High FC & TA

[achristie]

I'm quite new to this, so please bear with me. I just received my TFT100 kit last week and here are the test results from this weekend.

FC: 11.5
CC: 0
TC: 11.5
pH: 6.8
TA: 260
CH:190
CYA: 55

The first test I ran was for CYA, which originally read somewhere between 0 and 20. I added stabilizer Saturday and, as of Sunday afternoon, CYA had come up to 55.

pH was originally at 7.8. I added muriatic acid to bring that down to where it is now, in an attempt to lower TA (came down a little lower than I wanted, but my TA's got a long way to go). Seems like my TA is awfully high compared to the recommended level of 60 - 80. Is this going to be a slow, torturous process? Also, I have the jets in my stairs that creates a lot of bubbles and I also have a Polaris. Are those enough to generate the level of aerating I need or do I need to do more? Should I run my pump on high 24/7 until my TA level is where it needs to be?

Finally, my TC level is also high. I assume this is because I had my SWG set to autochlorinate (before I became a member of this board and learned that there's a better way). So I brought the percentage setting way down and shortened my pump run time. I assume the only thing I need to do at this point is simply wait for the FC level to naturally decrease. Is that correct?

Any other advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

How much stabilizer did you add? It's very rare for CYA to register that quickly after an addition, it usually takes closer to a week, or did you add liquid?

Re-read the article about lowering TA in Pool School. It's a process, and you have to add acid/and aerate, repeating the process. You don't want to lower the PH that low. It sounds like the bubbles will be enough, do you have eyeball returns you can point up towards the surface? The more bubbles the faster the process.

If you turn the SWG off until the FC is where you want it, that will certainly bring it into range quicker.

You can still swim with the FC that high. Kids splashing are great aeration!

 

[PaulR]

FC > 10 can cause misleading pH results, you want to wait until the FC comes down and then recheck the pH.
--paulr

 

[achristie]

How much stabilizer did you add?

176oz (weight) as recommended by the online calculator. Solid, not liquid. It sat in the skimmer basket for a bit but seemed to dissolve pretty quickly.

Re-read the article about lowering TA in Pool School.

I'll give it another look. I don't have the eyeball returns. Perhaps I should stop by the pool store and pick up a pair.

FC > 10 can cause misleading pH results, you want to wait until the FC comes down and then recheck the pH.

That might be part of the problem. I noticed the problem when testing TA that the sample never turned red. As it states in the testing instructions, it turned blue and then yellow. I'll disable the SWG until my FC comes into range.

Thanks for the tips!

 

[achristie]

By the way, my TA reading of 260 was the point at which the sample turned yellow. So I'm hoping I interpreted the instructions correctly since it said such results can occur with high chlorine levels but are still valid.

 

[achristie]

A week has gone by since I originally tried to adjust my CYA and TA levels and I've had some success, but I'm not there yet. Here are my current levels:

FC: 11
CC: 0
TC: 11
pH: 7.2
TA: 150
CYA: 60

So my chlorine is still high. I have had the SWG off for about 4 or 5 days and it's come down some, but still has a ways to go. I guess it comes down slowly, eh? I'm nervous algae is going to start growing, but I guess as long as the test kit says the chlorine is above 3, I shouldn't worry about it. Apparently, I've been running the chlorine levels way higher than it needed to be, which is probably part of the reason why my cell only lasted 3 years.

CYA is close. I'll be adding some more stabilizer today.

I've had some success reducing the TA level, but again, I have a ways to go. The pH level increased from 6.8 (which was the reading the day after I added the muriatic acid) from aerating, but it's lower than what it should be (7.5 - 7.8 ). So my question is :?: , should I raise the pH level prior to trying to lower the TA with more muriatic acid? Or do I just add more muriatic acid until the TA gets to where it needs to be and then adjust the pH from there? I don't see the point in raising the pH now if I'm just going to drop it back down with more muriatic acid. :?: And how long should I be waiting for the TA level to drop before I need to add more muriatic acid?

Any other tips or input you have more me is greatly appreciated!

 

[Butterfly]

So my question is , should I raise the pH level prior to trying to lower the TA with more muriatic acid? Or do I just add more muriatic acid until the TA gets to where it needs to be and then adjust the pH from there? I don't see the point in raising the pH now if I'm just going to drop it back down with more muriatic acid. And how long should I be waiting for the TA level to drop before I need to add more muriatic acid?

Here are the 3 steps from Pool School:

1) Lower your PH to between 7.0 and 7.2 with acid.
2) Aerate until the PH goes up to 7.6.
3) Repeat steps 1 and 2 until you reach the desired TA

Your pH is still 7.2 so you aerate until pH reaches 7.6 BEFORE you add more acid.

Once the pH reaches 7.6, you go back to step 1 (add acid to lower pH.....)

Make sense?

 

[achristie]

Yes, it makes sense. Thanks! It's just that the TA and pH seemed fairly stable for the last few days. Maybe I need to be more patient or maybe I need to add another method of aeration.

 

[Butterfly]

You're doing a good job!

Like you said, you could add some more aeration if you want to speed it up a little. :-D