What Can I Use To Lower The Alkalinity In My Pool
There are several pool care methods to lower alkalinity in swimming pool water. The methods are adding muriatic acid, adding sodium bisulfate, or waiting for the water chemistry to adjust itself. Lowering the pH is going to occur when you lower the total alkalinity of the water. You will want to make sure your total alkalinity is not higher than 120 parts per million.
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 don’t 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 you’ll 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.
Adding Sodium Bicarbonate And Muriatic Acid Respectively
Increasing Total Alkalinity
When you are adding sodium bicarbonate, make sure that you are well-protected. Wear gloves and eye protection to keep your eyes and skin from getting irritated.
Turn off the water pump and then sprinkle the chemical into the deep part of the pool.
Add the chemical gradually. Get a handful and slowly let the powder sink into the pool.
Then, leave it for two hours to let the chemicals dissolve fully in the water. After that, you can turn on the water pump.
When adding muriatic acid into your pool, make sure to turn on the water pump. The pump must be running at the maximum level.
Then, distribute the muriatic acid solution all around the pool. This way it will keep your pool surfaces and equipment safe from damages.
Then, start the aeration process. In this process, the pump will help the solution to spread out and dissolve other particles in your pool.
You will be checking the pH level of your pool constantly. You need to check every 6-12 hours to monitor if there are changes in the pH.
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Test The Alkalinity Of Your Pool
man testing the pool water alkalinity
Its time to start testing the water! Make sure you have a reliable testing kit for both total alkalinity and pH.
You can use either pool water testing strips or a liquid water testing kit.
Begin to take readings after 6 hours, then 24 hours, then 48 hours to gauge if there are any small changes over this period and to ensure the chemicals are balanced. Make sure that both the total alkalinity and pH values are within optimal ranges. If so, your job is done!
Lower Alkalinity And Ph With Acid Then Raise Only Ph With Air
Lowering the pH significantly will increase the amount of carbonates that are in the form of carbon dioxide in the water and that will increase the rate of outgassing . Aeration will also increase this rate of outgassing. As the carbon dioxide outgases, the pH rises with no change in total alkalinity. You can then add acid to lower both pH and TA with the net effect of lowering only the TA.
In other words, add acid until the alkalinity reaches about 90 to 100 ppm. Then aerate until the pH rises to 7.4 to 7.6.
The main rule to keep in mind is that it takes 25.6 oz. of full-strength muriatic acid to lower the total alkalinity by 10 ppm in 10,000 gallons. The problem: If one adds enough acid to lower the total alkalinity all at once, the pH can get very low. Now, let’s see how low it would actually go in some extreme cases.
Add the Acid The key to adding such large quantities of acid to the pool is to avoid overdosing in one place, as that could damage the plaster. Adding the acid slowly over a return flow with the pump running, and then brushing to ensure thorough mixing, will prevent the pH from getting too low in one spot, potentially damaging the plaster.
Add the Air Simply doing things like pointing the returns upwards and running the pump on high to create surface disturbance will aerate the water reasonably well. One could also add an aerator to a standard return.
The idea is to increase the air-water surface area as much as possible, for as long as possible.
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How Can You Test Swimming Pool Alkalinity
Total alkalinity is mainly similar and notably similar to cyanuric acid. Its not as volatile as chlorine or pH. Moreover, it will not require frequent testing like free chlorine. Test kits, test strips can help you monitor this. A trustworthy and reliable practice should be testing the total alkalinity of each other every time you do this, about once per week.
Test The Pool Water’s Alkalinity And Ph After 6 Hours
You will be watching for the changes in pH and alkalinity levels by doing a test after every 6 hours until it reaches the right range. If pH is within the normal range after adding muriatic acid, then you are done.
Taking the reading after six hours is just to help you know whether you are making any improvements in lowering the TA and pH. Amazingly, when I tested the water six hours later, total alkalinity read around 205 ppm and pH was at 7.6 . Your numbers may be different, but you should see a similar reduction in your process too.
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The Threat Of Pool Alkalinity
Balance is the most important factor for jumping in your pool and coming out relaxed instead of a burning, itching mess with multiple regrets.
Possibly the biggest issue with high alkalinity is the amount of scale that can start to build up. Just like with fish it may add texture but it isnt something you want to deal with. Heavy scaling can lead to maintenance issues as things fail to function properly.
