Get The Right Quantity To Add To The Pool
Most people do not like adding chemicals into their pool. So, they only add three-fourths or one-half of the amounts indicated on the container. This is a good step because having the pool pH at a low value is better than having to lower the alkalinity again with muriatic acid because the pool water became too basic. If your pool water still has a low alkalinity level, you can still add more sodium bicarbonate to it.
How To Test Swimming Pool Alkalinity
Total alkalinity is important to test and maintain. However, total alkalinity is largely similar and even correlated to cyanuric acid. Therefore, it is not as volatile as free chlorine or pH levels and does not require as frequent testing. A reliable rule of thumb is to test total alkalinity every other time you test pH levels. This should work out to about once per week.
Test strips are the easiest way to test total alkalinity. To conduct a test, follow the directions provided with the test strips. Typically, you will submerge one test strip in your pool water for several seconds. Then, you will hold the test strip at rest while the reagents on the strip react with the pool water. Finally, you will compare the color of the total alkalinity test with the color scale provided on the test strips container. It is unusual for your test color to exactly match one of the benchmark colors on the color scale. Use your best judgement to determine the exact value of your total alkalinity test result.
Test kits are another way to test total alkalinity. Test kits are very similar to test strips, except they require you to collect a small sample of pool water in a test tube and apply several drops of reagent to the water. After the reagent fully reacts with the water, you compare the color of the test water with a color scale provided in the test kit.
What Causes Low Alkalinity
Your pool water can become low in alkalinity for a number of reasons. A drop in alkalinity is something that most pool owners will experience. It can be a fairly easy fix, but it is important to figure out the cause to prevent low alkalinity in the future.
Muriatic acid or other dry acids are definitely effective for cleaning your pool. But they significantly impact the waters pH levels, which need to be accounted for when treating the swimming pool. Overuse of these acids can cause the water to become unbalanced.
Another common reason your waters alkalinity will drop is heavy rain. Rainstorms can alter the swimming pools pH level because the additional water dilutes chemicals in the water or because the rain itself is slightly acidic.
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What Is The Ideal Alkalinity In Pool
The ideal alkalinity range of a balanced pool should be between 100 and 140 parts per million . Its perfect for keeping it between this range as it ensures appropriate buffer and positive chlorine effects.
Sodium and Calcium Hypo-Chlorite pool shocking products perform well in the lower end of this alkalinity range, while chlorine gas, dichlor and trichlor perform better in the higher end.
Anything below 80 ppm or above 150 ppm for most swimming pool require immediate balancing. These alkalinity levels potentially affect the pools LSI reading significantly and put your pool surfaces and equipment at risk of degradation.
A standard alkalinity test gives you the pools total alkalinity, and that is everything you need. But apart from knowing the TA, you might want to tell the carbonate alkalinity level.
You get this by subtracting CA from TA to get them corrected or true TA, the alkalinity level you need to adjust.
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Get Started With Waterguru Today
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How Much Baking Soda
One of the potential disadvantages of using baking soda instead of a commercial alkalinity increaser is that baking soda does not come with instructions for use on pools. However, that should not keep you from using it to increase your alkalinity levels.
To calculate the amount of baking soda you want to use, you should first determine how many gallons of water are in your pool. Then, add 1.5 pounds of baking soda for every 10,000 gallons of water. This will increase the pools total alkalinity by 10 ppm.
For example, if your pool houses 20,000 gallons of water and your test kit has indicated an alkalinity of 50 ppm, you need to raise your alkalinity by at least 30 ppm. With a pool of 20,000 gallons of water, every three pounds of baking soda will raise the water roughly 10 ppm. Therefore, you need to add about nine pounds of baking soda to a 20,000-gallon pool to increase the alkalinity by 30 ppm. This will put the water in the acceptable alkalinity range of 80 -120ppm.
Once youve calculated how much to use, add the baking soda directly into the water. Let it dissolve and allow enough time for it to fully distribute throughout the pool. This will usually take a minimum of twenty minimums with your pump on. Use your test kit to check the levels in the water and add more baking soda as needed.
Accelerating The Aeration Process Using An Air Compressor
Using an air compressor at the surface of the water will add more disturbance and speed up the process.
With an air compressor, it may take only a few hours to get TA and pH back to recommended levels.
