My pH is always high

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M

merl

0
Mar 8, 2011
86
FAC 1
TAC 1
Salt 3200
Ch 250
CYA 50
TA 120
pH 8.0
Acid Demand 3
Pho 500

These are my results from yesterday, I added 28 ounces of acid, tested this morning and I am still at 8 and need another 28 ounces according to my charts. Why do I keep having high pH?

Thanks
 
TA at 120 is too high if you have a SWG. High TA combined with aeration tends to make the PH go up. Another thing that can raise PH is fresh plaster. Plaster that is less than a year old will constantly raise the PH.
 
With 17K gallons, TA of 120, I get that 28 oz of 31% MA would lower your pH by .5. (From 8.0 - 7.5). So, you did not add enough MA to get down to 7.0 - 7.2 which you do when you are trying to lower TA. Are you sure your pH wasn't higher than 8.0? (Not sure what test kit you are using.) I have found that I need more than the pool calculator calls for to actually get down to 7.0 - 7.2 range. If that is the case with your pool, or if your pH was actually higher than 8.0, or if you were using a lower % of MA, this could all be reasons on why your pH read as 8.0 the next morning. Based on your other threads, your plaster is from late May, so your pH will be rising faster. Lowering the TA by repeatedly lowering the pH to 7.0 - 7.2 will help.
 
Hey Merl, Isn't your pool new??? if so you will continue to have a high pH while the plaster cures. It is a continual process and will be a common recurrence. The high TA will also make your PH unstable. Edit your signature in your user control panel so we can see the size pool and what type of equipment and where you are located. It will make answering your questions easier. Then you might want to go to this link, pool-school/, it has some great reading soak it all in take your time. It also appears that your Fc is low for your CYA you should never be below 3ppm with a 50 CYA, you are inviting an algae bloom and if you have a SWG your CYA is too low, which will cause your SWG to work harder this necessary. Your CYA should be higher see this link pool-school/chlorine_cya_chart_shock for your correct values on CYA, FC, and Shock levels... :cheers:
 
My CH jumped 185 in 3 days?

I tested my water the 30th
FAC .5
TAC .5
Salt 3100
CH 190
CYA 40
TA 90
pH 8.0
Pho 300

I added muratic acid, and phosphate pro from leslies and turned the salt water chlorinator to boost for 24 hours. I went out of town for 2 days.
Today
FAC 1
TAC 1
Salt 3100
CH 375
CYA 30
TA130
pH 8.0

I have put 32 oz of muratic acid in -- how can the numbers change so much? Is it the heat?

Also, of course my Hydrazzo is now rough again in the spa ( the PB has polished it 2 times since the original fill. The last time was the 28th. He told me then it should be cured so I could stop brushing twice a day!)

Many thanks
 

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Re: My CH jumped 185 in 3 days?

My pool is a month old, however this water is 2 weeks old because I had to drain it 2 weeks ago because the Hydrazzo went from smooth to very rough. I will test the fill water, have not done that yet.
 
Topics merged. Please keep everything about your chemistry and Hydrazzo together in one place. It is impossible for people to help you in any useful way without being able to see the context of what has gone before.
 
This mornings results, scale is building up in spa. It tool 3 days to go from smooth to rough.

30th
FAC .5
TAC .5
Salt 3100
CH 190
CYA 40
TA 90
pH 8.0
Pho 300

July 5

FAC 3-6
TAC 3-6
I had the boost on for 24 hours, it is now off
Salt 3100
CH 230
CYA 30
TA 140
pH 7.6 with a +1 to drop to 7.2
 
Merl, my situation is similar to yours, living here in Houston. My fill water also is 150 CH and with the drought and constant refilling my CH was at 675 before I drained about 40% of the water last week. It got that high over about a four month period.

My pool is only 7 months old so the pH is still rising every day. I would let it go the 8.0 to 8.2 range before dropping it back to the 7.2 to 7.5 range. I was adding MA every 3 to 4 days. I eventually developed some scale, but it's not horrible. The lesson for me is to never let pH get above 7.5--even for a short time, when the CH gets high. And when the CH gets high you may want to consider a partial drain/refill.

Another thing, the pool stores' tests always showed my water at or below 400 so I didn't think it was a problem for pH to get above 7.8 for a day before adding MA. Don't trust the pool store's test.
 
On my French Grey Luna Quartz it shows up as slighly lighter spots on the floor and sides of the pool, mostly in the shallow end and steps. You can't feel any difference when you run your hand over them. When I partially drained the pool and applied diluted MA to the spots they fizzed and then went away--confirming to me that the spots were scale. My plaster contractor inspected the pool told me he would perform a no-drain acid wash and then a complete drain and power wash for $500.

But it's only noticeable in low light conditions so I'm not worried about it so long as it does not get worse. It almost looks like irregularties in the plaster, which are common with these surfaces. For now, I've decided just to make sure it does not get worse so I'm adding acid every day to every other day to keep the pH around 7.5. I just topped up the borates to 50 ppm so I'm hoping it will slow down the increase in pH. As the CH increases over time (it will) I will keep the pH even lower than 7.5.
 

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