pH not rising

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C

chrisexv6

0
Feb 8, 2008
347
Milford, CT
Kids have been in my pool a couple times and complain of sore/dry eyes after they get out. Since all the other tests seem OK (results below), I presume its time to deal with pH. We opened the pool 2 weeks ago so Ive been waiting for the water to clear up. It is now basically crystal clear and Im letting the FC fall by itself. Turned off the SWG, etc. During the SLAM process I was using liquid shock.

Current test results:

FC - 10
pH - 7.3
CC - 0.5
TA - 50 (waiting to get pH in line before upping this)
CYA - 40

Last night I added about half of the amount that pool calc recommended to get my pH to 7.5. Waited an hour (pump on), re-tested and still no pH change. Let the pump run overnight, re-tested this morning, still no change in pH. Our pH reagent is 1 year old and has never seen heat or sun.

Is the FC level causing an issue with the test? I always thought it would cause it to read higher instead of lower, but maybe not.

Or is the reagent suspect? Luckily thats an easy one to find if I want another bottle.

TIA

-Chris
 
Maybe they are, but you should not test pH with Phenol red at 10 or above FC. Usually, it is false high.

I'm more concerned about the CC, and the unclear water. You were on a SLAM I take it, and the water isn't yet clear? If so, you didn't finish SLAM, and the kids shouldn't be in there. You may have enough CC to cause irritation, especially if it's closer to 1PPM. How old are the reagents? If you are in doubt because they are aged, you should replace them all. It's not worth getting bad results for the little money they cost. Especially again, if your kids are at any risk.
 
Patrick_B said:
Maybe they are, but you should not test pH with Phenol red at 10 or above FC. Usually, it is false high.

I'm more concerned about the CC, and the unclear water. You were on a SLAM I take it, and the water isn't yet clear? If so, you didn't finish SLAM, and the kids shouldn't be in there. You may have enough CC to cause irritation, especially if it's closer to 1PPM. How old are the reagents? If you are in doubt because they are aged, you should replace them all. It's not worth getting bad results for the little money they cost. Especially again, if your kids are at any risk.
Click to expand...

I guess I shouldnt have said "basically crystal clear".

I should take a pic....the water looks fine. Can see the veins on the leaves sitting on the deep end floor. I tested the pool before the kids went in yesterday and aside from the low pH, all tests were clear (including 0.0 CC)

Last night I ran the FC test and CC was 0.0. Not sure what happened overnight but after the test this morning I call it 0.5 (there was a very very slight pink hue to the FC test when I was done, if you could use HALF a drop of reagent to make it go away, it probably would have)

I will replace my pH reagent ASAP. All other reagents in the tests are fresh.
 
Ok then, that's good. Sorry, I though you might have cloudy water and not be done on the SLAM. We see folks trying to shortcut sometimes, and understandable. Kids and big ones (like me) get impatient and want in. :D I'll also add, sometimes the irritation we find out is from kids being in the water all day, or just too long. That can happen in the nicest of lake water if you stay in long enough. Good to hear then...:goodjob:
 
Ooh yeah, they were definitely on my case to get in early but they are old enough to know the rules (if you cant see the bottom, dont even ask about going in). I know the FC is high but without any CC I figured they were good to go. Kinda wondering if the CC I "found" overnight is actually from them.
 

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PH 7.2 to 7.8 is fine. Don't raise your TA unless your PH is is not stable. Let FC drop to 8 or 9 and test PH. Adjust as needed and monitor for a week or two to see how PH acts. If it stays stable then leave TA as is.
 
OK, FC is down to 8.5

pH still shows 7.3. I know its in the acceptable range, but with all other levels being good, I have to think this has at least a little to do with burning eyes.

Poolcalc says I need to add 1.5 cups of Borax to bring pH up to 7.5. I might add half of that and retest later.

On the flipside, it didnt budge after the 1.5" of rain we got this morning, so Im guessing the TA level is acceptable.
 
I believe that the PH in eyes is 7.2 to 7.4. Your PH is not making eyes burn. It is fine if you want to use borax to raise it to 7.4 or 7.5.

Burning eyes is usually caused by CC. If you don't have CC then adding 2000 ppm of salt is the next thing to do to help reduce eye irritation.
 
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