[Low Alkalinity pair with High pH - HELP PLEASE!]

4 hours ago, waterbear said:

Yes, the aeration from the jets will cause pH to rise. Lower TA helps counteract that. If you are using MPS, which is acidic monitor the TA and it drops below 50 ppm bump it back up toe 60 or 70 ppm. I would test TA weekly until you have an idea of how quickly it drops but don't go longer than monthly for testing it.

Thanks for all of the insights! My shock states the ingredients are 38% potassium peroxymonosulfate and 62% "other ingredients...is that the "MPS" you are referring to? 

I generally check my TA levels at least weekly, so that shouldn't be a problem. Thanks again!

[Low Alkalinity pair with High pH - HELP PLEASE!]

Ok, so I am trying to take all of this in as there is a lot of different info/chemicals being recommended, but the one thing I do use is non-chlorine shock and based on some of the discussion it seems like you recommend shocking with Chlorine/Dichlor (which is what I use for chlorine/sanitizer in my hot tub currently). Should I just do away with the non-chlorine shock and just use the chlorine as shock after uses and once per week? I actually use the Nature 2 Spa stick as well, but that is just in addition to the chlorine I add, so it's not my stand alone sanitizer. 

When I do get my pH balanced it seems my TA only falls to about 60, so I guess I can just let it hover around 60ppm as long as my pH is below 7.8, and not lower than 7.6...?

[Low Alkalinity pair with High pH - HELP PLEASE!]

I appreciate the feedback from you both! I have tried Susanj's method of elevating the TA then reducing the pH and hoping the TA doesn't go too low, but I was just curious if there was a better method because that results in using a lot of extra chemicals to elevate then reduce both levels. Cranbiz, my hardness level is good as we speak, but I still have the same issue. The only way I have gotten close to having it all in range was to do what SusanJ suggested with raising the TA slightly over the suggested range, then when I reduce pH I hope the pH level falls quicker than the TA level. 

I will attempt both of your suggestions and continue to monitor this to see if anyone else has any tricks/tips on the subject. Thanks again! 

[Low Alkalinity pair with High pH - HELP PLEASE!]

Hello, 

I am new here, so I apologize if this top was already covered plenty of times, but when I fill my hot tub, my water tends to start with a high pH level around 8 or above and a low TA around 50ppm. My MFG guideline for my 300 gallon hot tub is TA between 80 and 120ppm and pH between 7.2-7.8 (ideally 7.4-7.6). I always start by raising the TA up to about 100ppm using Sodium Bicarbonate, then I move to Calcium hardness (which is initially low with my water source, so I wait a day after raising the Alkalinity, then I raise hardness) to about 190-200ppm. After that, my next step is pH. After raising the Alkalinity to the proper range, my pH is now even higher than it started, so I need to lower that using Sodium Bisulfate. That generally takes a few additions of about 1/2 of this product to get me in the 7.4-7.6 range. 

This is where I run into my issue where once I get the pH lowered to the ideal 7.4-7.6 range, the alkalinity is back on the low end (around 60-70ppm), then if I raise that, the pH goes up and beyond the ideal range again, so I seem to be in a never ending cycle of either having slightly elevated pH or slightly low TA. My main question being, is there a different product I should use to either raise my TA or lower my pH without having knocking the other out of range? If the chemicals I am using are fine, is one less of an issue than the other? For example, is it better for me to have an ideal TA with a slightly elevated pH or have a TA around 60-70ppm with a perfect pH reading? 

For water testing I use a Taylor kit  (Taylor Complete K-2006 Kit) with the droppers to identify my pH, hardness, TA, and free/combined chlorine readings. Perhaps the test kit is my issue, but I have read these are pretty darn accurate and I have gotten a wide variety of poor results trying to use basic test strips, so I don't trust those. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated!!