Ok... long story short. New to spa...did Ahhsome a couple of times... rinsed 4 times to get bubbles out. Finally there!!!! Ok now on fresh fill TA at 10ish and ph 7.5. Went to pool calculator and added baking soda at 3oz. TA went to 50. But ph off the chart so added dry acid numerous times. Got ph down to 6.8 and TA didn't register to went back to 3oz of baking soda and yep perfect TA but PH off the chart. So why would ph go from6.8 to off the chart at 3oz of baking soda. 365 gallon. Added no chlorine yet and CH at 200
At a loss
- Thread starter Yeln4lks
- Start date
Read this first.
Baking soda will increase both total alkalinity and pH, although it increases TA more significantly. For me, it seems to raise pH more than others say it should. Different spa's react differently. I just checked back in my records, and when I filled my spa, 220 gallons, starting at 10 ppm TA and 6.8 pH, I added 4.8 oz by weight of baking soda, and the result was 90 TA and 7.5 pH. My pH and TA both tend to go down because bromine tabs are acidic. A week ago I was down to pH of 7.0 and TA of 70, so I added 3-1/2 TBSP of baking soda, after which pH was 7.7 and TA 130. I also have about 50 ppm borates to help buffer the pH. Dry acid and Muriatic acid will reduce both pH and TA, although according to the post above, you should be able to get it where you want.
Baking soda will increase both total alkalinity and pH, although it increases TA more significantly. For me, it seems to raise pH more than others say it should. Different spa's react differently. I just checked back in my records, and when I filled my spa, 220 gallons, starting at 10 ppm TA and 6.8 pH, I added 4.8 oz by weight of baking soda, and the result was 90 TA and 7.5 pH. My pH and TA both tend to go down because bromine tabs are acidic. A week ago I was down to pH of 7.0 and TA of 70, so I added 3-1/2 TBSP of baking soda, after which pH was 7.7 and TA 130. I also have about 50 ppm borates to help buffer the pH. Dry acid and Muriatic acid will reduce both pH and TA, although according to the post above, you should be able to get it where you want.
I'm in a loop now it seems. Ph off the charts so I add dry acid that bring down ph to about 7.5 but TA was 10. So going on the past I thought I would get the ph lower before I tried to raise TA. So added more dry acid which dropped ph to 6.8 and TA to not registering. So I thought I was good I would just add the baking soda like before to increase them both and TA went up exactly as expected but ph is over 8.2.
Sounds like you are using guess strips? It is impossible for TA to be 10 or 0 and pH to to be anything above 5.0. 0 TA typically results in pH around 4.5. Adding bakong sods will raise TA with little to no impact on pH in most cases. If TA was in fact 0-10 then adding baking soda to raise TA to 50 would bring pH into the 6s most likely or low 7s.
This is how I manage my hot tub. It has worked great for 4ish years. How do I use Chlorine in my Spa (or pool)?. It also covers managing pH and TA.
You need a good drop based test. We prefer the Taylor K-2006 or the TF-100. I buy my TF-100 from TFTestkits.net.
This is how I manage my hot tub. It has worked great for 4ish years. How do I use Chlorine in my Spa (or pool)?. It also covers managing pH and TA.
You need a good drop based test. We prefer the Taylor K-2006 or the TF-100. I buy my TF-100 from TFTestkits.net.
Got the tf-100... I added 2 drops of 7 then 5 drops of 8 and it turned bright pink with no 9. I assume it was zero.
- - - Updated - - -
The addition of baking soda is dead on th pool calculator for TA but 3oz sends my ph off the charts. That's why I got it down to 6.8 so I thought it would end up with TA of 40-50 and Ph around 7.5
- - - Updated - - -
The addition of baking soda is dead on th pool calculator for TA but 3oz sends my ph off the charts. That's why I got it down to 6.8 so I thought it would end up with TA of 40-50 and Ph around 7.5
Does your no 8 look green in the bottle? Maybe try with your tap water and see what you get.
