A Houston Pool Build Inside the Loop

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I have more questions. Go figure.

How long do I wait to test for TA after adding MA? My pH is at 7.5 but the TA is still at 90, so I added MA to lower it. I also turned on the water features to keep the pH from dropping. How long should I leave them on? I guess I want to know how long does it take pH to rise with water features?

Still learning....
 
You are going to hate this answer..............it depends......for PH rise the area and the features really do make a huge difference.

You are going to have to play with it. I would dose with MA and get the PH down to 7.2. Test to make sure you are there then turn everything on high. Test in 2 hours and see what happened. That should give you a base line.

Make notes and see what happens if you do this or do that.

LOL but you were ready IF she did poop! :hug:

Kim:cat:
 
Kim, yes I was! Thanks! Also, I kinda thought the answer would be ...it depends... LOL! Sunday I added 32oz of MA to drop the pH and the TA (which was 90). Today the pH is 7.5 but the TA is still 90 (and I did this test twice!). What causes TA to rise?
 
If you are WANTING to push TA up you use Baking soda. I am not sure of what is causing your high TA........what is your fill water TA?

We have seen some pools really resist lowing the TA. Just keep pushing the PH down to 7.2 then get it back up to 7.8 as fast as you can over and over....Hopefully you will see a difference in the TA after a few times of that.

Kim:cat:
 
pH is at 7.2 and TA is now 70. I may have been adding the drops too fast before. Would TA drop that quickly after adding MA?

I've been rinsing the SpeedStir cylinder with tap water. But I was re-reading Pool School and it said to use pool water for rinsing. Could this really make a difference?

I thought I had posted my tap water numbers in my thread before the fill, so I will have to go check for that.
 
LOL I am too lazy to go back and look for them. I am SURE you did. You should write it down at the top of your testing log as a easy reference.

I use the pool water just because that is how I learned how to do it. I wonder if it would really make that much difference. Every once in a while you will want to clean out your tubes with 50/50 bleach water and a good scrubbing with a bottle brush or such.

I will have to "test" to see if using tap water to clean out the tubes makes any difference........

Kim:cat:
 
Post #768 has your fill water TA of 120.

Don't feel that you 'must' lower your TA. You can balance your water at TA 90 by keeping your pH between 7.5 and 7.8.

Your plaster is still fairly young which may be adding some TA, but mostly it would be coming from your fill water. Each time you add MA, it will lower your pH and TA right away. Your pH will then rise from aeration. Your TA may stay low for longer if no refilling is needed, with a little bit possibly still coming from your plaster.

If it were me, my goal would be to keep CSI at a good range for the plaster, and that will work if you add acid when you hit 7.8 or 7.9. I would only add enough to get down to 7.5 or 7.6 until the plaster is a bit older.

Your TA will stay lower for longer as the plaster gets older, depending of course on how much refilling you have to do. To reduce the refilling, you can let the level drop a little if rain is expected. As time passes, the pH rise will take longer, at least when there's not a lot refilling.

My TA started out at 140, and I aggressively dropped it to 115. Then I got a big rain storm which diluted it down to 90. It then took a few months before getting to 70, where I am now. I can get away with weekly acid additions if need be, but twice a week works better for me.
 
Thanks Jet! I am going to run tests today and will post.

How accurate is the salt reading from the salt cell? The readout sometimes says 2400 and low salt and then sometimes 2600. But it tastes salty, so I took it to the pool store (I know I know!) to see what they said. Their reading said 3000. Said it was fine and didn't even try to sell me anything! Although when I asked to have the salinity tested, he looked at me confused and said "Salinity?"

Is the reading dependent on your %? So if I put it to 30% (I have it on 10, trying to lower FC) would the ppm go up?
 
Haha, that's funny about the pool store.

No, the setting on the SWG will not change the salt reading. The reading is not as accurate as a salinity test, but it should be fine for the purpose. If the low salt light is coming on periodically, you're at the lower limit for the SWG and probably need to add some pool salt. I would add enough salt to increase it roughly 200 PPM (roughly half a bag). I think that will stop the low salt light from coming on.
 

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We have the AquaLink PDA system, and while we like it okay enough, I would like something more "modern", something I can control with my phone or tablet and will be much easier to read with my old eyes! We are looking into upgrading to the iAguaLink and according to their website, we would need the iAQUALINK 2.0 UPGRADE KIT iQ20-A which is just the iAquaLink 2.0 Web Connect Device. Has anyone done this or have this? I am also worried about warranty issues if we DIY.
 
I'm a bit behind, Marla! Your sweet grandbaby looked adorable and like she was LOVING the water! She's getting big! It goes SO FAST!

I'm learning a lot reading about your testing and numbers. Thanks for sharing!!

We were originally going to have the Prologic with a remote but upgraded to the Omnilogic for the same reason you mentioned. We can access from the computer or phone. I like that idea better. Hopefully you can get it done without too much hassle and expense.
 
Marlahoutex said:
We have the AquaLink PDA system, and while we like it okay enough, I would like something more "modern", something I can control with my phone or tablet and will be much easier to read with my old eyes! We are looking into upgrading to the iAguaLink and according to their website, we would need the iAQUALINK 2.0 UPGRADE KIT iQ20-A which is just the iAquaLink 2.0 Web Connect Device. Has anyone done this or have this? I am also worried about warranty issues if we DIY.
Click to expand...

I am with you completely!!! The PDA remote stinks. I can hardly read it even in the best light. Yes, you can backlight it, but the battery dies after a few days. And it takes forever to get a working screen. I'm too spoiled to modern technology. I will say this, my phone used to seem slow at times - not after working with the pool remote!!!! Haha. I'm hopping over to the Everything Else section!!! Thanks.
 

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