poolchemistrycalc

Lower total alkalinity

Into 21,100 gal of water, add

36.09lb 16.37kg

HASA Dry Acid — sodium bisulfate, 93.5%. Total alkalinity from 180 ppm to 100 ppm.

Total alkalinity on one scale: the band 60–180, the ideal band 80–120, the reading now at 180 ppm, and an arrow to 100 ppm carrying 36.09 lb. reads now 180 ppm target 100 ppm ideal code 60 80 120 180 36.09 lb −80 ppm with HASA Dry Acid

Your pool

feet, the long side
feet
inches of water, not wall height
inches of water
what your kit reads
where you want it

The answer, the drawings, every reading and every table on this page are worked for the values in these fields, and worked again as you type. The questions further down are answered for the example this page was published with.

At 21,100 gal

Every product that does this

Every product with a fetched strength that moves this reading by -80 ppm. A row we can compute a quantity for comes first.
Product Add Also moves
HASA Dry Acid
sodium bisulfate 93.5%
36.09 lb
16.37 kg
pH
moves it, by an amount no fetched source states
HASA Muriatic Acid
hydrochloric acid 31.4%
no quantity — see the label pH
moves it, by an amount no fetched source states

The manufacturer's own dose sentence reads: 0.5 lbs for each 0.1 pH unit reduction per 20,000 gals of water. The figures above are computed from the product's strength.

In steps, if you would rather

One dose split five ways. Add a step, run the pump, and test again before the next. Every step also moves pH, by an amount no fetched source states, so no figure for it is published here.
To reach Add Total added
164 ppm 7.22 lb 7.22 lb
148 ppm 7.22 lb 14.43 lb
132 ppm 7.22 lb 21.65 lb
116 ppm 7.22 lb 28.87 lb
100 ppm 7.22 lb 36.09 lb

Where the band comes from

Source Range
COMAR 10.17.01.45 A(2)
conventional pool
60–180 ppm
COMAR 10.17.01.45 A(2)
spa or hot tub
60–180 ppm

Pool and spa rules are adopted and amended state by state, and most of the ranges here are written for public pools. Confirm every figure against the code your jurisdiction has adopted and against your own product label.

Always dilute acid before it goes in: ten parts water to one part acid, into the water and never the other way round. Run the pump while you add it and for an hour afterwards, then test again before you add any more.

Other adjustments

Updated September 2026

Sources and dates

Ranges are quoted from the code named beside them, product strengths from the manufacturer's own product page, each retrieved on the date shown.