my pool out of control

[supersidline]

hello, found out my pool was reading ph of lower than 6.5. went to store got it tested and now im in the 7.5 range after 90dollars in supplies. One problem my clorine is in 3.5 to 5 range and i believe my alkilinity is at 210. how do i drop my alkilinity to the 8o-120 range with out dropping my ph under 7.0 again. and dropping a load of cash in procesws. friend told me of web site and the 3 b's of taking care of your pool. help me please. i have never in 7yrs of having my pool, had to use anything more than clorine tabs and shock till this year.

please give me some help. my pool is 10,000gal. above ground.

 

[JohnT]

Welcome to TFP!

In order to know what to do, you need to know more about your water, and in order to help, we need to know more about your water. In order to do that, you need a test kit. You need to test at minimum Free Chlorine, TA, CYA and pH. You can buy a kit for $15-$20 that will do that, or you can spend some more and get a kit that will cover all situations like the Taylor K2006 or the TF100 at http://www.tftestkits.net.

The TA at 210 isn't really an issue to worry about right now. Chlorine at 3.5 to 5ppm might be high or it might be low, dpending on your CYA level. If you've used tablets and shock in the past, your CYA is probably high, which could mean you need more chlorine.

Read through the Pool School http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/, particularly these articles http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/bbb_for_pools http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/lowering total alkalinity http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/pool_water_chemistry http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/chlorine_cya_chart_shock and feel free to ask for any clarification in this thread.

 

[reebok]

$90, that's insane. you can go worship the ground your friend walks on for pointing you to this site. :bowdown:
start by reading the chemistry section in pool-school/ and pool-school/read_before_you_post
it will make a ton of sense and you will hate your pool store from now on.