In new territory.

[numberonenole]

I have not needed help with my pool chemistry in a long time because of the great people here! I thought I was well educated on pool chemistry, but this is all new to me. We installed a new pool liner in May and the chemicals were balanced. Then...we have only been swimming once in the past month because both kids got sick (but not at the same time). Also, we received 29 inches of rain from Tropical Storm Debby at the end of June so lots of water was dumped out of the pool. In the meantime I had been dumping liquid chlorine in the pool every chance I could, but ran out and didn't want to take the sick kids to buy more, so we used some chlorine tablets from a friend. The pool looks great and never looked anything but clear. Now...we are finally feeling better so I went out to check the pool chemical levels and was so shocked at what I found that I tested again.

FC 3.5
CC 0
TC 3.5
pH < 6.8 (test doesn't go lower than that and it was very yellow)
TA 10
CH 260
CYA 80

So, I am blown away. Where did my TA and pH go? I knew I was flirting with CYA disaster using the tablets, but never thought all the other stuff would happen. I figured the worse that could happen was high CYA that would get diluted and dumped out when we got more rain.

I'm off to use the Pool School Calculator to correct these problems, but would love to know the how and why I got this way so quickly and any advice on fixing it. We did have aerial spraying for mosquitoes a couple of nights ago. The plane flew real low over the house about three times. Thankfully the county got a special permit due to an out of control mosquito population after the storm. I have no idea if that had anything to do with it, but we are happy they sprayed! I have liquid chlorine now, but I have nothing to correct any of the other stuff.

Thanks in advance for any comments! Even the "well, duh!" ones!

 

[linen]

Where did my TA and pH go?

probably here:

so we used some chlorine tablets from a friend.

One of the problems with using tabs, they lower ph (and TA).

What does your water look like? If it is clear, then you could try to run with the 80 ppm cya, but you will need to be vigilant keeping your FC up.

 

[elwood58]

Relax. Get your TA and pH back up whe hey belong. CYA will likely get adjusted during the next wet spell, but in the meantime, keep your FC up where the Pool Calculator tells you.

 

[numberonenole]

Thanks for the responses! The next wet spell has already occurred. Nice little tornado warning and inch of rain within 30 minutes. Hopefully my CYA has gone down!

Regarding raising the pH and TA, I want to make sure I understand correctly. When I went to the pool calculator to see how much I need, soda ash is listed only with the pH category, but Pool School says soda ash will raise both the TA and pH at the same time. I love a good 2 for 1!

Which do I start with (pH or TA) and can I use the soda ash for both based on the pH calculations? I'm certain my TA is from 0-10, but my pH is so low it won't register on the tester so should I just start with a guess of 6.5?

Thanks again!

 

[Butterfly]

Well, I suggest that you first use baking soda and get your TA around 60 or so.

Then, use borax and get the pH up to 7.4ish.