little help on pH level and total alkalinity please

[Spiny Norman]

This may be a dumb question but my excuse is I'm new.

My pH is 7.2, a little low I understand.
But my total alkalinity is 120 ppm a little high right?

Does that make sense? Item 1 tells me I need to add soda ash but item 2 tells me to add acid. Isn't that contradictory?

any help gratefully received.

 

[JasonLion]

7.2 is good. As long as your PH doesn't go down any further you can leave things alone and the PH will tend to go up on it's own.

Note: If you are using trichlor tablets, the above does not apply and you should raise the PH with soda ash. The recommended TA is higher when using trichlor.

 

[Spiny Norman]

Thanks for the reply. I just googled trichlor and found out what it is and yes I'm using it so I should use soda ash.

However, should I add acid to lower TA?

 

[jblizzle]

Really what you should do is stop using trichlor before your CYA gets to be unmanageably high. Read these:
ABCs of Water Chemistry
Recommended Pool Chemicals
How to Chlorinate Your Pool

What is your current CYA? Post up a full set of test results.

EDIT: And no you should not add acid ... it lowers pH and TA and your pH is already at the lower limit.

 

[linen]

Welcome to tfp, Spiny Norman

The trichlor you are using is very acidic and will lower TA and ph, that is why you should use washing soda to raise ph now (it will also raise TA up a good bit). As jbliz said, long-term a better solution is to move away from the trichlor pucks.

 

[Spiny Norman]

Thanks guys I appreciate the help