Low ph, high CYA, should I add borax?

[surfhawaii]

Just added a bunch of CYA and ph has dropped to 7.0 (or below). I read in here that CYA affects ph but should I add borax to bring the ph level up or just leave it? TA = 70.

Ben.

 

[pwrstrk]

How has your PH been in the past ? By that I mean was it pretty stable or does it rise. Do you have any water features ?
You could leave it alone and see if it comes back up on its own. If it doesn't then raise it up.
What CYA level did you shoot for ? ?

 

[surfhawaii]

over the past years, the ph typically rises and occasionally I add muriatic acid to lower it. that's why I was a little surprised to see it this low (haven't had this before). no water features. CYA was at zero so I add 8 lbs. might have overdone it because now it's ~90 (have trouble reading this test). hoping 90 will be ok.

 

[pwrstrk]

90 is a bit high. For a non SWG we recommend 50 at the high end. Me personally I would drain some water off and replace it to lower it. It's your choice. You just have to stay on top of your FC so you don't get algae. How are you chlorinating your water ?
In the future you should bring the CYA level up in steps so you don't over shoot.

 

[surfhawaii]

I use bleach. yea, should have taken it more slowly on CYA...just lazy. understand the draining thing, done that before, we'll see. my first concern is the low ph, is it a danger to swimmers?

 

[pwrstrk]

Not a danger. May burn the eyes. Raise it up a little if it makes you more comfortable. ?

 

[Kiss4aFrog]

Unless you just filled it with water doesn't having a zero CYA reading raise a red flag that something is wrong. CYA doesn't just disappear and adding 8lbs of CYA to a 22K pool looks to bring it up to near 50.

I would be suspect of the zero reading and also now wonder if you are doing the test correctly getting the 90
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxaqoW-_MCs

 

[surfhawaii]

yea, I think you're right. it wasn't zero to begin with, test only goes to 30, I made the bad assumption it was zero. would have been smarter to only use 4 lbs CYA, wait a week and retest.

looked at your link, I do this correctly. it's just hard sometimes to see when the black dot COMPLETELY disappears. wish there were an easier test method.

 

[pwrstrk]

They do have a 50 ppm comparison test available. It'll give a feel for what to look for in the test. It can be tricky. You are able to retest a couple of times with the same sample to verify your reading. ?

 

[Kiss4aFrog]

What test kit are you using that only goes to 30 ??

That CYA test is ... different. Would be nice if there was some other way as I'm always second guessing myself with that little black dot

 

[timerguy]

0 to 90 would have required 16.5 lbs of Stabilizer

 

[surfhawaii]

What test kit are you using that only goes to 30 ??

I use the Taylor K-2006. I mean the lowest number the tube goes to is 30, which is at the top of the little tube.

 

[Kiss4aFrog]

Gotcha .

- - - Updated - - -

0 to 90 would have required 16.5 lbs of Stabilizer

But he wasn't going to 90 he just thought he was at zero and was trying to get some in there.

 

[timerguy]

Gotcha .

- - - Updated - - -



But he wasn't going to 90 he just thought he was at zero and was trying to get some in there.

CYA was at zero so I add 8 lbs. might have overdone it because now it's ~90 (have trouble reading this test). hoping 90 will be ok.
He says it's now~ 90. He says he doesn't really know if it was zero. But my point was 8 lbs of cya can't take it to 90.

 

[surfhawaii]

Thanks for all the help. Update. We had a big rain the other night, pool almost overflowed. Ph now at 7.4. I love it when things resolve themselves but learned the lesson of adding CYA slower next time.