You might also find your pool water to be pretty cloudy if your alkalinity is too high. Another issue that might pop up is a higher water pressure reading than youd expect even after backwashing. While low alkalinity might be more detrimental in the long run maintaining balance is the only way to truly enjoy your pool experience.
Beyond its effect on the overall lifespan of your pool lowering alkalinity can also benefit how it feels to swim in it as well. The biggest issue for swimmers with high alkalinity pools is how they can cause skin irritation or make your eyes burn. You might also suffer from a sticky skin and hair feeling that is also uncomfortable.
Finally, a high alkalinity pool makes it difficult to adjust your pools pH. Another one of the three necessary adjustments for keeping your pool balanced fixing on can help you fix the other as well. Adjusting your alkalinity will make it easier to adjust pH unless it is far below 7.0. You want at least a pH of 7.0 before you start altering the alkalinity.
Identifying Alkalinity Of Your Pool Water
Before treating the Total Alkalinity of your swimming pool, ask yourself “Do you need to treat it in the first place?”
With the help of a pool water test kit or alkalinity test strips, you’ll be able to find out the water chemistry of your pool.
Taking a water sample from yours is easy, all you have to do is collect enough pool water below the surface and test it out on your kit.
The ideal range is around 70 to 170 parts per million, and the safest reading for pools should be in the 120 ppm range.
Anything lower or higher than the range means you’ve got yourself a pool to treat. So always eye for that 120 ppm reading.
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What Causes An Increase In Pool Alkalinity
i. Your pool alkalinity can increase when the amount of sodium bicarbonate is too high. Many people add sodium bicarbonate or soda ash to their pool water when the amount of acid is too high. So, in an attempt to balance/raise the pH of their swimming pool, they end up increasing the pools total alkalinity.
To prevent this from happening next time, whenever youwant to balance the pH of your pool water, measure the chemicals properly. So,you wouldnt add too much or too little, although its usually better addingtoo little because you can add a little more to balance it.
ii. Another cause of high alkalinity in pool water is a poor water source. The quality of water distributed to various locations differ. So, when you realize that the pH of your swimming pool is unbalanced, you should place a call to your water company. Then, they will tell you their water testing results, so youll know the type of chemicals and the quantity you need to keep your water balanced.
iii. Not carrying out a routine check of your pool is another reason why the pools TA level is too high. You shouldnt leave your pool unchecked for too long. You dont have to wait until the water becomes cloudy before you see what is going on. Your checkup routine can be based on the information you get from your water company.
Take Final Water Test 48 Hours Later
After two days and two nights of keeping a close watch over the process, I took the reading in the morning. Total alkalinity in my example read 101 ppmânot bad at all. The pH was stable at 7.4. Remember that even if the natural aeration process is not complete, pH levels will not likely rise above the recommended levels because the alkalinity is within range and no pH increaser was used in this process.
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First Of All What Is Pool Water Alkalinity
Alkalinity is a measure of the capacity of water to resist a change in pH. The alkalinity scale goes from 0 to over 150 and basically tells you how much acid needs to be added before you can get your pool pH down.
The number itself means the amount of calcium carbonate that has been dissolved in one kilogram of water .
When more calcium carbonate is dissolved into the water, it takes more acid before the pH changes. Alkalinity, when higher than normal, causes some problems for swimmers and pool equipment.
How To Lower Alkalinity In Pool Naturally
Swimming pools are easy to maintain but they involve so much more than just cleaning. So here in this post, we will teach you how to lower the alkalinity in a pool naturally to keep it safe.
See, one thing that is very important when maintaining or keeping the swimming pool clean is the chemical. These are a combination of many chemicals that help eliminate debris in the pool.
One example of these chemicals is the algaecide, which obviously, removes the algae inside the swimming pool. There are also some other chemicals that remove certain types of debris.
Alkaline is the buffering system within the pools chemical reactions so that the acidity in the water is neutralized. This will still remove the dirt and debris but it can be harmful to the users.
See, when you put too many acidic chemicals into the water, they will get the job done of removing the debris. However, they can also damage the pool by creating scales on the side.
If you have seen your pool with the white stone-like stuff on the sides, it can be a sign that the alkalinity is too high. That is why you need to control it and keep it safe for the swimming pool.
Aside from that, your body can have reactions when you expose yourself to too much alkalinity. It can cause skin and eye irritation making the swimming pool virtually impossible to swim in.
