Muratic Acid still high after 23 months

[pudisgreat]

I'm approaching two years since my in ground pebble sheen 28,000 gallon pool was completed and I am still using a lot of muriatic acid. 4 gallons a month.

I have a SWG and it stays between 3-5 FC, my TA wants to run low so I keep it between 50-70. I have to add about 7-15 lbs of baking soda a month. I check and slowly add to get up to 70 and then wait till it hits 50 to add more. My CSI sticks on the low side, I make sure it is above -.60 but it never goes above 0. It normally sits around -.5 to -.3. Last time I checked CYA was 80. My CH is getting higher over time. When I first got the pool my CH was 400, now it is 600 and I haven't done anything to lower it. Leslie Pool keeps telling me to fix it, but my pool builder said I don't need to worry until it goes over 1000.

I rarely add water to the pool, rain typically does that for me. I think I've only had to top it off 4 times in all of 2022. My pool temperature is currently 50 degrees so my SWG will stop working soon if it hasn't already and I will need to start adding Chlorine.

I have lowered my variable pool pump to 30 GPM in the hope it will save me some money on electric and possibly on muriatic acid? I currently run it for 14 hours a day. We are in the heavy leaf falling time and I need it to get the leaves to the skimmers so I don't have to pull them off the bottom of the pool. Much less than 30 GPM and the leaves don't seem to get into the skimmers. Could over pumping water raise pH? I know water features raise pH but we don't run ours. I haven't run it in 15 months, actually wish I never got it due to the acid requirement (the water feature that is, not the pool ~ LOVE my pool). So, does running the pump more than needed raise the pH?

I don't love having to handle muriatic acid. I have super sensitive skin and respiratory issues and want to be as safe as possible. So, I'm wondering if people on the form like the Intellichem or CO2 for regulating pH?

Any advice would be appreciated. Would love to lower the Muriatic Acid need of my pool.

 

[AUSpool]

Your pool looks great, even with all those leaves. I’m thinking a chainsaw may be a useful Xmas gift.

What pH do you targeting?

I don’t think pump speed will affect pH change in any great way.

 

[pjt]

How are you testing?

I have a SWG and it stays between 3-5 FC

Your FC is low. For a CYA of 80, maintain your FC at or above the target of 6.

The Free Chlorine and Cyanuric Acid Relationship

Managing your cyanuric acid and Free Chlorine levels is key to stabilizing your pool. Learn how these two items affect each other.

www.troublefreepool.com

my TA wants to run low

A TA down to 50 is fine.

I have to add about 7-15 lbs of baking soda a month.

Stop adding the baking soda. Manage your pH and let the TA stabilize. As your TA approaches 50, your pH rise will slow considerably and eventually stabilize. You're chasing your tail with baking soda and MA additions. Your pH will probably settle in the high 7s, which is fine.

When I first got the pool my CH was 400, now it is 600 and I haven't done anything to lower it.

High CH can be handled with proper CSI management.

I rarely add water to the pool, rain typically does that for me.

What's the TA and CH of your fill water?

When I first got the pool my CH was 400, now it is 600

What is being added to the water to increase the CH? With a lot of rain and overflow, your CH may naturally trend downwards. I hope your plaster hasn't been dissolving.

I don't love having to handle muriatic acid.

As long as you observe precautions, MA shouldn't pose a problem.

Muriatic Acid scares the bejeezes out of me.

I also use the lower strength stuff. I know it’s more expensive and I don’t care. I am usually all about saving money and saving plastic, but not here. I go through about a gallon a year so the difference in cost is not going to break me. On the other hand, the full strength stuff scares me too...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[PoolStored]

+% to what @ajw22 says.

In addition, how often do you run your water features?

 

[JJ_Tex]

It looks like you are trying to micro manage your pH. You pH rise will slow down the higher the pH is on the scale. Wait for it to get 8.0 before you hit it with MA and you will greatly reduce the # of times you have to add MA.

For my pool, I lower it to about 7.4 once it hits 8.0. It will quickly rise to 7.8 after a few days, but the rise from 7.8 to 8.0 takes weeks/months.

 

[Mdragger88]

+3(4?) to all of the above advice -
Along with the low fc that needs a boost ASAP - you should program your water feature to run for at least a few minutes every day so the lines get some chlorinated water through them or it just becomes a stagnant place for algae to fester . A few minutes a day won’t affect ph detrimentally.
Also, You aren’t logging your acid additions in poolmath so it’s hard to see exactly what you’re starting with,aiming for, & then ending up with.

