RMany things can cause the pH to rise in your pool. A Saltwater generator produces a byproduct that causes the pH to increase rapidly. Any spa spillway or water feature will cause the pH to rise through aeration. The pool surface in itself can cause the pH to rise. High Alkalinity in the pool can cause the pH to stay high.
pH is the most critical test factor for your swimming pool, and if it gets out of balance, you will encounter many adverse effects.
Low pH will cause:
Corrosive Water
Stains
Etched plaster
Eye & Skin Irritation
Cloudy Water
Increased Chlorine Activity
Destruction of Total Alkalinity
Stretching of Vinyl Liners
Blistering of Fiberglass Pools
High pH will cause:
Scale Formation
Stains
Cloudy Water
Short Filter Cleaning Cycles
Eye & Skin Irritation
Poor Effective Chlorine
Testing for pH:
Testing once a week is ideal. For a new pool, start-up testing daily for the first two weeks is recommended. However, once a week, you will get a good indication of how stable the pH is in the pool water. There are various ways of testing the pH, such as test strips, basic test kits, and Taylor kits, which use reagents. Alternate testing can be done with the ColorQ Pro7 Photometer and Digital pH testers.
Lowering high pH:
If the pH gets high in your pool, the only way to lower it is by adding Acid. Either a dry acid or liquid Acid. Muriatic Acid of 31.45% is the most common Acid used to reduce the pool's high pH. Dry Acid or Sodium Bisulfate is the dry form that can be added to lower the pH. Some test kits, like the Taylor K-2006, will have an Acid Demand Test. This reagent test will tell you how many acids to add to your pool to lower the pH. Depending on the test results, a chart is included with pool gallons and how many pints or quarts to add.
Raising low pH:
If your pH is low, you can raise it using a base. A base is the opposite of Acid, and it will raise the low pH in your pool rapidly. The best base is Borax, which will raise the pH without raising the Total Alkalinity. Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) also works well, but it is mainly used to raise Alkalinity and requires large amounts to raise the pH. Soda Ash (Sodium Carbonate) raises the pH well but raises the pool's Alkalinity, so use Soda Ash if Borax is unavailable in your area.
Ultimately, "chasing pH" is unnecessary, and shooting for a target pH of 7.5 is a good rule of thumb. But it would help if you also referred to the LSI to see your pool's ideal pH based on ALK, Calcium Hardness, and water Temp, among other factors.
It is also important to note that you may think your pH is high in your pool when it is perfectly fine at 7.8. Based on the LSI, the ideal ranges may not be suitable for your pool. If you haven't studied or used the LSI in pool balancing, there is no more excellent resource than Orenda. Not only can you use their free LSI calculator, but they also offer three free courses that will teach you how pH at a higher level can benefit your pool.
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