Does it use more acid to lower ph slower rather than faster?

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hwy17

hwy17

Well-known member
Mar 17, 2021
297
Northern California
My fill water is 7.8 200-250 alk (also 200-250 calcium)

My pool does not seem to have a strong environmental upward pull on the ph, so I can actually bat this down gently to 7.4 or 7.6 at a time and it will last a week or two, and I can keep ph under control this way all season for maybe 4 gallons of acid a season. Water might end the season at 180-200 TA.

The alternative would be to bat it down aggressively to 7.0 to intentionally lower my TA faster. TFP article says only lower TA for CSI or too fast ph rise concerns and I followed that.

I have been imagining this like there's X amount of TA in the pool and it will take a directly proportionate Y amount of acid to neutralize and Y will stay the same whether you fight it fast or slow.

Is this true? I have had other pool people tell me I will use more acid in the long run by not intentionally lowering TA.

Please answer for LC pool with no pool surface CSI concerns. I am asking cause I'm getting an SWCG so I will need to be more CSI aware, but I want to settle this old question in regards to LC pools.
 
I have to let someone else offer a more definitive answer but, to me, it sounds like you are wa-a-ay overthinking this issue.

TFP suggests to keep you pH in the 7's and TA at 50-90........it's that simple.
 
One school of thought : if your PH is stable and you're using 4 gals of MA in a long Cali season, most pool owners would trade places with you in a heartbeat. Weekly or biweekly adjustments are as good as it gets.

Other school of thought : aggressively lower the TA this season and compare results. Let's say it's a success and saves you 1 of your 4 gallons. The effort wasn't worth the $14 savings and you'll never wonder again. :)
 
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duraleigh said:
TFP suggests to keep you pH in the 7's and TA at 50-90........it's that simple.
Click to expand...
The beginning of the Lower Total Alkalinity article says you should only lower to address CSI or ph rise and I've never had either. So I was under the impression I was following TFP's suggestion.

www.troublefreepool.com

Lower Total Alkalinity

A lower Total Alkalinity level can help a pool owner stabalize their pH increase. We'll explain how to lower TA with a little help from muriatic acid.
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

With an SWCG the TA advice is gonna get a lot more strongly recommended, so I'm brushing up on my understanding to decide whether to go to war with my TA in spring or head off the beaten path again.
 
Higher TA with a SWCG can exhibit more scale creation in the cell shown by flakes of scale exiting the returns. If you see that, lower the TA.
 
Fix the problems you have, not the ones you think you may have.
 
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