1st time Acid User

[greatestvalue]

I put muriatic acid in my spa for the 1st time today, after receiving guidance here. It wasnt as bad as I thought. You should have seen me tho, I looked like the mad scientist testing and measuring with my gloves, and goggles and wet wipes just in case....

PH was at 8+, maybe 9 (pretty pink); TA = 175; CYA 32
I didnt want to pour the acid from the bottle and there was so little needed, I used a turkey baster to get it out of the bottle and put it in the measuring cup.

I hope I did it right.

1) I left the jets on but then remembered having the return flowing was good enough. So I turned the jets off.
2) I also needed FC but didnt want to add another chemical at the same time
3) I waited 1/2 hour and tested again.
4) I then added the chemicals for the FC

Everything added was based on what Pool Math said to add.

The new result was PH = 7.6 and TA =125

So still some work to do but going in the right direction. Should I expect it to go down more overnight?

 

[Mdragger88]

Good job
I personally hold the ma bottle over the tub with my right hand & pour carefully into my measuring apparatus in my left hand (a long plastic measuring spoon) then pour the contents of the spoon infront of a jet & rinse it in the tub, set the spoon down & cap the ma bottle then rinse it over the tub- this way if I spill or there’s drips it goes into the tub. I can also quickly rinse my hands in the tub.
It’s a very quick process & I generally hold my breath the whole time.

You can expect ph to rise again & fc to fall - this is normal behavior for a spa.
You will likely need to repeat the process tomorrow.
As your ta lowers the ph rise will become less frequent /more stable. Most find their ph is the most stable when ta is around 50-60

 

[A.O.]

And I use these types of bottles, open the small chamber cap, squeeze the larger chamber till the correct amount is in the smaller chamber, pour in pool, recap and put away.

 

[JoeSelf]

Good Idea on highlighting the marks. I'll have to do this when I get home.

 

[A.O.]

Good Idea on highlighting the marks. I'll have to do this when I get home.

Yes, sure makes it easier to see

 

[phonedave]

I use a 8oz cup that has oz markings on it - I have a bunch of them.

I fill it with hot tub water to the 4oz mark and set it on a table I built out of composite decking that I have on the side of my hot tub. i open the acid bottle, and standing pretty much at arms length add the 1 or 2 oz I need to the cup. I cap the acid bottle and then dump the cup into the tub with my jets running. I rinse out the cup, and if I need to add bleach I use the same cup and add it right away

If something were to spill I would use one of the other dozen cups, or other containers I have in the area to dump hot tub water on it. I also have a hose near there.

HCL is not something to play around with, but it is also not as if it is Hydrofluoric Acid.

The Kleen Strip green stuff is also lower fume and lower concentration. That is what I use. Yeah, it likely costs me more, but its not like I am using gallons of it a week.

 

[A.O.]

I use a 8oz cup that has oz markings on it - I have a bunch of them.

I fill it with hot tub water to the 4oz mark and set it on a table I built out of composite decking that I have on the side of my hot tub. i open the acid bottle, and standing pretty much at arms length add the 1 or 2 oz I need to the cup. I cap the acid bottle and then dump the cup into the tub with my jets running. I rinse out the cup, and if I need to add bleach I use the same cup and add it right away

If something were to spill I would use one of the other dozen cups, or other containers I have in the area to dump hot tub water on it. I also have a hose near there.

HCL is not something to play around with, but it is also not as if it is Hydrofluoric Acid.

The Kleen Strip green stuff is also lower fume and lower concentration. That is what I use. Yeah, it likely costs me more, but its not like I am using gallons of it a week.

So you say you use 1-2 oz at a time, how big is your tub? About 1/4 -1/2 oz is all I use in my tub at a time in my 450 gal tub.

 

[phonedave]

I use a 8oz cup that has oz markings on it - I have a bunch of them.

I fill it with hot tub water to the 4oz mark and set it on a table I built out of composite decking that I have on the side of my hot tub. i open the acid bottle, and standing pretty much at arms length add the 1 or 2 oz I need to the cup. I cap the acid bottle and then dump the cup into the tub with my jets running. I rinse out the cup, and if I need to add bleach I use the same cup and add it right away

If something were to spill I would use one of the other dozen cups, or other containers I have in the area to dump hot tub water on it. I also have a hose near there.

