Please help - quick question - is soda ash OK?

[CarlD]

Rule #1) Don't keep putting stuff in your without testing.

Rule #2) Be sure to follow Rule #1)!

Pucks and di-chlor powder are EXTREMELY acidic. If you are fighting low pH, stop using pucks and powder COMPLETELY! You are making the problem worse. In fact, they may be the cause of the problem.

Instead use bleach/Liquid Chlorine. Or, if your calcium is low, you can use Cal-Hypo.

Since you said chlorine is low, you need to raise it, without making your pH trouble worse.

[haeffnkr]

I am testing....best I can with my new kit from Ben.

my ph is 6.8 - OTO test
my chlorine is less than .5 (none) using the OTO test
my cya is 20
My alk is 200.

I thought I was to get the PH right before I worried about ALK?

What else do I need?

thanks for the help!

[CarlD]

OK,

Since your pH is low and your T/A is high, get some Borax from the local supermarket (20 Mule Team Borax, in the green box. Buy 4 boxes for now).

Add one box. Check pH in 2 hours (T/A will go up a little). Keep adding a box at a time until your pH reaches 7.0 or higher. When pH hits 7.0, you are in the clear. Then get to work on raising your FC level to 12ppm to shock your water.

In the meantime you need to aerate your water to raise pH without raising T/A at all. Leave the pool uncovered and the filter on. If you can, angle the return jet up to surface. Or you can put in a screw-in fountain that replaces the return's outlet for about $20. Be sure pH is between 7.0 and 7.2 when you start this (6.9 is OK).

Now test your water with Ben's powder kit--it's far more accurate and revealing.

[haeffnkr]

This is crazy....
I just rechecked the alk and used the dropper a little slower ...
Then I used the OTO kit and

alk = 180

I just used the OTO kit - twice and now the chlorine and PH are over the scale on both.... over 10 and 8.2

I just put this stuff in the pool my pump is running on filter.