Newish pool - PH and TA low today - double check my numbers, please.

[Sunbaby]

OK guys my pool is a couple months old - I am still under the pool builders thumb - as I have not gone through pool school yet. However - he loves me and pretty much lets me do what I want. He even told me that I can do BBB because it is cheaper and the same thing. Until I go through pool school he would like for me to use pucks and send him the numbers and he can tell me what to add - if something needs to be added - but I would much rather just get my advice here and continue to have great numbers.

STILL USING PUCKS - He wants me to use pucks till pool school - hopefully in the next couple weeks then will be adding bleach manually.

I have lots of water features and run them a LOT - so I thought my PH would rise but it has been at 7.2 for 3 weeks (I test that every day) We have had a lot of rain the past few days - this morning my TA and my PH were both lower than normal (TA has been at 60 for about 6 weeks) I have not ever added anything to my pool other than Muiratic Acid (the first week) and pucks. Lots of pucks. My pool is about 14,500 gal (we watched our water gauge as we were filling)

Today
PH 7.1 (maybe a little lower - added picture for you guys to see. Normally it is CLEARLY 7.2)
CL 5 ish (it always looks bright yellow)
CLDT 5 (this is lower too - but normal after all the rain - I expected this and will add more pucks - hanging head in shame for puck use)
CH 300 (been that forever)
TA 50 (has been 60 forever)
CYA 70 (yeah, did I mention I am still using pucks)

Water is beautiful and clear - but I did spend an hour fishing out pine needles, bark, leaves and a big limb out of it yesterday - the storm was pretty nasty.

If I understand correctly - my PH is affected by my TA so I need to fix that first? So I add 54oz of baking soda to up my TA to 70

Then test again - and see where my PH is and go from there?

Please note the picture - only look at the PH - I was using a white chair for the background - but the CL is NOT on the white background.

[/url]Untitled by misplaced_texan_usaf, on Flickr[/IMG]

 

[MarianParoo]

I really, really would stop using the pucks now!!! I will peek at the rest of your post in a bit. I think it got buried...

 

[YippeeSkippy]

I'd stop with the pucks, use bleach and when the PB comes by you can say "Oh, they ran out and I was *just about* to add more" then...forget to do it.

Why are you worrying about yellow colors when you should be doing the DPD FAS drop test to be sure?

 

[MarianParoo]

.
Your FC is low. With a CYA of (already 70!) you need to "target" your FC at 8, NEVER going below 5. Use liquid chlorine or bleach to raise it, not pucks.

It's hard to tell from your pic what the pH is. You can raise it with some borax. Your TA is on the low side, but okay for now. FC is the important thing for now.

Let's talk test kits!!! You need a FAS-DPD test ability.

 

[Sunbaby]

Sorry guys, I am on a lot of forums and call the test by "other" names. What I call CLDT (chlorine drop test) is the DPD FAS test. I should have made it more clear not to pay attention to the yellow test. Right now I test everything trying to practice. I have the TF-100 with speed stir.

I understand the need to switch to liquid chlorine. I'm torn because I also feel the need to protect my warranty and not do anything against my PB until I finish pool school. Trust me, no one wants me to take over & switch to bleach more than me! With that said, I like the sneaky idea of "I forgot".

My CL should be up by tomorrow. This weekend I'll go stock up on bleach.

My question is regarding if I am reading the color of the ph right and if so, do I correct PH first or TA? I'm finding conflicting info and him assuming it's because each situation is different depending on the pool and numbers. I'm hoping you guys will lend your expertise based on my numbers.

 

[Agent99]

I see you have pretty new pebble sheen finish...blue granite? Cool...I have the same thing and I'll be on day 42 tomorrow since I started filling it. Unlike you, however, I'm battling pH that is constantly on the rise but I think I see why your pH may be low: your waterfall. I'm guessing you have a fair amount of aeration and that serves to lower your pH. You might try turning it off and I bet your pH will start rising again. Even though your pH is on the low-end of the scale, as long as it is stable, I wouldn't worry about the TA. TA is something that can vary a fair amount between pools and it isn't that critical a parameter. However, if you find the pH swinging wildly on you, then lowering (or raising) TA may tame it as that is TA's job. Your pool may just be fine with pH in the low 7.2 and TA in the 50-60 range. Nothing wrong with that and your aeration is likley keeping your pH down even though your new plaster is desperately trying to raise it. You may find over time that you will need to raise your pH as soon the plaster will finally fully cure and stop raising the pH so much. I'm looking forward to that day but I understand in can be many moons away.

 

[Sunbaby]

Ugh! I thought the waterfalls would raise my ph! I've been running them like mad!

Yes it's blue granite and I love it! Looks like we built right about the same time!

Yeah all this chemistry talk makes me feel so stupid, I'm no longer the A+ student I was in school! I have to study just to pass.

 

[MarianParoo]

Wait, wait, wait! Aeration raises pH. I will reread your thread and update!

 

[YippeeSkippy]

No, aeration makes the pH rise.

For example, when you want to drop your TA you add acid which will drop both the TA & pH, then you aerate to make the pH rise again yet it doesn't raise the TA. And as said above the TA is tied in to the pH stability and you can slow the pH fluctuation by altering the TA up or down.

 

[Sunbaby]

I've been running my waterfalls and walls all night for a few weeks. My ph stayed at 7.2 (perfect color match for weeks), until this morning where it looks lighter. Not a lot lighter, but lighter than I'm used to seeing. Today was also the first time my TA moved in weeks. We had tons of rain this week. I'm going to test again in the morning and see if the numbers are still low.

 

[MarianParoo]

Okay, that's two of us. Check pool school if you need to.

Personally? I would have an honest conversation with your PB about the CYA level. If they really know "BBB", then they will know your CYA should not get any higher. You need to go with your warranty, but I have never heard of a warranty having a CYA requirement that high.

Your TA is not that far out of range, nor is the pH as far as I can tell by the pic. Again, a tad of borax will raise it without affecting TA that much.

 

[Sunbaby]

This morning:
CL is at 11
CC is .05
PH still looks a little lighter than 7.2 but seems closer than yesterday
TA is still at 50

I didn't retest the others. I was hoping that it was just me having something weird in testing. But since it isn't I will start working on upping the PH a little. Thanks for your help guys.

 

[Agent99]

Oops!! Sorry about the misstep on aeration LOWERING pH!! My bad...I shouldn't be responding at night just before bed! SORRY!!!!!

 

[Sunbaby]

HA! Me too! I need an app on my computer/ipad that says - you are too tired to post. OR - nope, one too many glasses of wine.

 

[pooldv]

The pucks are driving down your PH. Don't raise your TA anymore. 60 or 70 is probably perfect for your pool. It seems like you are close to good on your TA/PH balance. You really do have to stop with the pucks for the sake of your CYA and your PH. He won't know how the chlorine gets in the pool if it is bleach or pucks.

- - - Updated - - -

An 8oz trichlor puck adds 2.2ppm CYA and lowers PH by 0.2 in a 15k gallon pool.

 

[Agent99]

An 8oz trichlor puck adds 2.2ppm CYA and lowers PH by 0.2 in a 15k gallon pool.

How is that calculated? I have some leftover pucks and I do need to raise my CYA and with my new pebble sheen, my pH is on the rise anyways. Who knew pucks could actually be useful!! LOL

Since my pool is about 2x volume, a puck (3") should add about 1ish CYA and lower the pH by 0.1ish.

 

[pooldv]

At the bottom of Poolmath is a section Effects of adding chemicals. Enter pool at top, pick your chemical and it will tell you what it will add to your pool. Good stuff!