Lowering TA-pH is at 7.2 now & aerating now-add acid or wait

[Bob_Funk]

Hi all,

My TA is currently at 100 (I want to get it down to 70-80 so I can add borates) and my pH is currently 7.2 & I am currently aerating, can I add acid now to bring down both pH & TA or should wait until the pH up higher before I add acid?

Thanks

Bob

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Wait. Let it raise back up to 7.6 and then lower it again with acid.

 

[Bob_Funk]

Thanks FPM,

I will wait until I hit pH 7.6, pool calc. says add 60oz. acid to lower pH to 7.0, how much TA reduction should I expect with 17,000 gallons?

I do not want to overshoot TA

Thanks again

Bob

 

[PaulR]

pool calc. says add 60oz. acid to lower pH to 7.0, how much TA reduction should I expect with 17,000 gallons?

Pool calc will also tell you how much the TA will drop; see the "effects of adding chemicals" section at the bottom.
--paulr

 

[Bob_Funk]

Pool calc will also tell you how much the TA will drop; see the "effects of adding chemicals" section at the bottom.
--paulr

I did not catch that, thanks Paul

Bob

 

[Guest]

rely on your testing to see how much the pH has changed or the TA dropped and remember that the TA test is only precise to +/- 10 ppm so don't micromanage!

 

[Bob_Funk]

Thanks waterbear,

I will, I was just looking for an idea of how many times I would have to add acid & bring the pH back up, looks like 2 or 3 times to get where I want it

Bob

 

[reebok]

fwiw, overshooting TA (if you mean getting it too low) is one of the easy problems...just add chemicals. also, 20 mule team borax raises your TA as waterbear notes in his article. in my case, it was by 20ppm.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Borax raises TA, but for simply raising TA with little impact on PH - Baking Soda is a better choice.

Raising PH - Borax and Soda Ash - though both will raise TA in varying amounts
Aerating - raises PH without affecting TA
Raising TA - Baking Soda - will raise PH very little.

Use the "effects of adding chemicals" section of the pool calc to see the various numbers.