High PH levels

[mamasproject]

We have a new pool- finished in October 09 and closed November 09 by the pool company. It's balmy here in PA today and decided to check on pool water level and PH levels. The PH was above 8.0 (that's as high as the kit reads) and I'm unsure as what to do about that. Do I need to lower it or should I just wait it out until we open in April?
Any advice will be appreciated! And... looking forward to spring!

 

[JasonLion]

With plaster that is less than one year old it is especially important to keep an eye on the PH and prevent it from getting too high. In the winter this isn't usually very difficult because the PH won't drift up nearly as rapidly as it would if it were warmer.

Are you able to run the pump, or has the plumbing been drained for the winter? If you can run the pump then you should certainly lower the PH. Without the pump, you need some way of circulating the water before you attempt to add any chemicals. Depending on what your TA and CH levels are, finding a way to lower the PH might be very important or able to be put off for a while.

 

[mamasproject]

The pool was closed in November 09....pipes drained, equipment disconnected so there is no way to circulate the water other than with a brush, and then I would have to take half the cover off and I'm not sure I want to do that.
I am aware of the importance of keeping the PH levels down with a new plaster pool...that's why I wanted to know if I should try to add something to lower the PH now or just wait until opening day.

 

[JasonLion]

There is a risk of calcium scaling, though it is by no means certain that there will be a problem. Discovering calcium scaling in the spring is a risk of late fall plastering. Usually the weather is cold enough to slow the PH rise enough to prevent problems. But the process is somewhat unpredictable and there can be problems.

Since it doesn't sound too difficult to get a water sample, I suggest testing the TA and CH levels. That will give you a much better estimate of how close you are to having a problem.

 

[mamasproject]

The water results were as follows...I didn't test everything..really just wanted to know the PH

PH above 8.0
FC .5
TA 90
CH (didn't check but in the fall before I closed was @ 400)

At closing pb put into the pool...

5 GAL Liquid Chlorine (I will assume it was the 12%) and Pool Stain treatment

So with these results should I expect a scaling problem?

 

[polyvue]

So with these results should I expect a scaling problem?

Calcium Hardness (CH), water temperature, cyanuric acid (CYA) and salt (NaCl) all have an impact on potential scaling. It would also be nice to have a more precise reading of pH. From the little information provided and assuming no change to CH since last fall, 0 salt, 0 CYA, pH 8.2 and temperature of 40 degrees F, there would seem to be only a moderate chance of scaling. But a change to any of these parameters could reduce or increase the propensity. This isn't crystal-ball stuff... you can determine this yourself by entering the numbers into the Pool Calculator.

 

[JasonLion]

With those numbers, my guess is that you are fine as long as the water is below about 50 degrees. As the water warms up the chances of scaling go up substantially. As long as you open fairly early in the spring you should be alright.

 

[mamasproject]

Thanks for the replies...I'm going to guess that it should be okay...fingers are crossed! I live in PA so the weather has been terribly cold! Though only a film of ice formed on the pool so my guess is that the pool water is well below 50! But I was expecting thicker ice...I guess the mesh cover is an insulator? Or I have really thick gunite! We are opening on April 17th and can't wait since we never got to swim...was way too cold in October