Recent content by jamescookmd

Ah, CO2 outgassing. That makes sense. Thanks everyone for the advice!

Sorry, I meant, when the pH rises, the pool is either losing acid or gaining base. I'm not adding significant base (the pH rises even when I don't add anything to the pool). So where does the acid go?

OK, sounds like I need to be testing much more often and adding more chlorine. Just curious, where does the acid go? Even when I was using tablets I was seeing a pH rise of 0.2 to 0.3 per week.

I refilled my pool 5 weeks ago due to high CYA and started TFPC. I'm having trouble with my pH creeping up, and my FC drops faster than I had hoped. This week was typical: Last Saturday: pH 7.8, FC 2, TA 90, CYA 50, CH 230 -> added 1 gal muriatic acid, 1 gal 10% bleach Next day: pH 7.4, FC 6.5...

Thanks for the advice! You guys are great. Tomorrow is drain day; we'll see how it goes. Thanks again, James

@JoyfulNoise - fill water is San Jose tap water. I measured out of a garden hose. pH 7.8, TA 140, CH 120. Do those numbers make sense? TA seems kinda high, but I don't know what's expected of tap water.

Thanks for the tips on chemicals. Re: pH. Nope, no water features. Pool was re-plastered and refilled 2 years ago. CYA is through the roof (which is why I'm draining and restarting) but otherwise things are pretty balanced, pH 7.5, FC 4.5, CC 0, TA 120, CH 650. I've never been able to figure...

I'm about to drain my pool and start TFPC. Historically my pool has a tendency for pH to drift up. I add about 1/2 gal of 20 baume muriatic acid every week. Since I'm switching to bleach, I'm anticipating the pH drifting up even more quickly. Does that happen with TFPC? Also, it's dangerous to...

I'm planning to drain 50% of my pool due to CYA levels of 200 or so. I saw a post that suggested draining from the bottom of the pool if CYA was high, perhaps under the theory that there is more CYA down there. I was planning to drain from the shallow end, just because it's easier for my...

Thanks for the advice! I'll definitely upgrade my test kit. It sounds like draining would fix my CYA and help with CH, so that sounds good. Any advice on draining a pool? I didn't see anything in Pool School. Rent a submersible pump? Where? Is my water OK to go on a lawn, in a storm drain, or...

2 year pool owner, occasional forum reader, first-time poster -- hello everyone! I've got a CYA of ~150 and I'm wondering if I need to partially drain my pool, do reverse osmosis, or do nothing. A couple days ago I did a full set of chemistry tests for the first time in a year. I test TC and...