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Add The Sodium Bisulfate
Now, add the sodium bisulfate to the pool.
For an inground pool, this is close to the return jets for an above ground pool, this is along the pool wall.
This should distribute the product all throughout the pool within 15 minutes or so, and you’ll be able to tell when the product dissolves as it will disappear from sight.
Use Aeration To Raise Pool Ph
If you have high alkalinity and low pH, and are having trouble raising your pH level, how do you lower high alkalinity without affecting pH? You cant, but you can raise pH without affecting Alkalinity. This is done by lowering the pH and Alkalinity with pH Decreaser, then raise the pH through aeration. Just add air!
Aerating pool water works like this: the carbon dioxide in the introduced air bubbles forms carbonic acid as it mingles with your pool water, which raises pH levels.
You can aerate a pool by bubbling air through the water, agitating the surface, or spraying droplets through the air with a pool fountain, which also can be used to lower pool water temperature.
Five Ways to Aerate a Pool to Raise pH
- Air compressor or Cyclone blower with long hose and weighted air diffuser.
- Waterfalls, spillways, wall return and floating Pool Fountains.
- Pointing return eyeballs up to create surface turbulence.
- Install a spa blower onto your pool return line.
- Install a venturi tee air inlet on the return pipe, or into a wall return.
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How To Lower The Alkalinity Of A Swimming Pool
A clean, inviting swimming pool is a pool in chemical balance. Factors such as pH, free chlorine, calcium hardness and cyanuric acid influence one another and should be monitored regularly and adjusted to specifications when necessary. Total alkalinity is another important interdependent parameter. The alkalinity of pool water helps stabilize the pH factor. Alkalinity above 120 parts per million tends to elevate pH readings. It also diminishes the effectiveness of chlorine and gives pool water a cloudy appearance. If routine water analysis with a pool test kit indicates a high TA reading, add commercially available swimming pool muriatic acid in liquid form.
1
Turn off the pool circulation pump.
2
Put on safety glasses and gloves.
3
Consult the manufacturer’s instructions for muriatic acid to determine the total amount of acid required for your specific pool volume to lower the alkalinity to the desired parts per million. To avoid making the pool too acidic, dont add more than 1 quart of acid to the pool for each 10,000 gallons of pool volume at any one time.
4
Prepare a diluted solution of acid by adding the recommended amount of liquid muriatic acid to 1 gallon of water in a bucket. For safety reasons, when diluting acid, always pour acid into water, not water into acid.
5
Pour the diluted gallon of acid into the deepest part of the pool in a single, tight stream so it sinks to the bottom at one spot. Dont disperse the acid around the pool.
6
Do I Need To Lower Alkalinity
Definitely, you need to maintain the level of alkalinity.
A higher level of alkalinity can cause severe problems which might affect the swimming ambiance in an adverse way.
The main problem arises when the alkalinity level becomes too high in the pool water.
In fact, a very high level of alkalinity can give birth to a series of problems.
For example, youll face a problem of imbalance pH from a high level of alkalinity in your pool water which will further lead to high calcium levels.
Unfortunately, a high calcium levels would give birth to many problems including scaling, cloudy water, and clogged filters.
Moreover, it would also contribute significantly to worsen the swimming ambiance by creating problems such as itchy skin and irritated eyes for swimmers.
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Test Your Pool Chemistry Levels
First, you’ll need to test all your pools chemistry levels with either a liquid or strip pool testing kit. If the pH level is too high, you’ll need to adjust it with sodium bisulfate.
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Ideally, you should keep your pools pH levels between 7.2 and 7.6.
Most pH reducer products are made with a high concentration of sodium bisulfate, usually at least 93.2%.
And each product has its own instructions for use, so its important to read those before you attempt to use it.
How To Lower Alkalinity
If youve been wondering how to lower alkalinity in your pool, you are not alone. Many pool owners across the globe have expressed concerns about their pool alkalinity being too high and not having a clue what to do to lower it. Fortunately, high alkalinity is 100% curable so long as you know what to look for.
If youre in a hurry, the short and sweet answer to lower the alkalinity in your swimming pool is by adding either muriatic acid or sodium bisulfate.
Follow along for the step-by-step approach where we discuss the key product differences, review the safest and most effective application, and answer the top frequently asked questions when it comes to lowering pool alkalinity.
above ground swimming pool water alkalinity
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