Determine if the alkalinity is high or low.
Change alkalinity in pool.
In order to lower the alkalinity levels just follow these easy steps.
High total alkalinity can make pool water appear cloudy and cause scale deposits to form on the sides of the pool pool equipment.
To lower it you ll use muriatic acid.
Ph simply means the water s total acid alkalinity balance.
1 turn off your pool s pump and wait about an hour for the water to stop moving completely.
If the balance is off problems can and probably will occur in your pool or spa.
If the problem is low alkalinity you ll have to add something to the water in order to raise it.
As such always make sure you watch your alkalinity levels closely and use the right chemical to raise alkalinity level in your water.
How to adjust the alkalinity level in your pool.
Test the total alkalinity in your pool.
Pool experts suggest that the ideal ph reading of pool or spa water needs to be between 7 2 7 8.
Once you have your reading you ll know whether your alkalinity level is too high above 120 ppm or too low below 80 ppm.
A total alkalinity of 200 parts per million or more is too high.
Sure there are some products out there just for this purpose but seriously baking soda is all you need.
Adding sodium bicarbonate and muriatic acid.
If your pool alkalinity is severely low chances are a five pound container.
Regular ol baking soda sodium bicarbonate will usually do the trick.
Most pool owners use sada ash aka sodium carbonate to raise alkalinity level in pool water.
Finding out the total alkalinity level of your pool will determine if you need to.
To raise your alkalinity levels you ll add sodium bicarbonate baking soda to your pool water.
With the use of a pool test kit get a sample of the water with the use of a water collector.
You should however balance ta as soon as possible because it can lead to calcium scaling and cloudy water a breeding ground for bacteria.
If you have high alkalinity levels in your pool your ph will rise because ta acts as a ph buffer.
As long as you have enough chlorine in your pool around 3ppm for total chlorine and the ph level is balanced between 7 4 to 7 8 then a pool with high total alkalinity is still safe to swim in.
To put that into perspective consider that.
Lemon juice has a ph level of 2 very acidic urine has a ph level of 6 acidic water has a ph level of 7 neutral sea water has a ph level of 8 alkaline bleach has a ph level of 13 very alkaline.
2 read the directions on the bottle to determine how much acid needs to be added to your pool in order to lower it to.
Any element added to the water be it sweat sunscreen or leaves or bugs will cause the ph to change.