If you own a pool, you already know that getting the pH and alkalinity levels right is essential to ensuring that your pool water remains clear, safe, and pleasant. However, the question is: are you able to correct pH and alkalinity together? In this blog, we discuss how these two chemical levels correlate to each other, and we share practical tips on how to adjust both at the same time, without compromising the effectiveness of your robotic pool cleaner and other pool maintenance equipment.
What is pH and Alkalinity?
Before getting into whether they can be adjusted simultaneously or not, it’s important to understand what these chemical levels mean and how they interact with one another in pool water.
pH is a measure of how acidic or basic your pool water is, with the scale going from 0 to 14. A pH of 7 is neutral, a pH less than 7 is acidic, and a pH higher than 7 is alkaline. In other words, the recommended pH value of pool water is between 7.4 and 7.6 A pH that is too low exposes your pool water to corrosive properties, which can damage pool surfaces and equipment. If the levels are too high, you could find cloudiness in the water, scaling, and a struggle to maintain a proper level of effective chlorine.
Said differently, alkalinity — commonly called Total Alkalinity (TA) — indicates the ability of the water to remain stable in pH. Alkalinity is the chemical buffer that keeps the pH level stable. Alkalinity in a pool should be between 80 and 120 ppm (parts per million). Low alkalinity will result in a fluctuating pH and is generally unstable. In contrast, high alkalinity can push the pH in the up direction, which can hamper efforts to reduce the pH in the future if necessary.
Is it Possible to Ph and Alkalinity at the Same Time?
The quick answer: Yes, you can change both pH and alkalinity at once. However, this process needs careful watch and knowledge of how the chemicals act and work in the pool water.
Adjusting Alkalinity First
And since alkalinity is a stabilizer of pH it is usually best to approach alkalinity than pH. If your alkalinity is low then this will also cause the pH to bounce around however correcting the alkalinity will help keep the pH stable. If your alkalinity is too low (under 80 ppm), you’ll need to raise it with baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). This chemical will help buffer the water and not allow pH swings.
How to Adjust Alkalinity:
Test the alkalinity of your pool; if it is too low, add the necessary amount of baking soda. Make sure that the pool’s filtration system is working in order to disperse the pool chemicals evenly throughout the pool. If alkalinity is below the target, add small amounts of baking soda and re-test after a few hours.
Adjusting pH After Alkalinity
Once you’ve corralled the alkalinity, you can set about adjusting the pH. If your pH is too high (above 7.6), you can lower it by adding muriatic acid or sodium bisulfate (often called dry acid). To raise your pH if it is too low (7.4 or less), you can use soda ash (sodium carbonate).
How to Adjust pH:
Check the pH levels of the pool, then add the correct chemical, depending on the results, to at last bring the pH to the ideal range. If you choose to utilize muriatic acid, slowly pour the acid into the deep end of the pool. Then, run the pool filter for at least 4-6 hours so that the acid is evenly distributed.
What Is a Robotic Pool Cleaner?
In the end, a robotic pool cleaner like the Beatbot AquaSense Pro or the Beatbot AquaSense can avoid lengthy processes, ensuring the pool’s pH and alkalinity remain balanced. Using a pool cleaning robot Roy’s ensures proper filtration of the water as it helps keep your pool surface clean, enabling you to dose properly without having to oversaturate the chemical.
Robotic pool cleaners also prevent the buildup of dirt and debris that can interfere with the distribution of chemicals. Cleaning pool surfaces and circulating water properly also helps your chemicals work more effectively so you can more easily adjust pH and alkalinity.
Keeping Your Pool Clean
Regular cleaning with a pool cleaning robot prevents organic matter from compromising your pool’s chemical balance. It also guarantees that the circulation system of your pool is working at peak efficiency, which is key to both the dispersal of chemical compounds but also the stability of the pH and alkalinity adjustments.
Efficient Filtration
Using robotic pool cleaners can help lighten your pool’s filtration system workload, helping your filter function more easily, so it’s able to process the chemicals more effectively. For example, a pool vacuum cleaner removes dirt & debris, so that your filtration system isn’t clogged, which can contribute to poor chemical distribution and imbalanced pH or alkalinity.
Important Considerations
It is possible to correct pH and alkalinity simultaneously, but here are a few points to consider:
Test Water Frequently
It is so important to test the water both before and after you apply chemicals to ensure that you are reaching the correct ratio. Make always sure you test your pool’s water chemistry before and after adjusting alkalinity or pH and don’t rush the process. Results.
Add Chemicals Gradually
Adding chemicals slowly and carefully. Adding large quantities at one go can cause bigger changes in pH or alkalinity, making it more difficult to find a good balance.
Patience is Key
If you’ve added chemicals, however, you should wait a number of hours (or an entire day) before retesting your pool’s chemistry. This is to allow the chemicals enough time to circulate and fully mix with the water.
Conclusion
But one of the most important parts of maintaining a pool is pH and alkalinity adjustment. You can address both at once, but generally best to start with alkalinity, which acts as a buffer for pH. With slight tweaks to both sets of parameters, together with a robotic pool cleaner, you will be able to ensure your swimming pool water is balanced, pristine, and healthy to swim in.
Using a swimming pool robot cleaner like the Beatbot AquaSense regularly aids in water circulation, allowing chemicals to combine properly. This balance is crucial to the pool’s appearance, but with the right tools and help, you can keep it clean all season long.
