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I started to type a response that started with: "You're thinking like a pool guy...and we're not dealing with a pH above 7...and that H2CO3 will absolutely take that H+ and become H3CO3....everything in pool math is working under the assumption that the pH is greater than 7…" But it's...

The first statement is most certainly true. pH is a logarithmic scale. A solution of pH of 4 has a H+ concentration 10 times that of a solution at pH 5 and a solution of pH of 3 has an H+ solution 10 times that of the pH 4 solution. Adding acid supplies those H+ ions. The pH 5 solution has an H+...

What has your TA historically been at? At very low pH (around 6ish), carbonic acid will actually show up as alkalinity. As the name would suggest, this is an acid and gives you low pH while also showing up as high alkalinity. There was an article by chem geek from a long time ago that explained...

I'm a recovering lab rat myself. I actually use a 2L nalgene bottle to measure. I try to test and add daily. I have a solar cover that I put on at night and remove most mornings. Doing the chlorine test adds about 2 minutes to that process so sometimes I even test twice and then add...

I’m sorry if I came off as aggressive, like I said above I don’t disagree that some CYA is a good idea. It’s gentler on skin and clothing as you say. I’m only pointing out that the drinking water in Australia (and the US) is allowed up to 5ppm and I assume that you’re all healthy.

A little less, clorox is funny because they mix more stuff in there and have less dichlor... @shedlock22 dichlor shock (and trichlor pucks) also lower your pH. The amount you added would have dropped your pH by as much as 1.5. It's best to switch to liquid chlorine (bleach).

If you already have an acid feeder, then the only benefit might be that the CO2 wouldn’t affect your TA as much. Unless you have a preference for handling compressed gas cylinders vs acid. It would be something like this: CircuPool TOTALBalance pH Control (Acid-Free)-TBPH

How much FC is allowed in your drinking water without CYA? I bet it’s similar to a pool…

I don’t disagree. Unfortunately what tends to happen is that they allow CYA (sometimes up to 100 or 150) but still limit FC to 4 or 5, which is also dangerous. Just out of curiosity though, what do they do for indoor pools down under? Most indoor pools don’t run CYA, but you still need a couple...

Makes sense. We had it set to dose chlorine based on ORP, but New York requires (and it's a good idea anyway) to do the DPD test every two hours while the pool is open. ORP monitoring kept us in range 90% of the time.

I used to maintain a few outdoor municipal public pools in New York. We're not allowed to use any CYA, which I actually like better because we have a similar FC range allowed (1-4ppm). More than 20 CYA or so is risky with a 4ppm max, especially when that 4ppm is a hard max and you have to close...

I was going to say this too, ammonia is most likely scenario. Distant 2nd would be the mystical CYA eating bacteria. Either way, the solution is the same, MOAR BLEACH

Agreed. Don't add acid until your pH hits 8.0 at least. Remember there's nothing inherently bad about TA, it only affects pH. The only reason to lower it is if it is negatively affecting your pH. Right now you want it to do its thing. Every time you add that 3/4 gallon of acid you're dropping...

It happens…if you’d done it with the MA, it would have been a lot worse. I used to work for the village I grew up in during the summer. We had 3 pools, eventually I was in charge of maintaining all of them. 2 out of the 3 were plumbed such that they’d keep their level automatically and one was...

All that baking soda might actually feel good :ROFLMAO: Of all the chemicals to overdose, at least it was baking soda. It could have been a lot worse.

I never realized how spoiled I was with chlorine prices...I have two convenient sources for 2.5gallon carboys of 12.5% for $13/ea. One of those places also sells 5 gallon carboys for $23 and then a third place has 5 gallon carboys for $25.

CC is a funny test in that there are many "species" of combined chlorine and not all of them show up equally in the test results. Typically CCs are chloramines which form when chlorine combines with nitrogen containing compounds in urine and sweat. Based on that, the two things that interest me...

If you were closer I'd do it for you :ROFLMAO: How much do you normally add per day? If it were me, I'd make sure you're at the high end when you leave and then see if they can add 8oz or whatever is normal for you per day.

Dry stabilizer will help you lower your pH...For you, adding 8lbs of dry stabilizer will get you from 30 to 60 while dropping your pH by 0.6 (note that you may never see this full drop because the stabilizer doesn't dissolve instantly like MA would).

Just keep in mind that the stabilizer is going to drop your pH by 0.6 as it dissolves as well. This probably won't be a problem as your spa spillover and water feature will keep you from going too low, but it's something to keep an eye on.

What's your calcium like? If your housesitter isn't super comfortable handling bleach, you could ask them to dump a bag of cal-hypo.

Yes, CC is formed when chlorine (specifically hypochlorous acid) combines with nitrogen or ammonia for form amines. Algae does not have a lot of nitrogen or ammonia, these substances are found in proteins, sweat, and urine. CCs are usually (but not always) a sign of high bather load rather than...

The issue is that the tabs contain CYA along with chlorine. As you keep using them, your CYA will continue to rise. While moderate levels of CYA protect your free chlorine levels from being burned off by sunlight, CYA also reduces the effectiveness of chlorine. These articles give a pretty good...

This goes against the normal advice here...but the reality is at 100 CYA, you are safe well over 100ppm FC (not that I'd do it...but it would probably be fine). When chlorine (bleach, tricolor, dichlor, whatever) dissolves in water is dissociates into several ions. The one we’re mostly...

What test did you use for CYA? 3ppm FC is way too low for 80 CYA...but I'm surprised you're dropping to zero if you're using a tab feeder and the water is clear... Has the feeder ever run out of tabs? In any case, do the Taylor CYA test, get rid of the tabs, and go from there.

I had this problem with my pool too...It's difficult to know your exact pool volume, especially with pools the size of yours, mine, and PoolStored. I know that 36,000 is a slight over estimate for me, but that's what I use for estimating. I'd rather have a little chemical left over then not have...

Chlorine will oxidize organic molecules..it does not know or care whether it is living or dead. When we put chlorine in water (bleach, trichlor, whatever) it dissociates into several different ions. The one we're most interested in it hypochlorous acid HOCl (not to be confused with hypochloric...

It sounds like you might be turning the tide of the battle! Looking through your results, it looks like you're testing at night, adding bleach, then not testing again until morning? If you test again after adding the bleach, you can get a true OCLT and see exactly how much you're losing.

Newdude's got it right... There are enzymes that can break down CYA that are produced naturally by bacteria. This is one reason you'll see a year to year decrease in CYA, but it's very slow. If you dig deep through these forums, you'll see cases of suspected outbreak of CYA reducing bacteria in...

@jbrinkerhoff Hey I'm right down the road from you... I'm not sure who they use for water, but it's worth shopping around. Waterboy Water Hauling out of Moravia has a good reputation. Fighting that pool this summer will almost definitely cost more than the $400 you're looking at. Driving the...