Total alkalinity and aeration

[PoolGate]

My T/A is 110 and I'd like to get it down to 80s. I lowered my pH to 7.2 with Muriatic acid and am now running both my waterfalls. How long does this typically take to lower the T/A?

Latest:
FC 6.5
Ph 7.2 (was 7.8 lowered with acid)
CC 0
TA 110
CH 250 (added 15lbs of calcium chloride will test again tonight)
CYA 50 (will add CYA)
SALT 3000 (will add 40lbs)
CSI .13
TEMP 86

 

[needsajet]

Going from 7.2 to 7.5 is fairly quick, perhaps a couple or a few hours. From 7.5 to 7.8 is slower, perhaps a day or so. But you can reduce your pH from 7.5 to 7.2 (or even 7.0, it won't be there for long). You can experiment with it. You won't do any harm because it's only at low pH for a short time.

 

[PoolGate]

The waterfalls have been running all day and I don't really see any increase at all with pH since this morning. Hopefully leaving it overnight will increase it. It is in the safe zone but I would like it a bit higher.

 

[needsajet]

Thats unusual. Just wondering, was the pH of 7.2 after adding acid a test result or an expected amount based on the calculated amount of acid to add?

 

[PoolGate]

Thats unusual. Just wondering, was the pH of 7.2 after adding acid a test result or an expected amount based on the calculated amount of acid to add?

It was a test result, but it was really orange so could have been lower than I thought. I'll check again today when I get home and see where I'm at.

 

[Melnic]

What are the possible methods of aeration w/o a waterfall ? My waterfall is leaking so I would not want to use it.
Can I rig something with the Polaris Booster pump? Can these pumps be run for 8+ hours at a time?

 

[Meadow]

What are the possible methods of aeration w/o a waterfall ? My waterfall is leaking so I would not want to use it.
Can I rig something with the Polaris Booster pump? Can these pumps be run for 8+ hours at a time?

Not sure about the booster pump but I use a 1/3hp sump pump to aerate. It's a slow process and could take days but it works.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

What are the possible methods of aeration w/o a waterfall ? My waterfall is leaking so I would not want to use it.
Can I rig something with the Polaris Booster pump? Can these pumps be run for 8+ hours at a time?

Here are some tips from Pool School.

Pool School - Lower Total Alkalinity

I run my spa for a couple hours a day (with spa suction off) while my pool cleaner is running. Between the bubbles in the spa and the runoff spilling back into the to the pool, I get pretty good aeration.

 

[needsajet]

You could try going a bit lower. I like to see some yellow for that method.