Alkalinity problem

[Antuan]

Pool size 20000 gal
Ph 7.4
Alkalinity 60
I want to raise my alkalinity to 100 ppm
Poured 10 lb of sodium bicarbonate into the pool
And measured the next day and it was 70 ppm
It was suppose to raise above 90 ppm
Please help, I can’t figure it out what’s the problem

 

[tim5055]

First, why are you trying ot get to100?

70 is smack dab in the middle of the ideal range for your pool. You don't need ot go much further. Pool stores want it higher so they can sell yo more Alk Up when all you need is WalMart baking soda.

My pool actually likes it at 60 more.

The higher the TA the faster the pH goes up.

What Are My Ideal Pool Levels?

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So, welcome to TFP!!

 

[Antuan]

I can’t control PH levels, very unstable and goes up very quickly, within 3 days goes from 7.4 to 8.0
So I thought the alkalinity is the problem
And I think alkalinity recommended levels are 80-120

 

[mknauss]

I can’t control PH levels, very unstable and goes up very quickly,

Raising the TA will make that worse.
Any TA at or above 50 ppm is fine.

 

[tim5055]

I can’t control PH levels, very unstable and goes up very quickly, within 3 days goes from 7.4 to 8.0
So I thought the alkalinity is the problem
And I think alkalinity recommended levels are 80-120

The higher the TA the faster pH rises.

You want lower TA, not higher. 50 is about the lowest it's safe, but you certainly don't want 100.

Yup, the pool stores will tell you they want to see your TA 100+, but then again they sell the acid to bring down the pH.

Read the articles I showed you.

 

[Antuan]

Ok thanks from you all
Than what causes my PH to raise so rapidly?

 

[mknauss]

Than what causes my PH to raise so rapidly?

"Spa +waterfall from spa to pool" Does that run all the time? Do you have automation?

Also, your fill water is likely high in TA. Test it. So as you add water due to evaporation, your TA rises, pushing the pH higher.

 

[tim5055]

Yup, I had to turn off my waterfall except for hours when we would be watching it. Anything that areates or churns the water will raise the pH. Even something as simple as return eyeballs turned up causing ripples on the surface.

 

[Antuan]

Spa waterfall to pool is part of the return
If I shut it down, spa water won’t be filtered

 

[mknauss]

Do you have automation?

 

[Antuan]

No automation

 

[tim5055]

Spa waterfall to pool is part of the return
If I shut it down, spa water won’t be filtered

Things like this are why we say pool builders are generally great at the physical pool, but poor at care as they don't take the continued operation into account.

You will need to keep TA at the lower end, 50 - 60 but never below 40 as lower than that it can crash easily.

How do you chlorinate? If using liquid chlorine you can reduce your pump run time to the minimum necessary to keep the pool clean. We find that most people run the pump a whole lot more than necessary. Shorter run time will result in less aeration and slow the pH rise some.

Determine Pump Run Time

To figure out how many hours you need to run your pump, you need to know how fast your pump works. You can find this here.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Antuan]

Thank you all for your help
I really appreciate it