I'm struggling with the PH in my pool. My FC is decent, but the PH is right at 8. Do I dilute the acid before adding it? Do I pour in one spot? Is my pump & SWG running during this time? Will the acid kill the FC? I have been running my pump about 9 hrs a day. The temps are around 80 degrees. Any help would be appreciated!
Muriatic Acid
- Thread starter LORIJ
- Start date
Esloser
0
I pour it in front of a return while the pump is running to mix it in. As far as I now, the acid will not reduce your FC. How many gallons is your pool? I have a 36,000 gallon pool and a half bottle will reduce the ph from 8.0-7.4. Use pool math to figure out how much to add, but it doesn't need to be diluted. I wouldn't swim while adding it, but after 15-20 minutes it should be good.
KarenNJ
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I would turn off the SWG for sure and not run it for at least 30min after adding the acid. At least with my SWG it says to not run it when adding any chemicals and to not add chemicals directly to the skimmer basket. I turned my pump to high and slowly poured the acid in right from the bottle in front of the return. I would pour a bit then wait (holding my breath when pouring because it is STRONG). Then I would pour some more. On my bottle it said to pour it about a inch above the water line I believe. My ph was at least a 8.2 as that is the highest level on my taylor kit test. It was probably more than that. A whole bottle of the lowes MA in 14,500 reduced my ph to 7.2 but it has gone back up some since I added it.
No need to turn off the SWG. If you add the chemicals into the bulk of the pool by the return jet, they will be sufficiently mixed prior to being sucked into the drain or skimmer.
KarenNJ
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At $800.00 for the SWG, if the manual says to turn it off when adding chemicals, I am turning it off, lol
Why believe the manual for that and not the chemistry recommendations? 
SWG on or off, any damage would be the same if high concentrations of chemicals pass through the cell. The only time we recommend turning off the SWG for chemical addition is when adding salt as high concentrations of salt could interfere with the SWG functionality and some of the cheaper SWGs do not have built in protections.
SWG on or off, any damage would be the same if high concentrations of chemicals pass through the cell. The only time we recommend turning off the SWG for chemical addition is when adding salt as high concentrations of salt could interfere with the SWG functionality and some of the cheaper SWGs do not have built in protections.
KarenNJ
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Why wouldn't I believe the manufacture of the product instead of strangers on the internet? No offense, this site is amazing and I know many here are WAY more experienced than myself, but I am always weary of any advice from "internet experts" especially when it causes no harm to follow the manufactures rules. It is had to tell on a site like this who has what experience. If you ask 10 people on the internet a pool question you will probably get 2 or more different answers unless communal reinforcement is in play, which is very possible on a forum like this. I know some people may not even read their manuals but I am a rule follower I guess. hehe
KarenNJ
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Oh one more thing, I wore gloves when adding the acid and tried to turn my face away when pouring along with holding my breath. I have a 54" wall so it was hard to pour the stuff not right in front of my face. You will see 
Oh one more thing, I wore gloves when adding the acid and tried to turn my face away when pouring along with holding my breath. I have a 54" wall so it was hard to pour the stuff not right in front of my face. You will see
I pull my t-shirt collar up over my nose, lol. I agree about it being right at face level on an AGP!
Edit: this is to make you laugh, don't do this!
By the way, muriatic acid is just hydrochloric acid and water (HCl), hydrogen and chlorine. *wink*
Understood, but I think you missed my point that I was joking around with.
If you follow the chemistry recommendations found in most pool manuals or from the pool store recommendations, you are bound to get a green pool since they ignore the FC/CYA relationship which is fundamental to the science-based teaching here. So, if we know that they are wrong with that information, why believe other parts of the information they provide? Granted, there is no harm to turning off the SWG when adding chemicals besides the hassle.
Thing is, the writers of the manual do not know how we recommend adding chemicals. If you are pouring chemicals into your skimmer with the pump running ... dang right you should probably turn the SWG off, although you are likely causing damage either way. If you are adding chemicals into the pool in a return jet maybe on the opposite end of the skimmer (like we recommend), then it will be so well mixed in the water before being pulling into the equipment, that it just is not worth the effort to turn the SWG off.
