Our pool's alkalinity will not increase--can anyone help?

Question

It is around a 25000 gallon vinyl bottom inground pool... I have been to the pool store multiple times...We do chlorine instead of baquacil... The filter is always on-since May 29...The pH is around 6.5 and it shows 0 free chlorine and it shows the water is really hard... I have added 18 lbs of alkalinity increaser... Chlorine tabs are always in the floater... We have put 2 bottles of water clarifier in--I dont know what to do...We have been trying for 3 weeks and have spent $500 plus so far... and still have not swam in it.. it is blue and cloudy like I can see the bottom step at the shallow end! I dont know what other info would be important so Please help me any suggestions would be great--at this point i dont want to drain it it is June 22 so the water is perfect to be swimming hate to start with cold water! Please, please help i am begging!

Answer 1

First- stop wasting your money of alkalinity increaser from the pool store. Get regular arm and hammer baking soda to increase the alkalinity. It is the exact same ingredient (sodium bicarbonate). This will save you a ton of money. You need to get your pH up to at least 7.2. What exactly is your alkalinity? If you could add this I could tell you how much to put in to get your alkalinity up to normal level. Use regular unscented clorox bleach to shock your pool. Bleach if perfectly safe to use. If you have O FC with pucks then you still have organic debris in the pool that the chlorine is killing. You need to get the pool to shock level to kill everything. Blue cloudy means you are on the right track. Make sure the filter is clean so it can do its job. If your pool water is very hard (500+) the only way to lower it is a partial drain and refill. This can also contribute to the cloudiness. If you can add a complete listing of your chemistry (FC, pH, TA, CH, CYA) this would be helpful. Feel free to email me.

Okay, I'm a bit confused. Your alkalinity (TA) is 6.2 or 62? Or is it that your pH is 6.2? I honestly dont think I've ever seen an alkalinity at 6.2- that is beyond low. Normal alkalinity level is 80-120ppm while pH is 7.2-7.6. pH and total alkalinity are different. pH is a measure of how alkaline or acidic your water is while total alkalinity is a buffer that prevents large swings in your pH. If the 6.2 is referring to the pH (which would seem more reasonable than the total alkalinity being 6.2) then you should be adding soda ash instead of alkalinity increaser. If you could clarify this it would be appreciated. I forgot to add that to bring your chlorine to shock level you would need to add 4 gallons of regular unscented clorox bleach. Simply pour it slowly over a return to allow it to mix properly.

Answer 2

Don't buy alkalinity increaser, use baking soda.  I get the big boxes at Sam's club, or the generic brand at my local grocery store.  The cheaper the better - it's all the same.  Baking soda is the same ingredient, just more finely ground (food grade) than what's at the pool store.  Same effect though.