Adding baking soda

[sodfather]

My PH is sitting at 7.5 right now after testing. It appears my TA is right at 40. I’m trying to raise it to either 70 or 80 but am worried it will bring my PH too high and I’ll be battling back and forth. Should I lower to around 7.3 and then add baking soda for my TA?

 

[borjis]

I know my pool is very happy and steady ph at TA of 50. Maybe try that first. No need to lower the ph. I just add baking soda, without lowering it. Works great on my pool. Ours are close volume wise. I think your ph will stay at 7.5, mine did when I raised it from 40 to 50 recently.

 

[pjt]

My PH is sitting at 7.5 right now after testing. It appears my TA is right at 40.

How are you testing?

I’m trying to raise it to either 70 or 80 but am worried it will bring my PH too high and I’ll be battling back and forth.

If your TA is truly 40, consider adding a tiny amount of baking soda to get you to 50-60. OTOH, your pool may have a stable pH with a TA of 40. Non-trichlor pools will rarely (likely never) need baking soda. What's the TA of your fill water?

I’ll be battling back and forth.

Don't fight it. With a TA of 50-60, pH will likely stabilize in the high 7s, which is perfectly fine.

PH TA Relationship - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Managing pH and Total Alkalinity - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com