Water-Treatment - PH
Maintaining Proper PH levels is a very important factor in maintaining crystal clear water - you want to keep your PH between 7.2 - 7.8.
Once you have established the proper PH level you can stabilize that level by adjusting your alkalinity to the ideal level of 80 - 120.
Detailed PH & Alkalinity information is at the bottom of this page.
pH
pH is a measure of how acidic or basic the water is. pH is a logarithmic scale from 0-14, with 7 being neutral. Below 7 and a substance is defined as being acidic, while levels above 7 are said to be basic or alkaline. Everything that enters your pool has a pH value. Ever heard of acid rain? This is rainfall with a very low pH. The human eye at a pH value of 7.35, is just slightly basic. This is, coincidentally, in range with proper pH levels for your pool. To have pH in balance we adjust the water with additions of pH increasers (bases) or pH de-creasers (acids) to achieve the range of 7.2 - 7.8. If your testing (recommended daily) of the water shows a pH value below 7.2 the water is in a corrosive (acidic) condition and you will need to add a base to bring the pH into a more basic range to prevent corrosion. Conversely, if the pH is above 7.8, we are in a scaling (basic) condition and must add an acid to bring down the pH to prevent the formation of scale.
Total Alkalinity
A close cousin of pH, the level of alkalinity in the water is a measurement of all carbonates, bicarbonates, hydroxides, and other alkaline substances found in the pool water. pH is alkaline dependent; that is, alkalinity is defined as the ability of the water to resist changes in pH. Also known as the buffering capacity of the water, alkalinity keeps the pH from "bouncing" all over the place. Low alkalinity is raised by the addition of a base (similar to pH); sodium bicarbonate is commonly used. High levels of alkalinity are lowered by the addition of an acid (similar to pH). Experts recommend "pooling" the acid in a small area of low current for a greater effect on alkalinity. That is, adding an acid will lower both pH and alkalinity. Walking the acid around the pool in a highly distributed manner is said to have a greater effect lowering the pH than the alkalinity. Pooling the acid has the opposite effect. A very important component of water balance, alkalinity should be maintained in the 80-120ppm range for "gunite" and concrete pools and 125-170ppm for painted, vinyl, and fiberglass pools / spas. Levels should be tested weekly.
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