Yeah... I use the same kit for pool with no issues... I just checked again several hours after the last addition of backing soda... I'm at 8.2 or higher on PH and 50 for TA. So according to pool calculator for 365 gallons I should add 1.2 oz of dry acid to drop ph by .55 and TA by 9.6. So I should be at 7.7 and 40 ta
Good point... just check tap and it's TA 50. I have a jacuzzi J235 I am going by the online specs. I hope that is correct but may be dated
Ok, adding your pool/spa info to your sig will help. More here on how and what to add, Pool School - Read This BEFORE You Post
What is your FC level? The pH test isn't accurate if FC is above 10.
Are you sure it is baking soda and not soda ash/washing soda?
Maybe try half the acid.
What is your FC level? The pH test isn't accurate if FC is above 10.
Are you sure it is baking soda and not soda ash/washing soda?
Maybe try half the acid.
It's a refill with tap. Nothing added so far but baking soda and yes I triple checked at this point, and dry acid. The problem at this point is the ph I so high the 1oz of acid drop the TA down but not so much on the ph. So when I get the ph right the TA is 10 or 20
Very weird.
Ok, how about this? Get TA to 50 and then add 30 or 40 ppm of CYA. That will lower PH some and you need CYA anyway.
Or add 3 ppm bleach and go to bed.
Ok, how about this? Get TA to 50 and then add 30 or 40 ppm of CYA. That will lower PH some and you need CYA anyway.
Or add 3 ppm bleach and go to bed.
Ok so today...
Fc 3.5
TA 30
PH 7.8
CH 175
still no cya. Might go with bromine. My only concern is with chlorine you have the chloramine to check to give you an idea of overall water but is there a similar check with bromine or do you just shock once a week? And yes I have read both chlorine and bromine articles numerous times...
Fc 3.5
TA 30
PH 7.8
CH 175
still no cya. Might go with bromine. My only concern is with chlorine you have the chloramine to check to give you an idea of overall water but is there a similar check with bromine or do you just shock once a week? And yes I have read both chlorine and bromine articles numerous times...
Well, if your pH stays stable, isn't erratic, with TA at 30 then I don't suppose there is any reason not to leave it alone. PH is the important number, not TA.
I dont know much about bromine. Here it is in bullet points
Costs more
No CC test
Smells funny
Can't be protected from the sun
It is best to use chlorine/bleach to shock it and activate it
So why not use chlorine in the first place? I've done the dichlor then bleach in my tub for over 4 years now and it's been great.
I dont know much about bromine. Here it is in bullet points
Costs more
No CC test
Smells funny
Can't be protected from the sun
It is best to use chlorine/bleach to shock it and activate it
So why not use chlorine in the first place? I've done the dichlor then bleach in my tub for over 4 years now and it's been great.
I will get this yet... so according to pool calculator 2.67 oz of trichlor will raise cya to 32. So I have 1 inch pucks of trichlor that's 2.67 oz each. So you only add one for a cya of 32. Can't be right
You don't want trichlor tablets. They dissolve very quickly in the hot water, are very acidic and 2.6 oz is too large of a dose all at one time.
Use dichlor granular, then switch to bleach. The dichlor is also acidic and will drop your PH a bit but being granular you can easily adjust the size of the dose.
I dose with dichlor for the first few days, then switch to bleach. I add about 2-3 oz of bleach every other day and after each use. My tub does not get used everyday and often I can skip a dose, I usually try to test every other day before dosing. Every few weeks I revert to dichlor for one dose to boost the cya. My tub maintains 4-5ppm FC easily and it takes about 3 weeks for PH to creep up to the point I need to add a bit of muratic acid. I would never go back to bromine.
Use dichlor granular, then switch to bleach. The dichlor is also acidic and will drop your PH a bit but being granular you can easily adjust the size of the dose.
I dose with dichlor for the first few days, then switch to bleach. I add about 2-3 oz of bleach every other day and after each use. My tub does not get used everyday and often I can skip a dose, I usually try to test every other day before dosing. Every few weeks I revert to dichlor for one dose to boost the cya. My tub maintains 4-5ppm FC easily and it takes about 3 weeks for PH to creep up to the point I need to add a bit of muratic acid. I would never go back to bromine.
Best place for dichlor? I grabbed what they had when getting liquid chlorine for pool. I just need to get my cya up
Should be easy to find, anywhere that sells pool/spa supplies should carry it. Just read the label, you're looking for 99% dichlor. I've been using the same 2 pound bottle since last summer and it's still over half full, you really won't use a lot.