[ninaco]

Hi - Total newbie here! I'm living in a rental house with in IG pool in the backyard.

The pH is low - 6.8. I've added about 9 lbs. of sodium carbonate gradually over the past 36 hours, and the pH hasn't gone up. I can put in more, but I'm wondering if there's something I haven't considered that's keeping the pH level low.

I'm testing with new AquaChek Select strips. The water looks good - clean & clear.

Here are the testing results:

FC: 3
CC: 5
pH: 6.8
TA: 120
CH: 0 - 100
CYA: less than 30
Borates: n/a


Thanks!

 

[JasonLion]

Welcome to TFP!

The most common PH tests will read any PH level below 6.8 as if they were 6.8. Most likely, you have been raising your PH, just not enough to get it over 6.8 yet. It is also possible that the test strips aren't working (we don't recommend them) but they are usually alright at measuring PH.

You might want to switch to using borax at this point. Sodium carbonate, we call it soda ash, will raise both your PH and your TA levels. Your TA level is already high enough (again, assuming the test strips are working). Borax won't raise TA nearly as much.