 

[ShallowWater]

What is being added to the water to increase the CH? With a lot of rain and overflow, your CH may naturally trend downwards. I hope your plaster hasn't been dissolving.

With a CSI of -0.60 this is a possibility.

 

[PoolGate]

I'm at 6 seasons and still using a gallon a week. It's the nature of the beast. Totally normal.

 

[Bperry]

I'm approaching two years since my in ground pebble sheen 28,000 gallon pool was completed and I am still using a lot of muriatic acid. 4 gallons a month.

I have a SWG and it stays between 3-5 FC, my TA wants to run low so I keep it between 50-70. I have to add about 7-15 lbs of baking soda a month. I check and slowly add to get up to 70 and then wait till it hits 50 to add more. My CSI sticks on the low side, I make sure it is above -.60 but it never goes above 0. It normally sits around -.5 to -.3. Last time I checked CYA was 80. My CH is getting higher over time. When I first got the pool my CH was 400, now it is 600 and I haven't done anything to lower it. Leslie Pool keeps telling me to fix it, but my pool builder said I don't need to worry until it goes over 1000.

I rarely add water to the pool, rain typically does that for me. I think I've only had to top it off 4 times in all of 2022. My pool temperature is currently 50 degrees so my SWG will stop working soon if it hasn't already and I will need to start adding Chlorine.

I have lowered my variable pool pump to 30 GPM in the hope it will save me some money on electric and possibly on muriatic acid? I currently run it for 14 hours a day. We are in the heavy leaf falling time and I need it to get the leaves to the skimmers so I don't have to pull them off the bottom of the pool. Much less than 30 GPM and the leaves don't seem to get into the skimmers. Could over pumping water raise pH? I know water features raise pH but we don't run ours. I haven't run it in 15 months, actually wish I never got it due to the acid requirement (the water feature that is, not the pool ~ LOVE my pool). So, does running the pump more than needed raise the pH?

I don't love having to handle muriatic acid. I have super sensitive skin and respiratory issues and want to be as safe as possible. So, I'm wondering if people on the form like the Intellichem or CO2 for regulating pH?

Any advice would be appreciated. Would love to lower the Muriatic Acid need of my pool.View attachment 464544

Try letting your pH sit at 7.8-8.0 and you won’t need so much acid.

 

[ShallowWater]

Try letting your pH sit at 7.8-8.0 and you won’t need so much acid.

What are your other levels and CSI?

 

[PoolStored]

What are your other levels and CSI?

Check the logs, always check the logs.

 

[ShallowWater]

Check the logs, always check the logs.

I didn't even realize this existed until I noticed it on my profile just this week. Thanks for letting me know to do it for other members rather than ask.

 

[proavia]

Your testing shows the TA of the pool before you added 10 lbs of baking soda.
What is the TA of your pool now?

What is the TA, CH and pH of your fill water?

TA of 50-60 is fine.
Let the pH sit around 7.8-7.9 this time of year. No need to lower it to 7.6
Monitor the CSI and try to keep in the 0.00 to -0.30 range.

Your FC is too low based on the reported CYA of 80.
Use the FC/CYA Levels and keep toward the top of the target range.
If it's too cold for your SWG to generate chlorine, treat the pool as a non-SWG pool and adjust the FC accordingly using liquid chlorine.

Add your test kit(s) to your signature.

https://www.troublefreepool.com/account/signature

 

[pudisgreat]

Your pool looks great, even with all those leaves. I’m thinking a chainsaw may be a useful Xmas gift.

What pH do you targeting?

I don’t think pump speed will affect pH change in any great way.

I've been targeting 7.6 and once it gets above 7.8 adding MA till it gets down to 7.4 and let it creep up again.

 

[pudisgreat]

+% to what @ajw22 says.

In addition, how often do you run your water features?

I don't run it. Haven't for more than a year because I don't want to have to add even more MA.

 

[pudisgreat]

It looks like you are trying to micro manage your pH. You pH rise will slow down the higher the pH is on the scale. Wait for it to get 8.0 before you hit it with MA and you will greatly reduce the # of times you have to add MA.

