New well water being drilled

[cacciato2006]

Hello everyone.

The driller for our new water well got started in the last few days and at 210 feet hit a good sand seam and started getting artesian flow at about 20 gallons a minute. This morning water was still flowing and it was crystal clear so I grabbed a sample for testing.

Well: Ph 6.65, TA 40, CH 25 or less.
Tap: Ph 8.35, TA 340, CH 25 or less.

The driller will do a full test for iron and manganese etc. once they get it valved off and quit flooding the property.

Currently I fight the high Ph and TA battle with a LOT of acid and so the low TA in the well water is appealing. However the Ph is well below pool normal. Will normal aeration bring that Ph back up to 7.6 range? I like to keep my CSI just under zero and if the Ph will rise to that range (7.6) I can hit my CSI number by raising the CH from 300 to 500 according to pool math. My pool logs are available if needed.
Thanks,
David

 

[Texas Splash]

Will normal aeration bring that Ph back up to 7.6 range?

Depends. Your TA will also influence the rate of pH rise. If it doesn't creep-up fast enough for you, there are ways to do so slowly and carefully so that you don't over-shoot and cause a high pH issue.

PH can be raised in three ways: borax, soda ash, and aeration. Borax is usually the best choice. Borax raises the PH and also raises the TA level just a little. If your TA level is low soda ash will raise both the PH and TA levels. If your TA level is high, aeration is best as it will not raise the TA level at all. However, aeration is rather slow compared to the other two.

 

[cacciato2006]

I've been keeping my TA around 70 to 80 with 2 gallons of acid a month on average or about $20. I expect that to go to $30 during the summer.

So the question is if aeration alone wont raise the ph high enough then I'm buying a ton of soda ash. According to pool math raising the ph 0.7 takes ten pounds of soda ash or about $8. I'm just not sure how much I would have to add in month. With TA where it currently is does anyone have any idea how much aeration alone with raise the ph when your starting at 6.65?

 

[Texas Splash]

You aren't changing all of your existing pool water are you? If not, for now I would add water as needed due to evaporation/splash-out and evaluate the overall impact of the well water added to your pool's pH. As your Poolmath logs show, your pH hoovers around 8.0 or higher, and admittedly you go through a bit of acid. Adding some well water for periodic top-offs and such may not cause your pool's pH to fall as drastically as you might think. If your pH does fall a bit low, you can always raise the TA a but with baking soda which could help.

Personally, I would be more concerned with the potential for iron (test pending) more than the acidic properties of the well water.

 

[duraleigh]

Personally, I would be more concerned with the potential for iron (test pending) more than the acidic properties of the well water.

Yeah, me, too.

It's readily apparent you have a good grasp on the TA and pH issues. I would wait to see what your pool tests like AFTER you start the well water and then manipulate it as needed. I also would NOT use soda ash.....it contains sulfates which you dont want or need.

Lower pH - use muriatic acid....TA also comes down
Raise pH - use borax.....it has little effect on TA.
Lower TA - acid and aeration method....see Pool School
Raise TA - use baking soda....it has little affect on pH

I am not a big fan of emphasizing csi. Keep your water within the parameters that TFP suggests and CSI takes care of itself.

Get that iron content checked and plan on a sequestrant as the antidote.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

My suggestion for the well would be to run a separate line either to the pool’s auto fill (if it has one) or create a separate outdoor spigot near the pool that you can use to fill with. Assuming there is no iron contamination, you can use a very simple sediment filter and remineralizing filter (just crushed clean limestone) to raise the pH/TA/CH of the well water. Remineralizing filters don’t increase the CH a whole lot but it’s enough to have a protective effect for the plaster pool surface. If you just added raw well water all the time, you’d eventually see your TA and CH decrease and then you would need to add chemicals (baking soda or calcium chloride) to compensate. Adjusting the mineral and carbonate concentration before adding the water will just make the fill water very neutral in its overall impact on pool water chemistry.

