Using trichlor or dichlor to lower ph

[Ack]

My new plaster pool is requiring a lot of acid to keep the ph down. I've heard that new plaster raises ph quite a bit. I also run my waterfall overnight to keep the water temperature cooler and I've heard that aeration also raises ph. I add muriatic acid every day, and 24 hours later the ph is back up to 8 or so. I'm also adding a lot of chlorine due to the blazing sun and 100+ F temperatures. I've been using up the cal hypo granules my PB left me, and once that's gone planned to switch to clorox bleach (6%) as recommended here.

I've been reading up and see that one of the undesired side effects of trichlor and dichlor is that it lowers ph. Since I'm constantly adding chlorine and acid to my pool and my ph is always climbing, I'm wondering if it's a good idea to use trichlor or dichlor as my chlorinator for a while until the ph is more under control, then switch to 6% bleach. Is this a good idea? How much of an affect will using trichlor or dichlor have on the ph? Will it make a recognizable difference in the amount of acid I have to add to keep the ph down? Any other undesirable side effects?

 

[Richard320]

http://www.poolcalculator.com/ can answer some of that. Plug in your numbers, then down near the bottom, it says "Effects of adding chemicals". Plug in however many ounces of dichlor or trichlor and it will tell you what it will do.

The big downside is the addition of CYA. You want some, but not too much. You can use pucks in a floater or feeder to maintain FC, help with pH, and add CYA. But when you hit the target for CYA, it's over.

 

[Ack]

Thanks for the link to the pool calculator. That gave me some actual numbers to work with. It looks like trichlor would have a minimal affect on ph with the amounts of chlorine I need to add daily. I'll still need to add a lot of acid.

I might go ahead and use trichlor just for the convenience of not carrying around so many bleach bottles until my CYA levels are up to where I want them.