Please tell me I'm doing it right?!?

[byteme]

Nope. Haven't had to add water at all. We did get about 1/2" of rain on Sunday but nothing Monday or yesterday. I know that rain has always dropped the PH a couple of points, and that's what I found on the Sunday night test. So, I added borax and the Monday morning test showed 7.5.

Here are the test results from 7:30 this morning: -

FC - 8
CC - 0.5
PH - 7.5
TA - 80
CYA - 40 *

* I don't test CYA every day. It was tested last week and I plan on testing monthly.

Thanks!

 

[byteme]

Just FYI,

I know the color scale on the Taylor kit is in increments of .2. The color is a little darker than 7.4 but not quite a match to 7.6. So, I'm calling it 7.5.

 

[Richard320]

Just FYI,

I know the color scale on the Taylor kit is in increments of .2. The color is a little darker than 7.4 but not quite a match to 7.6. So, I'm calling it 7.5.

You're doing it right.

 

[linen]

Well I am at a loss, but you are following the correct process. Yours may be one of those pools that we occasionally hear about that requires raising ph regularly. If this becomes a long term trend, then you may even want to allow your TA to go up just a little more, it may/should come up naturally as you add Borax. You could even try adjusting ph up with washing soda (soda ash) if you can find it, since that would increase TA more than Borax.

 

[byteme]

Well I am at a loss, but you are following the correct process. Yours may be one of those pools that we occasionally hear about that requires raising ph regularly. If this becomes a long term trend, then you may even want to allow your TA to go up just a little more, it may/should come up naturally as you add Borax. You could even try adjusting ph up with washing soda (soda ash) if you can find it, since that would increase TA more than Borax.

Ok. It's no big deal to adjust the PH, it's just that I never had to do it daily up to this year. I used the (expensive) pool store soda ash before, so maybe that was it. The TA was at 120 prior to the partial drain refill, now it's at 80. I'll just keep an eye on the PH trend for a couple of weeks and see if it levels out with an increase of TA from the borax.

The Pool School top range recommendation is 90. How high can I let the TA go before it becomes an issue?

Thanks!

 

[linen]

The Pool School top range recommendation is 90. How high can I let the TA go before it becomes an issue?

The pool school recommendation is a guideline...notice how it says 90+. In your pools case, at least right now, there is no reason not to let it go up above that. I would let it go as high as it needs to stabilize ph.

 

[faby3003]

It could be a TA test issue as well. Do you wipe the tip of the bottle with a wet cloth after every couple of drops when doing the TA test? In the directions it recommends doing this because static can build up on the tip of the bottle and affect the drop size of the reagent.

I find if I don't wipe the bottle, my TA measures around 100, but if I wipe the bottle, it measures around 80. So, your TA may actually be in the 60-70 range.

 

[byteme]

It could be a TA test issue as well. Do you wipe the tip of the bottle with a wet cloth after every couple of drops when doing the TA test? In the directions it recommends doing this because static can build up on the tip of the bottle and affect the drop size of the reagent.

I find if I don't wipe the bottle, my TA measures around 100, but if I wipe the bottle, it measures around 80. So, your TA may actually be in the 60-70 range.

Hmmm...no, I haven't been wiping the tip of the reagent bottle, but, now that you've mentioned it, I remember reading that, too. Lot's of little details to remember! I'll wipe the tip every couple of drops. I assume that applies to all of the reagents?

Thanks!

 

[Richard320]

It could be a TA test issue as well. Do you wipe the tip of the bottle with a wet cloth after every couple of drops when doing the TA test? In the directions it recommends doing this because static can build up on the tip of the bottle and affect the drop size of the reagent.

I find if I don't wipe the bottle, my TA measures around 100, but if I wipe the bottle, it measures around 80. So, your TA may actually be in the 60-70 range.

Hmmm...no, I haven't been wiping the tip of the reagent bottle, but, now that you've mentioned it, I remember reading that, too. Lot's of little details to remember! I'll wipe the tip every couple of drops. I assume that applies to all of the reagents?

Thanks!

No, just the TA test.

 

[byteme]

Ok. Thanks!