TA - Naturally high in Tap water?

[MNPoolDreamer]

Is it possible for TA to be high in regular tap water? I'm going to order my kit as soon as we get the O.K. from the city to move forward with the pool.

Out of curiousity, I picked up some test strips. It said my TA was well over 180 from just tap water. It would make sense as to why I could never keep my fish tank PH below 8.4. BUT this has me worried that it is going to be really hard to manage in the pool. Is TA always from dissolved carbonate in the water? or could the metals cause that?

The Hardness was at 250+ too so that combined with a high TA a high PH and metals, I'm worried I'm doomed to always adding acid to keep TA down and PH down. I can't used softened water either because that has a high TA as well (but no hardness...must be doing it's job!)

Thanks for the help...I bought a bunch of baking soda today, but now I think I won't be needing it.

 

[dmanb2b]

Been there right with ya

My fill water TA is 300+ and CH is 350+. It can be managed, especially in the northern states. A few gallons (7-8 in my case) of MA to lower TA and aeration offset the PH decreases after each addition, my TA is now around 70 I plan my backwashes before strong thunderstorms so that I can accumulate rain water in the pool. Heck this past spring I even chlorinated the winter water on top of the pool cover and pumped it through a strainer into the pool instead of using the garden hose. A little bit of chlorine, some filtering and my trusty TF100, my TA today is around 60-70 and CH is about 170. Not bad ehh :lol:

 

[JasonLion]

Where do you live? Some areas have both high TA and high CH levels in the tap water, which does create challenges for pool owners. This is unrelated to metals in the water, which you may or may not have independently of high TA and CH.

There are a couple of solution for high TA fill water. One is to set up a good aerator, and go through the lowering TA process each time you top off the pool. Another is to install an automatic acid feeder to help keep PH under control.

 

[MNPoolDreamer]

We are in Minnesota. Let's just say I would never drink the "tap water" unless it was softened. I never realized that 29 grains of hardness (496mg/L) translates to a nightmare of pool ownership. We do have iron in the water (1.0 to 2.4 ppm) and that is from the city's testing report.

I'm really thinking that I'm going to have to bite the bullet and have water trucked in. It's an expense I didn't plan for but with this much water and chemicals I need to add right away, it may end up being a wash.

Is the CH reduced by the acid as well? We are going to have a heater, so I don't want to ruin that right away either. Will I need to forgo the solar cover idea if I have to areate all the time?

I'm getting cold feet on this pool ownership relationship!

 

[Richard320]

No. Calcium is forever. And as water evaporates and you refill, the CH number just keeps getting bigger and bigger.

Rainwater has no TA nor CH. Which is why I directed a raingutter downspout into my pool over the winter. We don't get much rain here, and the only measurable amounts are in the winter. I directed the downspout into the spa. That helped contain all the dirt and grit to one area; sort of a settling basin. I'd pump the pool down before a good rain, then let it refill with rainwater. The spa would be just black afterwards, but by moving the valves, I'd filter only the spa water, keep it stirred up with the brush, and it would be clear in about 20 minutes.