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Therefore, it can be said that you have a chemical-free pool. Muriatic acid is available in
one-gallon bottles at Lowes, The Home Depot, and most local hardware stores. Baking
soda is available at Wal-Mart, Target, Dollar General, and your local grocery store.
Recommended Testing and pH Range
The ideal for pH is 7.2 (7.0 to 7.4 is OK). At first, test on Monday, Wednesday,
and Friday. At some point in time, you may find you never have to treat the pH on
Wednesday for example. If this is the case, then you can just test on Monday and Friday.
You have an acid demand test in the Comprehensive Test Kit (blue box) that will
determine for you the exact amount of muriatic acid needed to bring the pH down from
when it is too high. Please see the "Acid Demand Chart" (Table 1) in Chapter 10. You will
need to know your pool size in gallons first (See "Table 3" for calculations).
NOTE: It is important to get your pool's pH in its proper range BEFORE starting
to test for copper.
Total Alkalinity (TA) and Treatment
pH, as stated earlier, is the most important aspect of pool water care. Alkalinity is
just as important because it controls the pH. The Total Alkalinity Test is your "crystal
ball" relating to the future rise in your pool water's pH. The higher the alkalinity, the faster
your pH will rise. Example: if your pH is 7.0 and your alkalinity is over 140ppm, then
your pH will twice as fast as it would if the TA were 70ppm.
The ideal for TA is 50 to 80 ppm (parts per million)
Test as needed - You will learn how long to wait between treatments by testing and
finding the TA is still in the proper range. These numbers can vary in some regions.
If your TA gets below 50ppm, then your pH will bounce. This means that you do
not have enough alkalinity in your pool to maintain a constant pH. The pH may test
differently in different parts of the pool
When your TA reduces to 50ppm add one pound of baking soda for each 5,000
gallons in your pool.
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