New pool with SWG - very high TA

[kpu1012]

I am a new pool owner in an area with very hard water. Attached is the chemistry - the only thing I added at this point was bleach and CYA. As you can see the fill water is very hard.

FC - 5ppm
pH - 7.2
TA - 230
CH - 290
CYA - ~40 - just added yesterday and it is still dissolving - target 75 ppm

I plan on aerating the water to increase the pH.

I have not started the SWG. How important is it to get the TA under control prior to using the SWG? How long will it take to lower the TA to reasonable levels via acid/aeration cycles.

Thanks for the help.

 

[JasonLion]

Try to keep the PH under 7.5 until you get the TA down.

Running the SWG now runs some risk of scaling in the SWG cell. If you are methodical about keeping the PH down it will be alright, but it won't take long to scale the cell if the PH goes up.

Lowering TA takes a while. You make some relatively quick progress right at the start, but then things slow down and it ends up taking a while. Just how long depends on how efficiently you can aerate the pool.

 

[kpu1012]

Thanks Jason - that is what I suspected.

Will I be able to get the TA to 70 ppm using the acid/aeration route?

 

[PoolGuyNJ]

TA that high can/should be brought down with acid and aeration. As the alk comes down, the pH will rise with the aeration.

Bringing the pH up to a more normal level too soon will cause scaling. especially in a running salt cell. Fortunately, this takes some time, just as pitting from a low pH takes some time. That time is to your benefit.

Keep the cell off, manually dose with bleach and treat the imbalance in a timely fashion and you will be able to turn on the cell safely.

Scott

PS - Darn yer fast Jason!