Low PH............

[tamhor]

I gang, I've been reading alot on this site and now realize why I have a problem with very high cya (over 100) and always dropping ph it's because of the pucks (in floater) and the powder chlorine I have been using for years. I desperatley need to switch to bleach or liquid chlorine. Will switching to bleach right away help bring down the cya? (draining not possible right now). I have been worried I will be running to the store every other day to get those jugs. (ICK). Can anybody give me a ballpark estimate on how many jugs I can expect to use each week? My water has always been crystal clear but after reading everything on this site I now know if I don't get my ph stabilized (it's always low) my heat exchanger will corrode. (OUCH). Any advice is greatly appreciated. THANKS

 

[PoolGuyNJ]

Getting the pH under control is best accomplished with an alk increaser such as baking soda. It acts as a buffer to slow the effects of tabs, rain and sun lowering the pH. Using liquid chlorine (aka bleach) will raise the pH. If you are using the BBB method, the borax will lower the pH.

The stabilizer level you have means you will need more free chlorine to be effective. The only way to lower it will be dilution. You will need about 8 to 10 ppm free chlorine at your present level of stabilizer.

Regards;

Scott

 

[tamhor]

Thanks Scott, Can you compute 8 to 10 ppm of free chlorine into amount of jugs? I fear it will require many jugs and many trips to the liquid chlorine store before the dilution takes place. TRUE? THANKS

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Used the Pool Calc to figure out how much FC you need - then hold the cursor over the amount and it converts it in to the number of jugs needed.

Getting the pH under control is best accomplished with an alk increaser such as baking soda. It acts as a buffer to slow the effects of tabs, rain and sun lowering the pH. Using liquid chlorine (aka bleach) will raise the pH. If you are using the BBB method, the borax will lower the pH.

The stabilizer level you have means you will need more free chlorine to be effective. The only way to lower it will be dilution. You will need about 8 to 10 ppm free chlorine at your present level of stabilizer.

Regards;

Scott

Borax DOES NOT Lower PH, it increases it. Soda Ash or Washing Soda will also increase PH. TA is increased with Baking Soda, which will not raise the PH as much as Borax or Soda Ash. If you use tabs, keeping your TA above 120 will help the PH be more stable, but the PH and TA will continue to drop from the tablet use. When using trichlor, PH TA and CYA must be closely monitored and adjusted regularly.

See the CYA chart in my sig, for your recommended chlorine levels. Every pool is different, there is no way to predict how much chlorine you will use. With high CYA, you will have to use more than you want. Trying to run with levels that high is possible but it will be costly and impractical.

The ONLY way to lower CYA is through water replacement, using bleach is recommended with High CYA because it doesn't add CYA to your pool. I recommend you do a series of partial drains to lower it, because honestly you will fight a losing battle and spend alot more on chlorine than you want to by trying to run with CYA that high. Since most tests only go up to 100, in reality your CYA could be even higher. Should you experience algae, your shock level is 40 and honestly that is just virtually impossible to maintain.

Pardon me for being nosy, but why is draining not an option?

 

[JasonLion]

Once you get everything in balance, I would expect you to use a little less than one small jug, or one half of a large jug, each day.