Arctic Spas Custom Series Owner's Manual page 76

Owners Manual - Spa Boy®
Understanding Spa Boy®
1.8 Definitions of Terms
TERM
Alkalinity
Total Alkalinity (TA)
Potential Hydrogen
(pH)
pH Level
6.0 pH
6.5 pH
DEFINITION
A measure of how stable the pH is (a measure of the total levels of carbon-
ates, bicarbonates, hydroxides, and other alkaline substances in the water).
TA is referred to as the water's ""pH buffer"". In other words, it's a measure of
the ability of the water to resist changes in pH level.
If the TA is too low, the pH level will fluctuate widely from high to low. Fluc-
tuations in pH can cause corrosion or scaling of the spa components.
Low TA can be corrected by adding
water.
If the Total Alkalinity is too high, the water will be more susceptible to scale
and high pH. High pH may be difficult to bring down.
Note: Salt systems naturally drive pH levels to increase.
High TA can be lowered by adding
Once the TA is Balanced, it normally remains stable, although some sanitiz-
ers, and the addition of more water with a high or low alkalinity will raise or
lower the TA reading of the water.
The pH level is the measure of alkalinity.
pH is measured between 0 and 14 denoting various degrees of acidity or
alkalinity.
Neutral water has a pH of 7.0 Water below 7.0 is acidic and becomes more
acidic as it approaches zero.
Water above 7.0 is alkaline and alkalinity increases as it approaches 14.
When the pH of water is 7.0 or below, chlorine will act primarily as a sani-
tizer. At this level, it is very effective at killing bacteria.
At 7.4, chlorine will act equally as a sanitizer and oxidizer.
Above 7.8, chlorine will act principally as an oxidizer.
The pH of chlorine is 11.7.
Spa water is considered balanced if the pH level is within the target range,
between 7.2pH to 7.6pH.
Adding chlorine either automatically through a salt system or manually, into
spa water with high pH, above 7.6pH, will further increase the pH level and
dramatically reduce the effectiveness of the chlorine as a sanitizer. This must
be avoided by first reducing the pH level into the target range 7.2pH - 7.6pH.
The chart below reflects the loss of sanitizer effectiveness/sanitizer effective-
ness based on the spas water pH level:
Sanitizer (Chlorine)
Loss of Effectiveness
based on pH Level
4%
10%
76 76
Arctic Pure, Perfect Balance
Arctic Pure, Adjust Down to the spa water.
Sanitizer (Chlorine)
Effectiveness
based on pH Level
96%
90%
to the spa