Help getting water balanced

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kymom73

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Jul 13, 2015
22
Independence, KY
Just opened my pool and the water is crystal clear. Vacuumed a few leaves, worms out and added 4 gallons of liquid shock. Haven't added anything else. My numbers (using Taylor K-2005 test kit):

Chlorine - 10-20
pH - registering greater than the highest mark (8)
Alkalinity - 170
Calcium - 270 (actually turned purple not blue)
CYA - 50

Should I add anything or wait for chlorine to come down?
 
Robbie is asking because high chlorine (over 10ppm) can invalidate the results of the ph test.

With the numbers posted above, both pH and alkalinity are high (and they're related, higher alkalinity tends to drive a higher pH). Fortunately, they can be adjusted together. You'll want muratic acid for that. But first, you want to make sure you have a proper pH result.

ONLY DO THIS AFTER YOU'RE SURE OF YOUR PH LEVEL: The process is generally to use poolcalculator.com to determine how much muriatic acid is needed to reduce pH to 7.2. Add that amount all at once with the pump running. The act of dropping the pH sharply with acid will lower alkalinity a bit. Wait a bit and re-measure both. Then, it's lather, rinse, repeat. You'll end up doing this a few times, maybe over a period of days, until alkalinity falls where you want it. 70 to 90ppm is generally recommended as a target, although it's ok to be a bit outside this range as long as pH falls where you want it. Every pool is a little different when it comes to pH and where it tends to drift. I find that I have to keep mine on the low side, around 70ppm, to keep my pH from going above 7.8.
 
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