Is it just the leaves - pH question

[DallasSocFan]

All summer my pH has been rock-steady at 7.8. 20k gallon bleach pool, I'd add a cup of MA maybe once every couple of weeks.

I've got two sycamores by the pool and it is one of the 4 shedding times of year.

Will leaves really Jack the pH that much, or do I have something else to investigate?

Since that started, I'm needing about a cup a day of MA to stay at 7.8. Chlorine consumption has gone up slightly, but if expect that.

TA is stable at 70, CYA is stable at 40. CH around 200.

Currently
6.0 FC
0.4 CC
7.8 pH (acid already added today)
70 TA
40 CYA
200 CH

Obviously the water is crystal clear and the envy of the neighborhood






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[Patrick_B]

I really do not think leaves are raising your pH. What is your makeup water TA and pH? Have you changed Chlorine sources? Has anything else changed?

 

[DallasSocFan]

I haven't added any water and we haven't seen any rain, but Dallas city tap is 8.2 pH, 40 TA

Chlorine is 8.25 bleach, usually Costco chlorox 3 packs, but sometimes target.

Nothing has changed except leaves that I know of.

I was out of country last two weeks, but my wife diligently put in 1 gallon per day as instructed. She didn't test, though. Over 100 degrees 1 gal per day is about my normal consumption.


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[Agent99]

I dunno about sycamore trees but oak trees and their constituent parts (leaves, acorns, branches, etc.) do have tannins within and leach tannic acid when soaking in water...like a pool, for example.

My brand new pebble sheen finish shows a brownish stain surrounding oak tree parts but thankfully, the chlorine oxidizes the stains PDQ as long as I pull the source(s) out daily. I was initially horrified and dove in and scrubbed scrubbed to not much effect but low and behold the next day, the stain had faded away! Since then I no longer worry.

Anyway, take a handful of tree droppings and put them into a bucket of pool water whose properties you know well and then test the water several hours or a day later and see what has changed. It might be a clue. If I do that with oak droppings, the water turns a very dark brown. In fact, it makes a nice wood stain.

 

[duraleigh]

I do not know for a fact but I bet you will find the leaves are acidic

 

[ozdiver]

sycamore leaves are slightly acidic according to gardening websites.
So your pH would go down if anything.

 

[Crackerjack4u]

8.2 pH for city water seems very high to me. At least high compared to most of ours. I think the majority of the members fill water is pH of 7, but if you've not added since the increase started that wouldn't be the culprit.

 

[Crackerjack4u]

I just read on a site called freedrinkingwater.com that the normal pH for drinking water should be between 6-8.5, so I guess most of the members pH is just softer water than yours.

 

[Patrick_B]

You had to have added some water, especially with the warm temps we've been having. Either that, or your pool must be very low with no rain added either.

 

[DallasSocFan]

Found the culprit I think. While I was traveling a bottle of low splash bleach was accidentally added to the pool.

Only noticed as I was cleaning up my pile of recyclables for trash pickup.

I'm assuming they use something very alkaline to make it low splash.


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