 

[Kaylee34]

My suggestion for the well would be to run a separate line either to the pool’s auto fill (if it has one) or create a separate outdoor spigot near the pool that you can use to fill with. Assuming there is no iron contamination, you can use a very simple sediment filter and remineralizing filter (just crushed clean limestone) to raise the pH/TA/CH of the well water. Remineralizing filters don’t increase the CH a whole lot but it’s enough to have a protective effect for the plaster pool surface. If you just added raw well water all the time, you’d eventually see your TA and CH decrease and then you would need to add chemicals (baking soda or calcium chloride) to compensate. Adjusting the mineral and carbonate concentration before adding the water will just make the fill water very neutral in its overall impact on pool water chemistry.

This is brilliant in it's simplicity.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I would also say that you need to be very careful with that well water inside your home as well. If the pH and alkalinity are that low, it will eat up hot water heaters and appliances. Depending on the water analysis, you may need to treat the water before it hits your plumbing.

 

[cacciato2006]

I would also say that you need to be very careful with that well water inside your home as well. If the pH and alkalinity are that low, it will eat up hot water heaters and appliances. Depending on the water analysis, you may need to treat the water before it hits your plumbing.

I've tested the Ph multiple times and TA twice. Its always 6.65 or 6.66 and 40ppm. Tomorrow the driller said he would test the water after a flush.

I was curious since I've read here many times that aeration will increase Ph so I took another fresh sample this afternoon and shook it up for about a minute and the Ph rose to 6.80 which from my understanding is CO2 outgassing. Tomorrow I'll do it again with the same sample and see where it levels off on its own and that is interesting because it minimizes chemicals to raise Ph.

The well was put in more to have a secondary water source and property irrigation. The Co-op water I'm currently using is a known quantity for me and before I connect the pool to the well I'm trying to understand the economic and labor impact of doing so. Right now I spend $20 a month on acid during the off season and likely $30 to $40 during swim season. If I'm spending more than that putting in Borax, baking soda and calcium chloride plus having to order, haul and treat the water it may not be worth connecting it up to the well.

Any idea how much a mineralization filter will raise the PH/TA/CH?
Would the mineralization filter eliminate the plumbing issues in the house?
Also, I'm assuming iron less than 0.3 ppm is ok? Driller said he couldn't taste it, so I should be good. ;-)

I'll report back once I have the testing data. Thanks to all!

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I've tested the Ph multiple times and TA twice. Its always 6.65 or 6.66 and 40ppm. Tomorrow the driller said he would test the water after a flush.

I was curious since I've read here many times that aeration will increase Ph so I took another fresh sample this afternoon and shook it up for about a minute and the Ph rose to 6.80 which from my understanding is CO2 outgassing. Tomorrow I'll do it again with the same sample and see where it levels off on its own and that is interesting because it minimizes chemicals to raise Ph.

The well was put in more to have a secondary water source and property irrigation. The Co-op water I'm currently using is a known quantity for me and before I connect the pool to the well I'm trying to understand the economic and labor impact of doing so. Right now I spend $20 a month on acid during the off season and likely $30 to $40 during swim season. If I'm spending more than that putting in Borax, baking soda and calcium chloride plus having to order, haul and treat the water it may not be worth connecting it up to the well.

Any idea how much a mineralization filter will raise the PH/TA/CH?
Would the mineralization filter eliminate the plumbing issues in the house?
Also, I'm assuming iron less than 0.3 ppm is ok? Driller said he couldn't taste it, so I should be good. ;-)

I'll report back once I have the testing data. Thanks to all!

A mineralization filter will add maybe a few tens of ppm’s to the calcium hardness and alkalinity. It should help the pH get back up near 7.0.

All you need to add to your pool is baking soda to raise or maintain the alkalinity in the 60-80 ppm range. If you do that, the pH of the pool water will naturally want to drift upwards towards 8.0. You don’t need borax and your current CH is high enough that it will stay where it is for a while assuming you don’t get some deluge of rainwater flooding your pool.

Try not to over-think this too much. If you’re going to be putting trenches in the yard for irrigation well water, then just add a spigot near the pool and/or put a pipe stub up by the auto fill. You can always attach it later if you really want to use the well water.

And I’m certain your driller’s taste buds are perfectly calibrated to detect iron