Really confused about what to do, please HELP

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Does this seem right. Using the pool math calculator and inputting a assumed PH level of 2 it says I need to add 22848 by weight or 21902 by volume of borax.??

I hope I'm overlooking something because if that is the case doesn't it make more sense to just do a partial drain and refill?
 
Ph calculations are inaccurate as you get further away from normal range. The borates calculator is much more accurate in your case. In the calculator, put in that you have 0 borates and a target of around 30. Increase or decrease target borates until it says it takes 384 oz of the concentration of MA the you added to your pool. Then look at how much borax it says to add. This will be much closer to reality than using the ph tool. Just remember that ph might have risen on its own the past 48 hours, so you may not need all the borax that it recommends. When you raise borates on purpose, where there's not days separating the additions, the calculator's recommendation is very close in determining how much acid and borax offset each other.
 
sere81 said:
Does this seem right. Using the pool math calculator and inputting a assumed PH level of 2 it says I need to add 22848 by weight or 21902 by volume of borax.??

I hope I'm overlooking something because if that is the case doesn't it make more sense to just do a partial drain and refill?
Click to expand...
Please don't assume your pH is 2 now - that is very very unlikely, probably impossible in the environment of your pool.

First, please clarify what concentration of muriatic acid you used.

Then follow the previous poster's recommendations on how to use PoolMath to determine how much borax you are LIKELY to need. Do not add it all at once (the kind of impulsive approach that, honestly, got you into this mess). Please do start putting some borax in ASAP, rather than letting more hours or days pass in contemplation.
 
Enter PH of 6.8 as now and 7.6 as target and add that amount of borax, run the pump 15 minutes and retest. Keep doing that until PH registers at least 7.2.
 
I wish a chemical guy would chime in on the maximum pH may have risen on its own over 48 hours (or however many since adding MA) so we could have a better idea of how much could be added to start off. Pooldv's advice on additions is the proper advice to use since we don't really know how much the pH may have risen on its own. My advice was around 5 boxes before testing (if the MA added was 31.45%), but that is only a guess at what a safe starting point is.
 
Just tooting our own horn a bit....here are 6-8 of us willing to help our newbie get his pool clear. All done with a cheerful attitude from everyone and an almost overwhelming willingness to help......Y'all make up a great forum.
 
We have added 2 boxes of borax today, one at 2pm and 7pm eastern time.

I wish I could get you all the specs on the Muratic acid but the bottles were already thrown away. It is the smart brand that I bought at home Depot.Smart, 2x1-Gallon Muriatic Acid, 2118 HD at The Home Depot - Mobile

I will get updated test results very soon.

*Edit*

Got the cheap OTO that was suggested and am a little confused about how to interpret this. I will show you all the picture of the result so everyone knows whats going on.

20150710_200819.jpg
 

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pooldv said:
That is 31.45% muriatic acid. That looks to me like your PH about 8.2. How can that be? :crazy: :)
Can you test TA?
Click to expand...

Again, Thank you to everyone who is taking the time to read and help.
These test strips are the best I can do right now. Sorry about that, my guess would be that TA is between 120-180?
Test strip reads from top to bottom, TH, TC, FC, PH, TA, CYA

20150710_221048.jpg
20150710_221058.jpg
 
It think it might be extremely acidic.

1) Mix a teaspoon of borax to a cup of tap water.
2) Get a cup of pool water.
3) Take a teaspoon of "borax water" made in step 1 and add it to the cup of pool water and stir.
4) Test the pool water again and see which direction the color changes.

We'd all love to see a new picture.


We'll you added new pictures. Does the test strip seem to match up to a certain number? I never have a lot of luck looking at colors on comparators without sunlight.
 
The test strip looks to support that PH number also. The TA is fairly high which will cause PH to rise on its own.

I don't know what danielp's test will tell us, give it a try and let's see.
 
DanielP said:
It think it might be extremely acidic.

1) Mix a teaspoon of borax to a cup of tap water.
2) Get a cup of pool water.
3) Take a teaspoon of "borax water" made in step 1 and add it to the cup of pool water and stir.
4) Test the pool water again and see which direction the color changes.

We'd all love to see a new picture.


We'll you added new pictures. Does the test strip seem to match up to a certain number? I never have a lot of luck looking at colors on comparators without sunlight.
Click to expand...

I did the test, and it is hard to see the colors, in person they were a lot more bright. I would describe them as
TH- Purple, maybe reading at 100
TC- White
FC- Yellow
PH- Bright Pink
TA- Deep Blue
CYA- Bright Purple
19567482386_0e2f6e83f8_z.jpg
 
I was hoping to see it on the OTO comparator, but that was before I saw you had added a new pic of the test strip which kind of confirmed it was higher than 6.8 right before I had posted. I think you should be good. You might look at the pH again on both test kits in the sunlight tomorrow and let is know what they look like to you. It sounds like things are ok now and I'm surprised how fast your pH rose on its own.
 
While I think everything is good (it went further in the right direction instead of color correction), you can have a bit of fun and confirmation by getting water straight from the pool, in OTO tester, mix the 5 red drops in it, then add a drop of vinegar to see if the color starts changing to yellow. You don't *need* to do it at this point, I think it's fine.
 

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