Anther SWG manufacturer recommendation: put a check valve after a heater before the SWG. There is just no point to this and it is likely a hold over from a tablet feeder installation which DEFINITELY should have a check valve there.
Basically, if you are following the TFP chemistry recommendations, you are likely violating the SWG pool level recommendations already. And having to play with the SWG settings every time you add a chemical is just no trouble free IMO. But, again, you are right, there is not harm in doing so
Oh one more thing, I wore gloves when adding the acid and tried to turn my face away when pouring along with holding my breath. I have a 54" wall so it was hard to pour the stuff not right in front of my face. You will see
Note that your eyes are at more risk from splashes than your skin -- I don't bother with gloves, but I do wear chemistry goggles. Acid won't do any immediate damage if it gets on your skin, just rinse it off as soon as you can. If it gets in your eyes (even the vapors) that's another story. Pour directly from the bottle close to the water to minimize the fumes -- if you are smelling them strongly, best to stop anyway. We had one person here a couple years ago who wore a respirator, and ended up with burning eyes that he had to go to an opthomologist for because he couldn't detect that the fumes were so strong.
I just wanted to reiterate the fact that the nose is more sensitive than your eyes or skin. If you hold your breath or close your nose, you are removing your early warning system that makes you turn away from the fumes before real damage can occur.
KarenNJ
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Good point, I will wear some swim googles while I pour, LOL.
"Thing is, the writers of the manual do not know how we recommend adding chemicals. If you are pouring chemicals into your skimmer with the pump running ... dang right you should probably turn the SWG off, although you are likely causing damage either way. If you are adding chemicals into the pool in a return jet maybe on the opposite end of the skimmer (like we recommend), then it will be so well mixed in the water before being pulling into the equipment, that it just is not worth the effort to turn the SWG off."
I have an above ground with only one return right next to the skimmer. If I pour something right in front of the return, I am fairly certain some, if not a lot of it will get pulled right back into the skimmer. If I had a second return I would absolutely use that and then would not be as concerned with turning off the SWG.
"Thing is, the writers of the manual do not know how we recommend adding chemicals. If you are pouring chemicals into your skimmer with the pump running ... dang right you should probably turn the SWG off, although you are likely causing damage either way. If you are adding chemicals into the pool in a return jet maybe on the opposite end of the skimmer (like we recommend), then it will be so well mixed in the water before being pulling into the equipment, that it just is not worth the effort to turn the SWG off."
I have an above ground with only one return right next to the skimmer. If I pour something right in front of the return, I am fairly certain some, if not a lot of it will get pulled right back into the skimmer. If I had a second return I would absolutely use that and then would not be as concerned with turning off the SWG.
Fair point and I agree with that proximity there is more of a concern.
I just switched over to SWG last year and used Dry acid to keep the PH down. After the winter I know have the TA lower which seems to have stabilized the PH, but it is still gradually climbing. With a seasonal pool it is worth the hassel to use Muriatic acid, or can I just use Dry Acid knowing that it could slightly reduce the life of my cell? I also have lung issues and would wear a mask if doing it, and probably get special glove and googles.
Where to people store their Muriatic Acid. Can I keep it in my unconditioned shed? Should I get a special chemical storage cabinet to put inside my shed for it and other chemicals?
Where to people store their Muriatic Acid. Can I keep it in my unconditioned shed? Should I get a special chemical storage cabinet to put inside my shed for it and other chemicals?
KarenNJ
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Where does the muriatic acid go in a SW pool? I understand you have to add it more often to keep the Ph from creeping up but how often? I wanted to do the SWG so I didn't have to dump bleach in my pool constantly with the kids but with all the warnings on the muriatic acid bottle, I wonder if the constant bleach would be better???
But there are ways to slow down or even stop the pH creep from going up. There are not ways to prevent your pool from needing bleach everyday if you don't have an swg.
KarenNJ
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Maybe you could PM me? I don't want to hijack this post. My PH was brought down to 7.2 with MA last week but it is slowly creeping and although I am focusing right now on getting the CYA and CL right on a new pool I will need to revisit the PH (and TA which I understand can be high with high PH). I would like to avoid having to dump a gallon of MA in the pool every other week. Maybe once I get everything balanced the PH will stay down?