My pH still rises really quickly and it concerns me

[voidpointer]

Its $9.99 for full strength at Ace Hardware.

In stock at Celina Ace. (Probably others too)

The two pack Kemtek brand at Lowe's is about the same, maybe a little cheaper.

 

[reggiehammond]

Atwoods Cross Roads, TX is ~15 miles from Prosper. Might be worth the drive to stock up 1-2 times a year.

 

[voidpointer]

Atwoods Cross Roads, TX is ~15 miles from Prosper. Might be worth the drive to stock up 1-2 times a year.

How much acid do you buy to last you 6 months? I usually buy 8 gallons every time I go to lowes, and that amount definitely isn't enough for 6 months. Not for as hungry as my pool is, at least...

 

[Bperry]

How much acid do you buy to last you 6 months? I usually buy 8 gallons every time I go to lowes, and that amount definitely isn't enough for 6 months. Not for as hungry as my pool is, at least...

Maybe get your TA lower before buying tons of it. Youd be surprised how that works. One gallon easily lasts me a couple months and still have pretty new plaster and a bigger pool.

 

[voidpointer]

Maybe get your TA lower before buying tons of it. Youd be surprised how that works. One gallon easily lasts me a couple months and still have pretty new plaster and a bigger pool.

Pool Math says to go from TA of 70 to 50, get my pH to 7.0-7.2 and then aerate to increase pH. I assume aeration is just a matter of turning on all my water features (sheers, slide, bubblers/spillover). I'll try to find posts on the forum to help walk me through the process. I'm sure that information is readily available and I don't want to make folks repeat themselves here.

I feel like super negative CSI will be an issue but maybe not since the low pH levels aren't maintained for long enough periods of time.

EDIT: Found this post and it seems helpful: How to lower TA

 

[Bperry]

Pool Math says to go from TA of 70 to 50, get my pH to 7.0-7.2 and then aerate to increase pH. I assume aeration is just a matter of turning on all my water features (sheers, slide, bubblers/spillover). I'll try to find posts on the forum to help walk me through the process. I'm sure that information is readily available and I don't want to make folks repeat themselves here.

I feel like super negative CSI will be an issue but maybe not since the low pH levels aren't maintained for long enough periods of time.

EDIT: Found this post and it seems helpful: How to lower TA

Lowering TA is what happens when acid is added. Aeration makes the pH go up. The only reason for aeration is to make the process go faster. Its not required though. Just dont add any baking soda and your TA will come down eventually.

 

[voidpointer]

Is there something I can use to measure and pour MA without being exposed to the fumes? Despite my best effort, the fumes always get into my eyes and lungs.

I've been told to pour directly from the jug which I've done for the past year and never had an issue with fumes. But I'm terrible at guessing the amount I'm pouring and this prefer measuring. But pouring into a measuring cup exposes more fumes.

Is there some handheld dispenser or something that also measures?

 

[Newdude]

Sharpie the bottle with 10ths. Then double check you're pretty close enough to the line you wanted to stop at.

 

[voidpointer]

Sharpie the bottle with 10ths. Then double check you're pretty close enough to the line you wanted to stop at.

I've tried that but can't see through the jug, even if I hold it up

 

[Newdude]

Look into the bottle with the sharpie lines outside to give you a roundabout that it was half, 3/4, etc.

 

[voidpointer]

Look into the bottle with the sharpie lines outside to give you a roundabout that it was half, 3/4, etc.

Ok I'll give this a try. I really wish there was a proper dispenser for this stuff though. It doesn't need to be automatic. Just something that I can transfer the acid into, and maybe turn a dial to dispense a certain amount in oz when I push a button.

 

[Newdude]

What about a digital scale that can handle 10 lbs ? I'm pretty sure my kitchen counter scale could handle it. Weigh the full bottle and maths that each liquid oz weighs X, then pour and conform it lost X oz by weight.

Everybody gets a feel for it after a while, or they get lazy once they realize that close enough is close enough.

 

[Mdragger88]

My little local hardware store carries ma in clearish bottles. Maybe look for some like that.

 

[Newdude]

$34 scale with bowl





(Bleach as example). The bottle weighs 10lbs, or 1.25 oz (weight) per 1 oz (liquid).

Half a jug is 64 liquid oz or 80 oz by weight, no matter how full the jug started. 28 liquid oz is 35 weight oz. (Etc etc)

 

[Bperry]

Is there something I can use to measure and pour MA without being exposed to the fumes? Despite my best effort, the fumes always get into my eyes and lungs.

I've been told to pour directly from the jug which I've done for the past year and never had an issue with fumes. But I'm terrible at guessing the amount I'm pouring and this prefer measuring. But pouring into a measuring cup exposes more fumes.