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Is It Safe To Plunge With Off Balanced Water
Low alkalinity goes hand in hand with a low pH creating an acidic environment. Your pool water pH and alkalinity can affect disinfection by chlorine. Chlorine is very slow to react at high pH levels and can be over 50% inactive at pH levels over 8.2.
You would never want to swim in a bath filled with lemon juice because the acidity would sting your eyes and irritate your skin. For this reason, it is definitely not recommended.
Diagnosing Low Alkalinity Levels
Low alkalinity levels must be diagnosed by testing your pool water. Most basic testing kits for pool chemistry contain testing solutions for total alkalinity, such as this 4 in 1 Test Kit.
While we tend to recommend test kits that use vials of pool water and testing solutions for the most accurate results, you may prefer to use test strips for your pool. This set of 4 in 1 Test Strips makes a great option for those seeking ease of use when testing their pool chemicals.
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Why Raise Pool Alkalinity Levels
It can be very harmful for both your pool and those who swim in it if the water has a low alkalinity. Levels lower than 80 ppm can cause the walls of your pool to crack, delaminate, or become etched. Whereas, metal surfaces will deteriorate and melt when exposed to such corrosive water conditions. Aside from its effects on the pool itself, an acidic swimming pool is unsafe for swimmers and can cause skin, eye, and nasal irritations.
Even the smallest changes in chemical composition in your pool water can cause severe variations in the pH levels. When your pools pH level becomes unbalanced, this phenomenon is referred to as pH bounce and can also result in low alkalinity.
When you have low levels of alkalinity, the traditional amount of chlorine that is added to your pool will have no effect. In fact, youll have to buy significantly more than the usual amount of chlorine to achieve the same results.
Set A Target Value For Total Alkalinity
In the same example above, I set my target value of TA at 100 ppm. It is important to note that both the levels of TA and pH reduce when acid is added. A target value of 80 ppm or 90 ppm should be just fine, but I anticipated that the levels of pH would drop way below 7.0 when I add a strong acid, so my experience told me that 100 ppm was ideal for raising the level of pH later on through aeration.
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Pool Ph Will Not Increase
If it seems like you keep adding pH Increaser or Decreaser, but it only seems to last a day, or maybe seems to have no effect at all high Total Alkalinity levels over 120 ppm may be preventing you from making an effective adjustment. For pools with high alkalinity and high pH levels, add pH Decreaser or other acid, to affect both.
Problems Associated With Low Alkalinity
Low alkalinity in a pool will lead to a problem where the pH can drop quite quickly, as there is no longer any alkalinity to buffer it. Low alkalinity will lead to an unstable, low pH, and you will spend a lot of time trying to lift it back up to normal levels, only to see it drop again quickly.
Low pH can lead to many problems with your pool, most of which are associated with corrosive qualities of the water.
Swimming in water with a low alkalinity and low pH level can cause intense irritation to the skin and is known to cause burning when it comes in contact with the swimmer’s eyes or nasal passages.
Low pH can also lead to the corrosion of pool equipment and other surfaces that come in contact with the water. Plastic equipment may show signs of etching and will begin to degrade even faster if left out in the sun after use. Metal surfaces exposed to low pH often show signs of discoloration and may develop tarnish or rust.
Having low alkalinity levels in your pool may also cause your chlorine to be less effective at sanitising your water. This is because most chlorine products rely on water with a stable pH to work efficiently, and low pH levels can cause degradation to your chlorine even when stabilisers are used.
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Does Baking Soda Kill Algae In Pools
No. But keeping your pH and alkalinity properly balanced helps maintain a stable chlorine level which helps kill pool algae and keep it out of the water. However, if you have a green pool, then you need to follow our detailed instructions on getting rid of pool algae and keep it from coming back. You can also try using an algaecide, too.
What Causes High Alkalinity In Pools
Have you ever managed a swimming pool where the alkalinity level fluctuates? Usually, alkalinity decreases each week due to acid use, but what about an alkalinity level that rises? Those of you with CO2 feeders are probably already familiar with a seemingly endless rise in alkalinity. If you have ever wondered why alkalinity sometimes climbs on its own, this article is for you.
Covered in this article:
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Getting An Accurate Water Test
One more tip! For correct pH and Total Alkalinity testing, a titration test is generally much more accurate than test strips. We like to recommend the Taylor K-2005, but if the price tag is too much, take a look at the less expensive Swimline 4-in-1 for a reliable pool pH and Alkalinity test kit.
