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Help getting PH and TA down


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Ok so we got the Intex 77-Inche PureSpa on Prime Day to help with my Mom's bad back but were having some trouble getting the PH and alkaline just right. The Spa is 210 gallons and filled with water from our community well in southwest VA (AKA alot of limestone). The PH and TA both max out the test strip and I'm finding conflicting information online. So far I have added 202 grams of Clorox PH down as per the manual to bring it down 100 ppm. The strip in now reading somewhere between 180 and 120 for the TA 30 minutes later but the PH is still around 8.4.  I haven't added any chlorine yet because I was told to get the PH in balance first. Also It warns that if the PH is too low It can damage the pump and tub and void the warranty. I'm brand new to owning a spa and need all the help I can get. 

If need be I can also upload a picture of a test strip

The manual is located here

I just realized I rambled a bit so heres a TL;DR, I have never owned a spa before. The PH is currently at 8.4 or higher and the TA after adding 202 grams of Sodium Bisulfate is at 120-180 berfore it was 240 or more. There is no chlorine in the water as of yet. I need help getting everything in balance so its safe for me and my mom to use.

Edited by Michael Edwards
Edited to add TL;DR and clarity
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If your pH is 8.4 or higher *after* adding 202 grams (7.1 ounces) of sodium bisulfate, then either your pH was unbelievably high to start with, or your test strips are completely useless. According to the Pool Calculator, adding 7.1 ounces of dry acid in 210 gallons of water will lower pH by 5.69 and lower TA by 99. My bet is that your test strip for pH is useless. To follow the procedures and advice on this forum and on the Trouble Free Pool forum, you really need a "good" test kit. For a chlorine spa, that would be either the Taylor K-2006 or it would be the TF-50 or TF-100 from TFTestKits. The best price I have found online for Taylor test kits and reagents is Amato Industries. These test kits are a little pricey, but if you use a good test kit and the information from these forums, you will save money in the long run, and be able to keep crystal clear water in your spa.

You should do some study so that you understand the principles of water chemistry and managing a spa. You can read the sticky posts in this forum and also the ones at the Trouble Free Pool forum. You could also read several of the recent threads in this forum which discuss many details of using chlorine in a spa and keeping the water balanced. If you decide you want to follow these methods, then buy a good test kit and start your journey.

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I went to Lowes and got some different test strips and they read about the same. I added some more PH down and got the TA to around 40-80 and the PH to 6.8. A couple of hours later I added sodium bicarbonate to bring it back up so on both test strips the TA is around 120 and the PH is around 7.2. I figure I would give it about 12 hours to stabilize before I add the chlorine floater since it says to not mix chemicals.

Also I have already ordered a liquid test kit from amazon but it won't be here until Wednesday.

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What test kit did you order?

I suspect the caution about not mixing chemicals means not to mix them together before you put them in the water. Put each chemical in the water separately. You can add different chemicals sequentially with a few minutes between. You can run the bubbles on that spa for a few minutes and it will do a great job of stirring it all up.

I have no answer for why your pH and TA are reacting that way. However, neither test strips nor pool store testing can be relied on. If you want to know what is really going on, you need a good test kit, preferably with Taylor reagents.

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That test kit uses orthotolidine reagent with color comparator block for chlorine/bromine. You won't find it to be accurate enough to follow the methods here. I'm not familiar with the alkalinity test in that one. If you want to follow the methods on this forum and on the Trouble Free Pool forum, you will need to get a good test kit. That test kit will have the FAS-DPD titration test for chlorine/bromine and titration tests for total alkalinity and calcium hardness. The pH test is a color comparator block similar to the one in your Poolmaster kit. The chlorine test kit will also contain a reagent to test for combined chlorine, and a separate test for CYA. The Taylor Technologies test kit for chlorine is K-2006 and the one for bromine is K-2106.

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Ok I got that Test-kit and found the pH to be at 8.4 and the TA to be at 260. I also added chlorine a few days ago and the free chlorine is at 1 and total is at 2. So its my understanding that I need to add 283 grams (~10 oz) of dry acid to bring it down to 120 then aerate to bring the pH back up. Now do I want to add that dry at once or should I add it in small doses every 2 hours or so, I just want to make sure I don't hurt the tub and pump by lowering the pH too fast.

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Add acid to bring the pH down to no lower than 7.0. Then aerate to increase the pH up to no higher than 8.0. Then repeat the process until TA is where you want it. There are two sticky threads in this forum about lowering Total Alkalinity. I would suggest you read those.

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