For my pool, I lower it to about 7.4 once it hits 8.0. It will quickly rise to 7.8 after a few days, but the rise from 7.8 to 8.0 takes weeks/months.

Thanks! I thought going above 7.8 was bad. I will try this method. Thanks.

 

[ajw22]

Thanks! I thought going above 7.8 was bad. I will try this method. Thanks.

7.8 is not bad. Nothing bad will happen with pH at even 8.2.

Low pH below the 7's is BAD. Low pH is acidic and can damage things.

High pH is really not bad unless it stays that way for months. High pH is alkaline and may only lead to scaling long term.

 

[pudisgreat]

+3(4?) to all of the above advice -
Along with the low fc that needs a boost ASAP - you should program your water feature to run for at least a few minutes every day so the lines get some chlorinated water through them or it just becomes a stagnant place for algae to fester . A few minutes a day won’t affect ph detrimentally.
Also, You aren’t logging your acid additions in poolmath so it’s hard to see exactly what you’re starting with,aiming for, & then ending up with.

I haven't been great about using the log. I didn't know anyone could see that, I will try to do better. I check my water 2-3 times a week. Using a Taylor liquid based kit (I have two kits - one from my old above ground and one the pool company gave me, I just buy the chemicals when I run out). I thought 3-5 FC was good, I'll up it to minimum of 6. I've got 3" tabs in now and just added some bleach. I'll check it and correct to get FC up.

I have to figure out how to start up my water feature in the spring, it was winterized by the pool company more than a year ago and we haven't used it since. Not sure if I have to do something since I think the valve is in service mode. It is all pentair gear so I'll try to read and figure it out. I imagine I will wait until spring though so I don't have to run it during freeze. Should we try to run it to clear out the water that is left after the winterizing? I didn't do that so yes we could have algae in there. Should I be prepared for that with lots of bleach?

Been aiming for 7.6 and dropping to 7.2 or 7.4 then letting it get up to 7.9 before adding more.

 

[pjt]

Stop adding Trichlor tabs. You have enough CYA. Use only liquid chlorine for now. Follow the FC/CYA for liquid chlorine until it's warm enough to use your SWG (add model to signature when able). Chlorine / CYA Chart

Stop adding baking soda. You are chasing your tail with baking soda and muriatic acid additions. A TA down to 50 is fine.

We still don't know the TA and CH of your fill water.

Using a Taylor liquid based kit

What model? Add it to your signature.

 

[pudisgreat]

How are you testing?


Your FC is low. For a CYA of 80, maintain your FC at or above the target of 6.

The Free Chlorine and Cyanuric Acid Relationship

Managing your cyanuric acid and Free Chlorine levels is key to stabilizing your pool. Learn how these two items affect each other.

www.troublefreepool.com

A TA down to 50 is fine.


Stop adding the baking soda. Manage your pH and let the TA stabilize. As your TA approaches 50, your pH rise will slow considerably and eventually stabilize. You're chasing your tail with baking soda and MA additions. Your pH will probably settle in the high 7s, which is fine.


High CH can be handled with proper CSI management.


What's the TA and CH of your fill water?


What is being added to the water to increase the CH? With a lot of rain and overflow, your CH may naturally trend downwards. I hope your plaster hasn't been dissolving.


As long as you observe precautions, MA shouldn't pose a problem.

Muriatic Acid scares the bejeezes out of me.

I also use the lower strength stuff. I know it’s more expensive and I don’t care. I am usually all about saving money and saving plastic, but not here. I go through about a gallon a year so the difference in cost is not going to break me. On the other hand, the full strength stuff scares me too...

www.troublefreepool.com

I use Taylor liquid test kits and I go to Leslie pool every couple months to check salt and anything else that isn't easily checked.
I'll get the FC up. In the summer it was higher, but now with the SWG off seems to stay at about 4. I added a gallon of bleach with more 3" tabs and it is 5.0 today. I'll get some more bleach. The tabs don't seem to adjust super quick but I have 3 in the pool working now.
I added a bunch of baking soda before I saw your post. TA is now at 90. Calculated CSI is -0.100. I'll try to keep it closer to zero in the future. I knew not to let it go below -0.600 but I had been letting it run on the low side.
I'm hooking up my well pump irrigation again today, I drained that because of the harsh freeze. I will let you know the TA and CH of fill water later today. I don't often fill it, the rain does that most of the time for me.