test strip read low pH but site says need pH down??

[tookiesmom07]

I currently have Aquachem 6-way test strips to test our pool water until we can get a better kit. All the information I have to go on is the color codes on the stick to the ones on the back of the bottle. There are numbers there but they are general numbers, yet I will list what the bottle says for that color if it helps. Aquachem has a website where you plug in the colors from your test strip and they recommend what and how much products you need to fix your water. But I know if the color shows pH low with a 6.8 above that color that I don't need pH down?! Because 7.2 is ideal. So these are the test results I can post....

CH (color code B) Low 100
TC (color code B) Ok 1
FC (color code B) Low OK 1
pH (color code A) Low 6.8
TA (color code B) Low-Very Low 40
CYA/Stabilizer (color code A) Very Low 0


Seeing as this is all I have, I plug it in the website by the color code listed on the back of the bottle matched to the test strip. The site says I will need 4.5lbs of Stabilizer, 20.0lbs of Alkalinity Increaser, pH needs adjustment with .5lbs of pH down, and CH is low add 6lbs of Calcium Hardness Increaser.

Does adding all that end up making the pH go up so that it would need pH down? I just find that strange. I am sorry I can't give you better test results, it's just what we currently have until we can order something better. Hopefully someone can help us out here. Also, we live in Tennessee, so it is terribly hot and humid here with PLENTY of sunshine on the pool the better part of the day. Maybe knowing that will help also. And we do know that we have soft water here. So I can understand calcium hardness increaser. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[jblizzle]

I am having deja vu because I am certain someone else posted the same question this morning ... that the recommendation was to lower the pH when the pH was already too low. This is just another reason to not trust test strips in my mind.

Actually, the stabilizer will also lower the pH. The Alk increaser should not impact the pH much, may up a very little bit.
AND to top it off, with a vinyl pool, low CH does NOT matter.

I would suggest stop wasting your time and confusing yourself and just get one of the Recommended Test Kits. Then we can help you get the pool balanced.

We could "guess" what you need to adjust, but that may end up wasting money.

Is this a new pool? Have you added any CYA? If not, that would be 0ppm and you should increase it.

 

[tookiesmom07]

This is probably a crazy question but why is it with a vinyl pool CH doesn't matter? Just curious.

 

[jblizzle]

LOW CH does not matter vinyl pool. High CH can still cause problems.

Overly simplistic explanation: In a plaster pool, if the CH is too low, it will pull the calcium out of the plaster and weaken it.