Adding a Bajillion jugs of Acid??? What am I doing wrong?

[reallytiredteacher]

Here were my test results after pouring the concrete decking around the pool 2 days ago:
Yes, there were small, slight little blops here and there...nothing major at all. Very little wet concrete went into the pool...A couple super quick vacuums in the gathering spots and that was all she wrote! I backwashed the sand filter thoroughly.
(vinyl IG)

Chlorine 3
CYA 40
PH 8
TA 400
CH 400

Trying to lower my TA I chose Acid to also drop my PH and then I plan to raise the PH back through aeration. That's the ultimate goal. However, my TA is stuborn and hard to lower. I've already added over twice the Acid amount the pool calculator said and it's still not where it needs to be. I'm wondering if I'm missing something? Does the CH (which is high) have anything to do with the TA levels or not? With vinyl do I even need to worry about my CH at all?

I used the Pool Calculator for my 22,000 gallons and it said to add Acid 318oz of 20%, so I put in 2 gallons very slowly w pump running... etc. I waited 8 hrs, rechecked and got:

PH 7.6
TA 300

I put 2 more gallons of ACID in that evening since the TA was not down enough and the PH didn't drop enough either.
The Acid is new stock to our Hardware store, they sell a ton of it...not sure if it loses it's strength like bleach, but this junk I'm getting is strong...it'll burn your nose hairs from two feet away!

PH 6.8
TA is still high at 140....???? WHY??? :grrrr: :grrrr: :grrrr: :grrrr: :grrrr: :grrrr:

I just bought 2 more jugs of ACID and am waiting for further instruction before dumping it in!

I'm sure I need to reread pool school articles, I do that with every new issue that arises, but the kids want to get in the pool and it stays so busy that I need to dump in something to fix it and let it circulate so my kiddos can swim all day!
Any advice will be Great!
The pool water is crystal clear and we've had no issues at with the look or feel of the water since we first filled it in June.

 

[reebok]

what are you so mad about? you're doing great. I wouldn't let the ph drop that low, especially with swimmers, but your TA has made massive improvement, and TA is more of an optional thing than a required thing. it took me 3 weeks to get from 200 to 80. what's your cya level?

my-ta-total-alkalinity-won-t-go-down-t16239.html

 

[Buggsw]

Don't add any more acid until your pH rises back up. You shouldn't let your pH get below 7, else you could damage your liner and perhaps other things like a heater if you have one.

Sounds like you are making great progress.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

It's not going to happen overnight. It's a slow process, even with help from special aerators.

It's simple really, every time the PH goes to 7.8 you use acid to lower it to 7.2 . You are using too much acid at once and that is not a good idea at all, and now your PH is too low. So measure carefully and only add enough to reach a PH of 7.0-7.2. Then aerate to raise PH or allow it to drift up on it's own.

This doesn't need to be a fast process. It doesn't hurt anything to have high TA. You can still swim. High TA just causes the PH to drift up. Once it does, you just add more acid.

So just take a deep breath, have some POP. Start aerating to raise the PH to 7.2 and then let the kids swim. Later, when swimming is done, retest and add acid to lower the PH if necessary. TA of 140 is not that bad, You have lowered the TA by quite a bit, you are making great progress.

 

[dmanb2b]

as a point of reference I used approx 7-8 gals of MA to lower my TA from around 350 to my current 70-80 range and that was in a 13.5k gal pool...your doing fine, it's a gradual process

 

[reallytiredteacher]

Thanks so much! I'll keep chuggin along and aerate before trying to drop TA further. The pool calculator didn't have a timeframe or anything so I assumed that as long as the water circulated good, the TA should've dropped below 100... I'll just be patient and work on my PH.
Guess i'm doin alright...This FORUM Is a LIFESAVER! Thanks for all your SUPER Quick Help (As Always)!

Summertime and the Livin's Fine!!

 

[Guest]

This thread should help you:
how-to-lower-ta-t5341.html