lowering TA and chlorinating

[Charleston-Dawn]

Hi Everyone!!
I've been working on lowering my TA and trying to keep my chlorine up too.
my numbers yesterday were,
fc 4
TC 4
PH 8.0
TA 170
CH 20
cya 55
I added the recomended MA to get the ph down to 7.0-7.2 this morning (MA hard to find around here)
so then my numbers were
FC .5
TC.5
PH 7.2
TA 160
cya 55
waited 2 hours, tested again, same numbers as above(we have a tropical depression dumping on us)
same numbers just before I added the bleach retested 30 min after adding clorox and...

FC 5
TC 5
PH7.8 (up.6)
TA 170 (up10ppm)
cya 55
I'm using the taylor K-2005 (high)test kit
My liner is getting that white chalky ring so I need to get the TA down. When I added the bleach it all went back to before I added the MA. What am I doing wrong?? I've recently won an algae battle and the water was almost perfectly balanced..I was so happy until the rains came.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

When you have alot of rain it acts as an aerator, so when TA is high, it raises the PH. Try adding MA more often during these conditions?

 

[Charleston-Dawn]

My readings only went up after i added the bleach, this is what has me stumped. I took a reading after it rained and thats the second set of numbers. Will bleach raise my numbers that quickly??

 

[JasonLion]

Adding a lot of bleach will temporarily raise the PH, and raising PH will also increase TA.

You are making progress, you just need to keep working at it. Lowering TA can take a number of cycles. Just keep lowering the PH back down to between 7.0 and 7.2 frequently and you will get there.

 

[Charleston-Dawn]

what should be done first. chlorine or MA?? I know i need to wait at least an hour between the two but if chlorine is going to raise PH + TA then should I add the Bleach, take a reading, Add the MA, take a reading, check FC?? Or not worry about the FC for now??

 

[JasonLion]

Ideally you want to test FC, add chlorine, wait an hour, test PH, add acid.

 

[heikejohn]

Had no idea that I had to wait in between bleach & acid.
I always put in the acid, washed out the container, and used that to measure the bleach & put that in. All within a couple of minutes.
What can happen in a "Bad case scenario?"

 

[Charleston-Dawn]

Thanks for the order. I read the "tacky" in POOL SCHOOL about lowering TA and it didn't say anything about chlorine. I will keep you posted if ya'll are interested.. Thanks again you are all great!!

 

[Charleston-Dawn]

I don't know about your experience with acid but mine "smokes" as I pour it into my measure cup..Bleach can burn my hands a bit so "burn + smoke = poof " let one dissipate before adding another. Just my humble opinion.

Charleston Dawn

 

[Swimgirl]

Had no idea that I had to wait in between bleach & acid.
I always put in the acid, washed out the container, and used that to measure the bleach & put that in. All within a couple of minutes.
What can happen in a "Bad case scenario?"

It will make chlorine gas, which is deadly. It's especially dangerous to do things the way you are, not only back to back but also using the same container! You have been making a small amount of chlorine gas, not enough to harm yourself, but if you add a lot of the chemicals one after the other, forget to rinse the container, have your face in the wrong place when you breathe, you will at minimum feel burning in your lungs, and get dizzy. You might even lose consciousness.

 

[heikejohn]

I have water in my measuring container. 5 cups water, add 1 cup acid, slowly pour into pool. (While holding breath: I did learn that here) Submerse and rinse container several times.
Add required bleach to container. Mix with water, add to pool. Submerse and rinse container several times.
That was my routine this far. I will wait between MA & bleach from now on. Just in case.
Thanks!!!

 

[Charleston-Dawn]

It's 11:10 Here in Charleston and we are under a Tropical Storm warning. What should I do about my pool if we get the possible 4-6 inches of rain, 30 mph wind etc... First time dealing with this for me. An suggestions ??

 

[JasonLion]

You don't have to wait more than a moment, though if you are using the same container to measure you really need to rinse it well. You can add bleach and acid in either order with or without a break in between.

However, if you are adding bleach and acid at around the same time, you will get faster lowering of TA if you do bleach first, wait, then add acid. Doing things in that order helps because adding bleach raises the PH (temporarily). By waiting an hour and then measuring PH you include the small increase in PH from the bleach in your PH measurement. That allows you to add more acid than you otherwise would have and have a slightly lower average PH than you otherwise would have, which will slightly speed up the lowering TA process.

None of this is normally a big deal. If you maintain a fairly uniform FC level it won't really matter. However, Charleston-Dawn just added 4.5 ppm of chlorine, more than one commonly would add at one time. The more chlorine you add at one time, the larger the temporary PH shift, the more it helps to do bleach, wait, acid.

 

[JasonLion]

For major storms you want to add a little extra chlorine in advance. 1 or 2 ppm extra will usually do it. Storms tend to dump organic debris into the pool and the extra chlorine helps deal with that. You also want to put away or secure anything that might get blown into the pool.

The extra water from heavy rain is not normally a big deal. Most pools are fine if they overflow a bit. For really major rains you will need to test your water after the storm passes and adjust your levels. Also, once the storm passes lower the water enough so the skimmer can work.

 

[Charleston-Dawn]

Thanks JasonLion,
Have only dealt with a one time downpour and that was the end of last season. Will add more bleach before the rains come. Won't hurt anything if it's a blow-by. Just wasn't sure if this was gonna totally mess up the pool.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

I have water in my measuring container. 5 cups water, add 1 cup acid, slowly pour into pool. (While holding breath: I did learn that here) Submerse and rinse container several times.
Add required bleach to container. Mix with water, add to pool. Submerse and rinse container several times.
That was my routine this far. I will wait between MA & bleach from now on. Just in case.
Thanks!!!

I just want to point out you can pour your bleach directly into the water without premixing. With the pump running, I pour mine in front of the return. I also know people put theres right thru the skimmer, while pump running. I've never premixed bleach and pool water.