Is there some handheld dispenser or something that also measures?

You have a 20k gallon pool. A few ounces or even 10oz one way or the other isnt a big deal of you dont try and make huge changes.

Think of it like returning a void pointer from your CTestpH(void* ppH) function called by the CAddAcid (CpH* ppH) function. You dont know the exact size of the acid addition but you can use the resulting pH measurement to figure out if you overdid it or under-did it and recalibrate counting alligators the next time.

 

[reggiehammond]

I pour directly into the pool treating the bottle as only 1/4 increments. I'm sure I always go a little over what Pool Math indicates, but I also just pour the bottle close to pool surface and haven't had any fume exposure in several years. Goal is just to get the stuff into the pool, precise measurements not needed.

I buy ~16 jugs at a time, but I also use a lot of MA due to my high TA fill water. MA doesn't appear to really "go bad," so I just leave them outside in cases, in a safe spot.

 

[voidpointer]

You have a 20k gallon pool. A few ounces or even 10oz one way or the other isnt a big deal of you dont try and make huge changes.

Think of it like returning a void pointer from your CTestpH(void* ppH) function called by the CAddAcid (CpH* ppH) function. You dont know the exact size of the acid addition but you can use the resulting pH measurement to figure out if you overdid it or under-did it and recalibrate counting alligators the next time.

haha. Nice programming attempt. I'll have mercy on you and forego the code review feedback

I think the reason I'm being a little more picky about my accuracy is that in other threads I've had a lot of issues with my CSI during the winter time. I was told to keep it as close to 0, but negative, as I can. And that's really hard to do when I'm aiming for a pH of 7.8 but get 7.5 instead. I always tend to pour more than I think I'm pouring. When the water is cold, those 2 pH measurements have a huge difference in CSI.

So maybe this is me over thinking things as usual, but I feel like I get competing advice at times. "Keep CSI at XYZ" and "Don't worry about accuracy of MA you add" don't seem to go well together. Eyeballing MA in the summer doesn't matter too much, because CSI is more forgiving.

Maybe what I really needed was a way to clear up the confusion / competing advice issue I'm having.

Another reason I've been wanting to measure MA is for one-off things, like trying to lower my TA. There's no way I can know how much 40oz is just by eyeballing. I typically measure in a cup first, counting how long I'm pouring, then pour at the same rate and count to the same number when I go directly into the pool water. That's also another reason why I've always poured too fast, because counting to four is easier for me than counting to 30. The lines on the bottle advice I did get in the past but that never worked for me. However I also never tried to stare at the lines through the hole in the jug...

Anyway I'm just rambling at this point, sorry. I wish I didn't make things so hard for myself sometimes. I tend to get overwhelmed easily.

 

[ajw22]

Add a little MA, wait 15 minutes to circulate, test, repeat as necessary until you hit your desired number.

 

[proavia]

I always tend to pour more than I think I'm pouring.

Then make a point to pour a little less going forward.

The CSI being slightly out of the 0.00 to -0.30 range for a few days occassionally won't hurt anything.
Having CSI out of range for LONG periods of time can eventually have an adverse effect.

 

[Bperry]

haha. Nice programming attempt. I'll have mercy on you and forego the code review feedback

I think the reason I'm being a little more picky about my accuracy is that in other threads I've had a lot of issues with my CSI during the winter time. I was told to keep it as close to 0, but negative, as I can. And that's really hard to do when I'm aiming for a pH of 7.8 but get 7.5 instead. I always tend to pour more than I think I'm pouring. When the water is cold, those 2 pH measurements have a huge difference in CSI.

So maybe this is me over thinking things as usual, but I feel like I get competing advice at times. "Keep CSI at XYZ" and "Don't worry about accuracy of MA you add" don't seem to go well together. Eyeballing MA in the summer doesn't matter too much, because CSI is more forgiving.

Maybe what I really needed was a way to clear up the confusion / competing advice issue I'm having.

Another reason I've been wanting to measure MA is for one-off things, like trying to lower my TA. There's no way I can know how much 40oz is just by eyeballing. I typically measure in a cup first, counting how long I'm pouring, then pour at the same rate and count to the same number when I go directly into the pool water. That's also another reason why I've always poured too fast, because counting to four is easier for me than counting to 30. The lines on the bottle advice I did get in the past but that never worked for me. However I also never tried to stare at the lines through the hole in the jug...

Anyway I'm just rambling at this point, sorry. I wish I didn't make things so hard for myself sometimes. I tend to get overwhelmed easily.

Theres nothing wrong with measuring, except that theres 45 other things that are more important than the difference between 39 or 40 ounces of acid. Totally up to you.

And I appreciate the lack of code review. I was self taught.