High PH and TA

[twitter]

Hi,

I've checked PH few over last couple of months and it's consistently high.

TC - 5
PH > 8.2
TA - 150
TH - 320
CYA - 80

According to pool calculator, I should add 38 oz of Acid to bring PH down to 76. Should I add it all at once or do it slowly over couple of days.

Also, should I worry about TA levels and try to bring it down?

 

[Bama Rambler]

You should add it all at once in front of a running return.

Don't worry about the TA right now. It will come down as you add acid to bring the pH down.

 

[duraleigh]

Adding importance to what bama said, you should never let it stay over 7.8 for any length of time.

I suggest you test your pH at the very least twice weekly and bring it down immediately if it is higher than 7.8

 

[twitter]

Thanks guys. I added acid couple of days ago and PH was down to 7.8 today and water is also clearer. I added some more today to bring it down to 7.6

What FC level you guys recommend for me given the results above?

 

[Butterfly]

What FC level you guys recommend for me given the results above?

With CYA of 80, FC should be between 6 and 11, and never below 6.

 

[duraleigh]

twitter,

Have you found the FC/CYA chart in Pool School?

 

[twitter]

I found the FC/CYA chart and will follow it. I've been doing OTO test for chlorine so far and kept total chlorine more than 5 most of the time. I received TF-100 yesterday and will start using it for more accurate testing for FC/CC. But it may be too much work for day-to-day testing. What if I mix equal parts pool water with tap water and use it for OTO test, then multiply the result by two. Would it give decent results for daily testing?

-Twitter

 

[JasonLion]

Not really, dilution doubles the error, which is already fairly large. What I do is use the OTO test just to make sure that FC is fairly high, without getting a precise number. Then once or twice a week I do a FAS-DPD chlorine test to get an exact number and adjust how much chlorine I need to be adding for the next week. That works fairly well as long as you keep track of things that might require extra chlorine (a really hot day, a major storm, extra people swimming) and do extra testing right after anything like that.

 

[Richard320]

I found the FC/CYA chart and will follow it. I've been doing OTO test for chlorine so far and kept total chlorine more than 5 most of the time. I received TF-100 yesterday and will start using it for more accurate testing for FC/CC. But it may be too much work for day-to-day testing. What if I mix equal parts pool water with tap water and use it for OTO test, then multiply the result by two. Would it give decent results for daily testing?

-Twitter

Naw, the FAS-DPD test is easy. If you want to conserve the reagents, use a 10ml sample and multiply each drop by .5. You'll get the hang of things within a couple weeks to where you can predict with considerable accuracy what readings you'll be getting when you test. That's when you can slack off a little.