Struggling with pH Levels in Small Inflatable Hot Tub

[cuthbertdavies]

I have a small inflatable hot tub with a capacity of 177 gallons. This is my first time owning a hot tub, and I've been attempting for days to lower the pH level, but it remains stubbornly high. Every time I test it with a test strip, it reads higher than 9. Additionally, my Total Alkalinity (TA) is struggling to increase and maintain a stable level. Yesterday, I managed to raise it to 80, but now it has dropped back down to 40. I'm using chlorine to sanitize the water.

Despite adding significant amounts of pH decreaser, the pH level doesn't seem to change. After a day, all the chemicals settle at the bottom of the tub. I've tried using the skimmer to agitate the water and aid in mixing the chemicals to lower the pH, but to no avail. I'm replacing the filter every day, and it's becoming saturated with chemicals.

This situation has become a nightmare. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. I'm at a loss for what to do next.

[Davekro]

@cuthbertdavies ,
I have a 310 gallon regular hot tub. I use 20% (liquid) Klean-Strip Muriatic Acid from Home Depot $9.98 to lower my PH. With my TA at between 30-40 ppm, it takes VERY little 20% MA to lower my PH. For my tub, 1 TEAspoon of 20% MA lowerd my PH from 7.8 to ≈ 7.5. Most Muriatic acid sold is 31.45% Mur. Acid (much stonger) but about the same cost as the 20% MA version. If you want to try MA. take a bucket, scoop it 3/4 full from your tub, add ONLY 1/2 TEAspoon of 20% MA, or maybe 1/3 TEAspoon if you buy the more common full strength MA. Much better to micro dose raise PH slightly and repeat if needed. With MA, it is way to easy to add to much and drop your PH well below 6.8!

Good Luck

[Sean Lawrence]

Dealing with pH levels in hot tubs can be such a pain! It sounds like you're doing all the right things by testing and adding chemicals, but sometimes those levels just don't want to budge. Have you tried using a different pH decrease or maybe adjusting the water flow somehow to help with mixing? It's frustrating when you feel like you're throwing everything at it and nothing's working. Hang in there, hopefully, someone here has some advice that can help you out!