Ph Lock is Otay by me...

[Garyjr]

Just thought I would share with anyone else who has experienced Ph/Alk creeping either up or down, I added a product made by Leisure Time to lock Ph in place.  Don't recall the exact name, but I bought it for $12.00 from a local dealer, and in the 2 weeks since I added it, my Ph and Alk has remained exactly where it was when I added the lock.

Before anyone chimes in that you can buy quite a lot of Ph Up or Ph Down for $12.00, I agree.  However, to me it is $$ well spent to not have to mess with adjusting it every other day.

According to the bottle, it is suppose to keep the Ph locked for up to 3 months, so it will need to be added with every water change.

JM.02C
Jr

[Reese]

 ....However, to me it is $$ well spent to not have to mess with adjusting it every other day....

It sounds like you may have been over-medicating your pH.  Most recommendations talk about only checking it once/week, and adjusting only when it is out of a half-point range.  If your alkalinity is also within recommendations, your pH shouldn't need to be adjusted more than a couple of times a month -- unless you are using bromine or unbuffered MPS, but then it is just a tablespoon of baking soda every so often.

[Brewman]

Whatever works for you.  I suppose no worse to add that stuff onec per water change than to be constantly dumping in Ph adjusting chemicals over the same time?

[shortspark]

I don't know a thing about that product but I don't use chemicals much anyway.  In the 20 years I've had a hot tub, I've only used a little chlorine floater with 1" pucks.  I can probably count on two hands the number of times I have felt the water around me to be too hard or too soft which is one of the three things I go by to determine if the water required a ph or any other kind of adjustment (the other two are smell and clarity).  When I first got the tub I was out there every day doing this, that and the other thing to get everything just right.  More often than not, I messed it up worse than when I began.  

Of course, I'm the only one using the tub and I change the water quarterly.  If it received more useage I'm sure I would be much more concerned about the balances.

[wmccall]

How much of this product did you have to add for a tub the size of yours?

[Garyjr]

wmcall,

The product comes in a 32 oz bottle and per the directions I added the entire bottle.

Jr

[wmccall]

wmcall,

The product comes in a 32 oz bottle and per the directions I added the entire bottle.

Jr

The one I tried years ago was in a powder that came in a 3 pound jar.  I worried that adding 3 pounds of a solid would raise the TDS and shorten the water's life span.

I'm lucky, my water is easy to manage.  The two biggest mistakes people tend to make in PH management is over testing (takes time for the changes to take effect) and forgetting that good PH is a range, not a specific value.  If mine is between 7.2 to 7.8 I leave it alone.

[neocacher]

 The two biggest mistakes people tend to make in PH management is over testing (takes time for the changes to take effect) and forgetting that good PH is a range, not a specific value.  If mine is between 7.2 to 7.8 I leave it alone.

Here, here!

[tony]

I've never seen an "expert" recommend the pH hold products.  I've only seen the opposite.  It does something with the chemistry, maybe runs the TA way high, to lock up pH.  Have to watch your calcium levels.

For my money, pH is easy enough to take care of on its own.

[Reese]

I've never seen an "expert" recommend the pH hold products.  I've only seen the opposite.  It does something with the chemistry, maybe runs the TA way high, to lock up pH.  Have to watch your calcium levels.  For my money, pH is easy enough to take care of on its own.

I believe they replace the calcium carbonates with phosphorus.  Although I've been in threads with salespeople who recommend these products, I've never been able to get an explanation on how they compensate for the protection that an appropriate level of hardness provides to components like the heater.

I think some people are attracted to these products thinking they will eliminate troubles in obtaining an initial balance -- which is not the case.  You have to get the pH/TA/Hardness readings in range before putting the lock product in, so you still will need the acid/carbonate tools.  I agree with Wmccall, adding two pounds of chemicals after a water change seems like increasing the TDS unnecessarily.

[Jacuzzi Jim]

 I carry the product but dont sell much of it.  Its called PH balance it is not recomended for spa water thats high in calcium, which most are not.

 I dont use it myself either but then I have been doing this for awhile,it does work and its just one more thing to help the average spa owner with there chems.

[Garyjr]

Let me simply say that I am in no way an expert, nor do I represent anything to do with the hot tub industry other than I own a SunDance Maxxus.  I am not suggesting that the product is for everyone, or that it will not have a negative impact on other aspects of "happy spa water."  Like a few others who frequent this forum, I have battled high Ph since owning my tub.  Out of the tap my water is right at 8.0Ph (per a Taylor test kit) and unless I add approximately 1 tbsp of Spa Down about every 3-4 days, my Ph creeps to 8.0 and above within a couple of weeks.  The problem with adding Spa Down is it also takes my Alk with it, therefore, in addition to Spa Down I also have to add Alk increaser.  A couple of weeks ago, ironically while buying another bottle of Spa Down I noticed this Ph locking product.  Unfortunately, the salesman knew very little about it other than you get your Ph adjusted where you want it and dump the entire bottle in.  Since adding it, my Ph has remained constant, and besides my daily/weekly sanitizer, I have experienced no ill effects.
I fully understand what some of you are saying in that many folks may over treat their water.  For me personally, I work 12-16 hours a day and the last thing I have time to mess with is constant chemical adjustments.  

Jr