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Noob:How much pH Reducer to add?


jchannon

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We've just bought an Artesian South Sea Spa (1200 litres). We had it 4 weeks and found lots of foam and bubbles and learnt that this was from people's deodorants and hair conditioner etc so I re-filled the hot tub 4 days ago. I refilled it and noone has been in it as I wanted to get the chemistry right. We live in a very hard water area. We were given some test sticks (https://www.aquachek.com/aquachek-chlorine-4-in-1/) from the company we bought it off (should I be using something better) and it's now reporting the chlorine level is fine but ph(7.8-8.4) and alkalinity is high(180-240ppm).  I knew this might be an issue so bought some ph Reducer which has Sodium bisulfate in it. I think I must have added at least 120-150grams of it so far over the last few days but the alkalinity and ph are still high. Am I safe to keep adding the Sodium bisulfate until the levels drop or have I already added way too much?  Thanks

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Get a test kit. I like Taylor k2005, it even comes with dosage charts and an SI slide rule (pool math). Strips are notoriously unreliable.

Detail your complete maintenance routine. Certain chemicals can throw off your readings and testing too soon after adding chems can give false results.

I recommend you purge with Ahh-Some spa purge repeatedly until it produces no new gunk. Then drain and refill. New spas are known to have biofilm issues due to residual test water left in the pipes during storage and shipping. Used spas are even worse.

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  • 3 months later...
2 hours ago, RDspaguy said:

I would suggest that you use the search bar to locate any of the numerous threads on this topic here. 

Perhaps @waterbearwill jump in and explain it all to you. Post all of your test results, as ph is not a stand-alone kind of thing.

Thanks @RDspaguy  I’ve looked at those posts, yet still struggling to keep ph down. I guess what I really need to know is whether it is dangerous to have an accumulation of this ph reducer product in the water? The water continues to be on the basic side 8+. Readings today were:

pH: 8.1

calcium: 108

alk: 54

bromine: 7.5

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That's a bit out of my area of expertise, as I am a repair man not a chemist. I dropped a notification to @waterbear, the chemical expert we are fortunate enough to have on this forum. Hopefully he will jump in here.

I do know that aeration will raise ph, so make sure your air controls are closed when not in use. Mps (non-chlorine shock) is also high ph, so might be a factor if you use it alot.

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4 hours ago, waterbear said:

MPS is net acidic when added and will lower pH

Thanks @waterbear. The thing I was most concerned with was the accumulation of the pH decreaser. I keep adding and adding. Wondering if there’s any danger to having an accumulation of that chemical? Or can I assume is safe so long as my pH is not low. It’s currently 8+. Thanks in advance.  

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6 hours ago, Matt-17 said:

Or can I assume is safe so long as my pH is not low.

AS long as yo don't drop your pH below 7.0 it's safe. Dry acid (and MPS) will cause sufate to rise but that is not detrimental and if you are following the recommend schedule of water changes every 3 to 4 months it won't builld up that high..

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