If you have any other questions about pool pH or Total Alkalinity chemicals that we didnt cover, let us know. You can also check out our handy dosage charts for more information about how to reach specific levels with water balancing chemicals.
Class is adjourned. Happy swimming!
Ideal Total Alkalinity Range For Pools: 80
Testing Pool Alkalinity: Test your pools alkalinity level at least twice per week, with a test kit or strips. We also recommend taking a water sample to a dealer test station periodically to verify results.
If using a FROG® System, use only FROG® Test Strips to help you dial in the low chlorine or bromine level used with FROG minerals. With standard test strips you could over chlorinate which wastes money. Using FROG Test Strips can help your chlorine pacs and bromine cartridges last up to 50% longer!
What is Total Alkalinity?Total Alkalinity describes how buffered the water is against sudden changes in your pools pH. The alkalinity of your pool is perhaps the most important water balancing step in your pool to manage and should always be the first thing you test before adding chemicals including FROG® products into the pool. The ideal range for your pools alkalinity level should be between 80-120 ppm . If you are unsure if your pool water is adequately balanced, our Langelier Saturation Index calculator can tell you.
Note:You can have technically balanced pool water, as measured by the Langelier Saturation Index , even if your total alkalinity levels may be a little high or low.
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What About Health Risks
We mentioned getting it in your eye if you add it to your pool on a windy day. That hurts like hell. But besides that, sodium bicarbonate is relatively safe.
Sodium bicarbonate has been used for thousands of years. Most notably by Ancient Egyptians who used it to clean their teeth. Just like we do today!
And its Generally Recognized as Safe by the FDA as a direct food additive.
Think of it this way, if its safe enough to use in cakes, then your swimming pool wont be a problem.
How To Raise Alkalinity Without Raising Ph
The secret we want to reveal to you is AERATION!
Remember, your pools total alkalinity and PH levels are opposite North and South and what you do to alkalinity will take its toil on the PH levels.
Do this:
- Circulate the air in your pool every time you raise the total alkalinity level in your pool.
- Then introduce some form of movements inside your swimming pool by using waterfalls, slides, turning pool motor or even hiring an air pump and inserting the hose into your pool to add air into the water.
Thats it! Many pool experts recommend it and pool owners have tried and tested it.
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Tips On Raising Alkalinity In Pool
Increasing alkalinity in your home pool is a very simple and straightforward process that you should be able to complete in a matter of minutes. Before you begin this process, there are a few tips that you might want to keep in mind, which include:
- Different pools will oftentimes provide different measurements when testing alkalinity levels. As you continue to use your pool and measure alkalinity levels, you may start to notice patterns in how the alkalinity increases or decreases. Once you recognize these patterns, its highly recommended that you take them into account when increasing the alkalinity of your pool water, which means that you might want to adjust the amount of sodium bicarbonate that you place in the water.
- To determine how much sodium bicarbonate you should add to your pool, its important that you take the package instructions into account as well as the current alkalinity measurements of the pool water and the size of your pool. By adhering to these factors, you can avoid raising the alkalinity levels too high.
- The exact type of pool you have can determine what your alkalinity levels should be. In most cases, maintaining alkalinity levels at 100-120 PPM should be enough for fiberglass, gunite, concrete, and vinyl pools.
Posted by Sensorex on April 28, 2020
What Causes Rise In Ph And Total Alkalinity In A Swimming Pool
One of the major reasons why pH rises above the recommended level for a swimming pool is high alkalinity.
To avoid high alkalinity, add Alkalinity Increaser slowly by slowly while measuring its level and always ensure that your Total Alkalinity is within the recommended range of 80 120ppm because if it goes above 120ppm, your pH will definitely rise high.
The second cause of high pH in a pool is using Calcium Hypochlorite pool shock to sanitize pool water. Cal hypo comes with high pH and Calcium level and will significantly increase pH in pool if you dont take prior measures to balance your pH.
Also, abnormal rise in TA might be caused by the water source. It could be possible that your pool fillwater is already high in alkalinity and will therefore increase your TA once it mixes with more Alkalinity Increaser you are using. Test your water source for alkalinity and use a different source if it has high TA because youll need to use too much dry acid more often to lower both pH and TA in your swimming pool.
Getting a perfect balance of pH and alkalinity is a little tricky since acid will lower both but not at the same rate. If you have high pH and TA in your pool, here is the easiest way to lower and balance pH and TA in your pool without using any extra equipment like aerator.
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