How do I reduce TA

[beemer]

Moderator comment: This post was separated out from another thread:

I used the aeration method to lower my TA and get my pH at 7.5. By the time I got my TA down to around 60, getting my pH up to anything above 7.4 was a struggle. Even with 48 hours of aeration it didn't budge. That was a pretty good indication there that I was stable, so I quit and kept an eye on the pH over the next 2 weeks. It never moved. At all. I felt like that was stable. So, I added borates via borax and MA (in hindsight, order boric acid, the calcium precipitating out of the water due to the borax clogged my sand filter overnight) and when done found my pH was high at 8. I knocked it down to 7.5 with more MA and 3 weeks have passed, but my pH hasn't moved.

This is SOOOO what I am looking for! How EXACTLY did you do this? I need steps. For dummies. I am dumping 16oz of muratic acid in DAILY trying to keep my PH at 7.6. I have high PH fill water (8.2+), and new plaster, and lots of aeration from a SPA spillover running 12 hours a day (when the filter is running). Regardless of TA (I've gone from 60-110 and I STILL see a .2 rise in PH *DAILY*). Working on dropping my TA back down now since I've ruled out "low TA" AND "high TA" as a cause for the constant PH movement.

I assume it's just acid to drop the PH down to ??? 7.2ish? And then aerate like crazy (in addition to the SPA spill over I have waterfalls I can turn on to help aerate)? Let the PH get back up to?? 7.8 and drop back to 7.2? Later, rinse, repeat until the PH quits moving?

Any risk of going too low on the TA (like 0?)?? And still seeing PH rise? Is there some 'safe' minimum I should give up the experiment at not to cause serious trouble in the pool?

 

[tim5055]

Pool School is always the first place to look:

Pool School - Lower Total Alkalinity

My pool is very happy with TA around 50.

But, with new plaster yo will be fighting pH rise for a while.

 

[pooldv]

50 is the lowest your should go. Some pools need to be 60.