Test PH or TA first
- Thread starter Andrew Howard
- Start date
ewkearns
0
Your question isn't very clear, but you need to get the pH level correct, first, if you are trying to balance your pool.
ewkearns
0
As I noted, the question wasn't clear.... testing order is utterly unimportant. "Treating order," which I *think* may be the OP's actual question, is....
Yes your right I am trying to remember which to balance first after testing. The ph or take? Now that I read my question back I wasn't very clear at all.
Always adjust your PH first. It is important to keep it between 7.2 and 7.8, with 7.5 to 7.o being ideal. Let us know what your tests show and we will advise how to proceed on your TA.
As others have stated, pH adjustment first.
Check out Effects of Adding Chemicals at the bottom of pool math. Just plug in your numbers and see what the recommended dose of acid will be. Then go down to the bottom and put that into the box. You'll see what adjusting the pH will do to the TA.
Alkalinity really only needs to be adjusted if 1) You have high Calcium, which makes scaling or etching likely -- that's the calculated CSI number on poolmath -- or 2) the pH climbs really really fast, like having to add acid every day or every other day. Since you have a vinyl pool, etching is never going to be a concern, so you may never need to raise TA. Scaling could be a problem, though.
Anyway, if you look at the recommended levels for TA on poolmath, it says something like 50-90+. That just means if you're above 90, plug whatever value you currently have in as a target and move on. If you're below 50, pick a number between 50 and 90 as your goal. It doesn't even have to be exact; if you aim for 70 and it asks for some odd amount and you can get it close with two one pound boxes, don't bother opening a third box to get 3 ounces out of it.
Check out Effects of Adding Chemicals at the bottom of pool math. Just plug in your numbers and see what the recommended dose of acid will be. Then go down to the bottom and put that into the box. You'll see what adjusting the pH will do to the TA.
Alkalinity really only needs to be adjusted if 1) You have high Calcium, which makes scaling or etching likely -- that's the calculated CSI number on poolmath -- or 2) the pH climbs really really fast, like having to add acid every day or every other day. Since you have a vinyl pool, etching is never going to be a concern, so you may never need to raise TA. Scaling could be a problem, though.
Anyway, if you look at the recommended levels for TA on poolmath, it says something like 50-90+. That just means if you're above 90, plug whatever value you currently have in as a target and move on. If you're below 50, pick a number between 50 and 90 as your goal. It doesn't even have to be exact; if you aim for 70 and it asks for some odd amount and you can get it close with two one pound boxes, don't bother opening a third box to get 3 ounces out of it.
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