New pool, pH help

[Mr. Sandman]

Water looked slightly cloudy as I rolled back the pool cover (which has been on for last 2-3 days straight) so I did my first water test.

I just got the Taylor k2006 kit and results were as follows:

FC 0-0.1
pH 7.8
CYA 30 (to be honest I never saw the black dot disappear)

I added a gallon of 10% liquid chlorine and 1 gallon of MA.

Question I have is; it seems my pH will drop to around 7.2 day after adding MA but within a week it’s climbed to 7.8 and wants to go higher.

Also, I have no SWG, just a chlorinater? (Where you can add pucks to the plumbing I believe is the return line). I also purchased (again before reading pool school) a bucket of tri-chlor tabs and was thinking it would be ok to use some as my CYA seems to be pretty low.

I have ozone, (I read pool school I know) and we do have 3 shear decent waterfalls.

Any tips?

 

[jblizzle]

If you still saw that dot, then the CYA is less than 30ppm.

Wait ... a gallon of MA? How strong was it? Was that the amount that PoolMath calculated you should have added? Seems like WAY too much.

The waterfalls, if running will drive the pH up.

What is your TA? CH?

- - - Updated - - -

Since your CYA is low, it is fine to use the tablets. Just keep an eye on how much CYA they add.

 

[DeanP66]

It's fine to use the tablets for now, but get some liquid chlorine in there right away to bump up that FC. Tablets take a long time to disperse the chlorine. You need an instant increase to avoid getting algae. Get it up to 5 or so.

 

[Mr. Sandman]

I will check my TA and CH. didn’t have time at that moment. Maybe I was a bit cowboyish with the acid. I’ll double check the calculator next time.

 

[shanebo]

You're probably fine with the MA -- I routinely use almost a gallon at a time in my 30k gal. pool to get it from 7.8 to 7.2.

 

[DeanP66]

A lot of it depends on high high your TA is. When TA is higher, it takes more MA to lower the pH a given amount. When TA is lower, that same pH drop takes less MA than before. So, when you use pool math to adjust your pH, make sure you also put in your TA to get a more accurate amount needed.

 

[Mr. Sandman]

Thanks for the info. As a follow up, if my TA is high is there something to help lower it that doesn’t also affect pH?

 

[DeanP66]

You have to use an aerator of some kind to drop your TA without affecting pH. You basically use muriatic acid to lower pH to around 7.0. That drops both pH and TA some. Then you need to raise pH ONLY back up to around 7.4 to 7.6 so you can hit the water again with MA to lower both again. Aerating the pool raises pH without affecting TA at all. To aerate, you have to create some bubbles somehow for a long period of time. A bunch of kids swimming for a few hours works great, as does pointing a return upward so the water breaks the surface and causes bubbles. If you can't do that, you can make your own aerator cheaply. I did just that. Probably cost me around $20 from Home Depot for the parts.





I originally hooked it up to my pressure side (Polaris) port in my pool, but I have since switched to a submersible pump because of the electrical savings.

 

[Mr. Sandman]

Wow! That is some serious McGyver skills. We have 3 waterfalls that I’m guessing should help aerate the water too. We also ha e the pool cover that is closed most all the time except for when we swim. Maybe that helps too.

 

[DeanP66]

There was really nothing to it. Very easy to assemble. Some folks don't even bother gluing the joints together. I didn't want it falling apart on me so I went ahead and glued it. The waterfalls should help a little with aeration unless you are using a variable speed pump and get very little overflow. That is the case with my setup. I have a spa that overflows into the pool, but the overflow is almost nonexistent when I run my variable speed pump on the low setting (1000 rpm's).

 

[Mr. Sandman]

I see. We have a separate pump dedicated to the water features. Seems to make decent amount of disturbance. I tend to pour my chlorine right at the base of those to help circulate it.

Not sure why the picture posted a link