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Ph High (Quite Stubborn) And Water A Bit Cloudy


Hawk48

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Hi All,

I have done a bit of reading and successfully used the 3 step bromine process for the previous 6 months.

I emptied the spa and refilled 2 weeks ago but this time I'm struggling. Any help would be appreciated please

The spa is 1150 L capacity (thus have gone with calcs on 1000L water)

Also I have the Taylor K-2106 kit.

Steps to date:

At Start:

TA = 10

pH = 7.4

CH = 20

TB = 0

I added 158g Sodium BiCarbonate ==> TA now 100

I added 144g Calcium Chloride ==> CH now 100

Ph = 8 (may be higher?). Not sure why changed?

I added 65g Sodium Bromide

Also added 80ml chlorine (12.5%) to shock

And some tabs in a floater

Let it sit for a couple of days:

TA = 125

pH = 8

CH = 125

TB = 1.25

Starting adding pH down (dry acid) eg. 14g, 14g, 14g, 25g, over a few days but pH would not budge.

Readings now

TA = 75

pH = 8

CH = 125

TB = 2.5

Have just added 44g Sodium BiCarbonate to increase TA.

Also the water is a bit cloudy (not sparkling clear like I have had in the past).

I have shocked the spa by adding chlorine and also cleaned the filters, but this has had minimal effect.

Any new ideas appreciated to return spa to ph of approx 7.5 and clear water

Thanks

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  • 3 weeks later...

This is a bump - any help would be appreciated. Else thinking of dumping water. Still following cycle above.

Adding dry acid to decrease pH. Doesn't seem to have any impact

Occasionally adding Sodium BiCarbonate to increase TA.

Both TB = 4 and CH = 100 ok.

How do I get pH down please (full details in post above).

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Stop adding Sodium Bicarbonate!!!

Adding Baking Soda increases TA and pH. Adding acid (dry or Muriatic) lowers pH and TA, you're chasing your tail by adding acid to lower TA & pH then adding Sodium Bi Carb, increasing TA & pH.

Carbonate in the water (TA) outgasses CO2 with aeration, which raises pH

Let the TA drop naturally to about 50ppm. Do Not add BS until it drops below 50. You can also add 50ppm borates which tends to stabilize pH with a TA of 40-50 but that's a more advanced topic. It sounds like you're new to spa's and hopefully following Waterbear's "Bromine for Beginners" this system normally has a pH range of 7.6 - 8.0 and naturally tends to drift up. Yes Waterbear's instructions call for an initial TA of 100 but that's designed to build a "Safety Net" against pH dropping too far (which can damage the Spa). Bromine is "Net" acidic and newbies often make measuring errors when dispensing acid.

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  • 4 weeks later...


just to add my own experience to this advice. I find, as many others have, that TA above 50-60 is a recipe for pH upward drift. After my initial fill, I run my jets to raise pH without raising TA, and then reduce both by adding dry acid. I do this until I achieve TA=40. Still, pH rises and to control this I use very carefully measured, small amounts of dry acid which results in TA as slow as 30ppm. As the spa gets used, the 'net acidic' behavior of the chemistry requires that I add Sodium Bicarb to keep build TA back up and control pH. TA=30 is very low, and you risk a precipitous drop in pH, so you have to watch this very carefully.

By the time my water has passed the half way mark of its natural life, I find that TA=80 is required. Experimentation with your own spa is required to dial it in.

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