HCL is not something to play around with, but it is also not as if it is Hydrofluoric Acid.

So you say you use 1-2 oz at a time, how big is your tub? About 1/4 -1/2 oz is all I use in my tub at a time in my 450 gal tub.

My tub is 350 gallons

I use the lower strength 14.5% acid

with a TA of 60 ppm 1 oz of 14.5% in 350 gallons will lower pH by 0.3

While the ideal range is 7.6 to 7.8 according to Pool Math, I am not that fussy, and as long as I am between 7.4 and 7.8 it is cool with me. Once it gets to 7.8 I add an ounce to get to 7.5, right after a water change when things are moving fast, I have had it in the low 8's - that is when I add 2 oz.

 

[greatestvalue]

And I use these types of bottles, open the small chamber cap, squeeze the larger chamber till the correct amount is in the smaller chamber, pour in pool, recap and put away.
View attachment 456973

 

[A.O.]

These two..

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NDM5FQ7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

and

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075Q2ZXWD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

[markayash]

I did hear there was bad acid going around at Woodstock
Only us old folks will get that and no I wasn’t there

 

[A.O.]

I did hear there was bad acid going around at Woodstock
Only us old folks will get that and no I wasn’t there

I hear that was the case, wish I was there.. I knew people that went.

 

[Krulligo]

And I use these types of bottles, open the small chamber cap, squeeze the larger chamber till the correct amount is in the smaller chamber, pour in pool, recap and put away.
View attachment 456973

Are these containers good for Chlorine and muriatic acid. Don't both of these chemicals need a special vent cap for storage?

 

[A.O.]

Are these containers good for Chlorine and muriatic acid. Don't both of these chemicals need a special vent cap for storage?

I say no, (as in they need no vent) some will argue but I'm not sure why? The bottles they come in when you buy are not vented so I say no need.

 

[Krulligo]

With TA so high you will be fighting with pH drift over 8 every day. You will probably need to get your TA much lower, most people see pH start to stabilize around with TA around 40-60ppm in hot tubs. Don't bother with slight adjustments of pH when you have such high TA. Aim for getting your pH down to 7.0 when adjusting so you can lower your TA much faster. Even if you get your pH down to 7.0, at such high TA in your hot tub, the pH will go back up in a matter of hours.

The goal is to reduce TA as fast as possible down to 40-60ppm by adjusting the pH. If you are just adjusting pH from 8+ to 7.6 every few days, this will take several weeks to accomplish. Bring it down all the way to 7.0 in your adjustments until you have reached a stable pH of 7.6-7.8.

Just for reference, I have my hot tub sitting at TA=50ppm, (borates=50ppm to lock in pH), and my pH has been very stable at 7.6-7.7. I maybe have to adjust pH once every 2-3 weeks at this point, but it never goes over 8+

 

[Krulligo]

I say no, some will argue but I'm not sure why? The bottles they come in when you buy are not vented so I say no need.

Umm, the 12% pool choline and the 31.45% Muriatic Acid (both the 1L and 1 Gallon bottles) I buy all come with vented caps. This is why they also say not to store these chemicals together (the fumes released from each bottle through the vented caps can create react and create chlorine gas). Also why people also say to store Muriatic Acid outdoors, and away from metal. The fumes released through the vented caps will corrode metals.

 

[A.O.]

Umm, the 12% pool choline and the 31.45% Muriatic Acid (both the 1L and 1 Gallon bottles) I buy all come with vented caps. This is why they also say not to store these chemicals together (the fumes released from each bottle through the vented caps can create react and create chlorine gas). Also why people also say to store Muriatic Acid outdoors, and away from metal. The fumes released through the vented caps will corrode metals.

The same strength of both I buy do not come with vented caps, the Muriatic acid is just big box store stuff and the Chlorine is pool specific, no vents on either. I'm thinking vented caps on those would cause lots of leakage during shipping.
And I've been using both these bottles for a long time with no issues.