Confused about lower TA

[Cheetos82]

My TA is 120
Pool math says it should be 70-90
Cya 40
Fc 5
Ph 7.6 i lowered it earlier from 7.8 with dry acid
TA has remained 120
Does it take time for it to drop or do i need to lower ph more and then how do i raise back up or is 120 ok? Kids want to swim

16x48 intex ultra with intex sand filter 2800

 

[Texas Splash]

When you want to lower TA, you need to use the acid/aeration method as noted on the Pool School - Lower Total Alkalinity page. Make sure to use the full range of motion by lowering pH to 7.0-7.2, THEN aerating pH back all the way to 7.8 before hitting with muriatic acid again. Then repeat as necessary. It may take a few rotations but it will work. Good luck!

 

[Cheetos82]

I did read it but slightly confused. Do i add dry acid with pump on or off?

16x48 intex ultra with intex sand filter 2800

 

[AimeeH]

My TA is 120
Pool math says it should be 70-90
Cya 40
Fc 5
Ph 7.6 i lowered it earlier from 7.8 with dry acid
TA has remained 120
Does it take time for it to drop or do i need to lower ph more and then how do i raise back up or is 120 ok? Kids want to swim

16x48 intex ultra with intex sand filter 2800

TA is considered a buffer for your PH. There often is no need to focus your attention on lowering your TA. Keep your PH in range for comfort of kids swimming. If you find your PH is too low, you can bring that up by aerating your water by turning any return jets up toward the surface or adding a sprinkler to one of the returns.........or.....as simple as letting a kids splash around a lot.

If you really want to lower TA you would follow a process of lowering with acid then aerating to bring PH back up. Pool School - Lower Total Alkalinity

But if PH is in line let the kids swim and don't worry about TA unless you are fighting constant PH rise.

 

[Texas Splash]

Whenever you add acid (or any chemical) to the water, you want the pump running - probably on high for about 15 minutes if you have that setting. You want good circulation. Typically we find muriatic acid easier to work with and it provides very good results. But if you already have a tub of dry acid or are simply more comfortable with that product, it will work as well. Hope that helps.

 

[Cheetos82]

TA is considered a buffer for your PH. There often is no need to focus your attention on lowering your TA. Keep your PH in range for comfort of kids swimming. If you find your PH is too low, you can bring that up by aerating your water by turning any return jets up toward the surface or adding a sprinkler to one of the returns.........or.....as simple as letting a kids splash around a lot.

If you really want to lower TA you would follow a process of lowering with acid then aerating to bring PH back up. Pool School - Lower Total Alkalinity

But if PH is in line let the kids swim and don't worry about TA unless you are fighting constant PH rise.

This is first time ive had ph rise since i opened pool and it wasn't significant but everyone was complaining their eyes were burning

16x48 intex ultra with intex sand filter 2800

 

[domct203]

My TA is 120
Pool math says it should be 70-90
Cya 40
Fc 5
Ph 7.6 i lowered it earlier from 7.8 with dry acid
TA has remained 120
Does it take time for it to drop or do i need to lower ph more and then how do i raise back up or is 120 ok? Kids want to swim

16x48 intex ultra with intex sand filter 2800

If the water is clear, let them swim. There are no health concerns with the TA.

Don't get too hung up on TA. Just stay on top of your PH. If you find that your PH quickly rises then you can follow the procedure as posted to lower it. My TA is 90-100, and my PH is rock solid at 7.4

You should always have the pump running while you add any chemicals to the pool, and for at least 30 min afterwards to ensure a good mix.

Dom

 

[Cheetos82]

If the water is clear, let them swim. There are no health concerns with the TA.

Don't get too hung up on TA. Just stay on top of your PH. If you find that your PH quickly rises then you can follow the procedure as posted to lower it. My TA is 90-100, and my PH is rock solid at 7.4

You should always have the pump running while you add any chemicals to the pool, and for at least 30 min afterwards to ensure a good mix.

Dom

Awesome thank you all. I will keep close eye on ph and if it continues to rise i will do the acid/aerate process. You guys are amazing. This year is the first year i have been able to have a clear pool for more than a few weeks!

16x48 intex ultra with intex sand filter 2800

 

[AimeeH]

Awesome thank you all. I will keep close eye on ph and if it continues to rise i will do the acid/aerate process. You guys are amazing. This year is the first year i have been able to have a clear pool for more than a few weeks!

16x48 intex ultra with intex sand filter 2800

Good to hear

Usually red eyes/red burning skin are usually the result of PH that is too low......ask me how I know. Actually that is how I found this forum in 2011 when our PH had crashed.

 

[Cheetos82]

Good to hear

Usually red eyes/red burning skin are usually the result of PH that is too low......ask me how I know. Actually that is how I found this forum in 2011 when our PH had crashed.

Guess im gonna hop in and vacuum so they can swim in a bit! Thanks again.

16x48 intex ultra with intex sand filter 2800

 

[Cheetos82]

Man we had massive rain yesterday. I was excited bc it filled the pool back up but after i vacuumed storm debris i had to backwash and lost it all. Small tornado hit near us but not directly. Had 70-90 mph winds. Glad pool made it! Ph keeps rising every couple days so im gonna proceed with lowering ph to get TA down.

16x48 intex ultra with intex sand filter 2800

 

[jcp]

My fill water has very high TA. I'm talking like 160. I switched to muratic acid a few years ago after using up one tub of dry acid. The muratic acid sounded a bit intimidating, but I found I prefer it to the dry acid. You can actually see the fumes, just try to stay up wind while you're measuring it and adding it, you definitely wouldn't want to get a big breathe of it. Just exercise reasonable care handling it.

Now that being said I don't so much worry about my TA number itself. I'm aware of it and take occasional measurements so I can make accurate PH adjustments. I just keep my PH in line and let the TA work itself down over the course of the summer. I let the PH get up to 7.5-7.8 then I knock it back down to 7.2. The pool gets enough aeration from the kids, I don't worry about any additional aeration. All the TA means to me is early in the summer my pool takes more acid more frequently than it does later in the summer. Adding acid is just part of my normal pool maintenece routine.