Adjusting and retesting

[cjmrdm]

hello!

Since slamming my pool it has been beautiful and maintainable ( imo). I do you the premium version of the app which is very helpful!

My children swim most days. I have to add acid to lower ph almost daily. I also have to add a good amount of LC daily. Is this normal?

My TA has been 100 for awhile and today I decided to lower it to optimal . I got my ph down to 7.0 , where it is currently, and now I am aerating with my spill feature to heighten the ph. My free chlorine before this was 1. I wanted to get my ph right before adding chlorine ( which I understand is important to do, correct)?

Now, I am wondering do I wait until the ph reaches optimal to add chlorine?

Thank you!
Robyn

 

[mknauss]

Add chlorine! pH has little effect on chlorine if you have CYA in the water.
You must replenish the FC lost each day. A SWCG makes that easier as it creates the chlorine.

Be sure you are testing your CYA each month. You will lose some CYA in this intense UV and elevated water temperatures.

Never let your FC fall below minimum.
FC/CYA Levels

 

[wireform]

Poolmath shows a CYA of 50ppm. You'll need that this time of the year and you may want to make sure you still have it. You need to get the FC in asap as the target for your FC is now 6-8 ppm and I'd recommend keeping it on the hot side because you've been skirting with algae levels of FC.

 

[ferk78]

Mknauss,
Can you help me understand why you say ph has little effect when cya is in the mix?
I am aware of the 7.5% rule (or Lowry's 5% if 50ppm of Borax are present),
But the table in his article clearly states that ph plays a role even when cya is there:

2.0 to 4.0 Free Chlorine May Not Work • Pool Chemistry Training Institute

The PHTA Guideline for residential pools (ANSI/APSP-5 2011) states that the free chlorine level should be between 2.0 and 4.0 ppm. Many health codes have

poolchemistrytraininginstitute.com

 

[mknauss]

Please read Pool Water Chemistry

 

[cjmrdm]

Thank you! I thought the ph had to be fixed before chlorine was added. I’m finding it hard to keep my chlorine that high. I feel like I would need to adjust it 2-3 times a day to keep it at that level. I’ve taken care of my pool for years and have struggled with algae a couple times. Before finding this site I would use Costco chlorine tabs, powdered shock packets. It was a lot less “work” than it is with liquid chlorine and cheaper (surprisingly).

Is a low CYA the only benefit to using only LC ?

 

[mknauss]

How are you testing your pool water chemistry?
With an appropriate CYA and algae free water, your FC loss should be around 3 ppm per day.