I really don't want to call a pool company

[mihzyd777]

So does it not hold true what the pool tech that came to my house told me regarding my PH and Chlorine not going down? This is what he said:

Since my PH is to high, my chlorine is almost worthless. It's a false reading that will not drop unless I remove "some" water from my pool about a 1' ft. drop from the top and refill it with new water. He said I can continue adding MA to it but it's not going to do anything and I'm almost starting to believe him after pouring 4 gallons of MA and my PH still not dropping it's PH levels.

Luckily my pool is still nice and blue except I am starting to see white scale build up along my tiles and some Plaster damage (dirty looking areas).

So I really don't want to call a pool company to take care of my pool again, because I've been fine for about a year now, but I really don't know what else to do except for emptying part of the pool or continue adding gallons and gallons of MA.

How much MA do you guys go through on average during swim season ?

Thanks,

Mike

 

[duraleigh]

Re: HELP PLEASE!!! Cannot lower PH and Chlorine levels!!!

Since my PH is to high, my chlorine is almost worthless. It's a false reading that will not drop unless I remove "some" water from my pool about a 1' ft. drop from the top and refill it with new water. He said I can continue adding MA to it but it's not going to do anything and I'm almost starting to believe him after pouring 4 gallons of MA and my PH still not dropping it's PH levels.

Mike, that is completely untrue. You need to get your pH down using muriatic acid and you need to get it down sooner rather than later. The discussion of why it's untrue can last a long time but I suggest you lower your pH down to 7.5 tomorrow.

Read how to do it up in Pool School. In fact, you need to real ALL of the basic articles in Pool School. Your pH WILL come down and muriatic acid WILL do it....you just haven't added enough.

Now, don't decide to pour in 40 gallons. I would put it in your pool about 1/2 gallon at a time and keep doing it about every 30 minutes to an hour until your pH gets to 7.5. Do that first and then we'll help you get the rest of your parameters fixed.

 

[mihzyd777]

I've added 1/2 gallon today around 3:30pm I'm going to add another 1/2 gallon in the next hour and I'll let you know what happens. How long do I need to run my pump for after adding it? 1 hour? Sorry haven't had time to read the article you mentioned. I'm responding from my bb.

Thanks,

Mike

 

[JasonLion]

Yes, run the pump for a hour after adding any chemicals.

 

[JamesW]

Most likely, your Total Alkalinity and Calcium levels are high if your pH is not responding and you're seeing scale buildup.

A full set of test results will help.

FC
CC
TC
pH
TA
Calcium
Cyanuric acid
Salt
Temperature

 

[mihzyd777]

James,

This is what I have from the pool company that tested my water:

FAC= 4
TAC= 4
SALT= 3300
CH= 300
CYA= 30
TA= 100
PH= 8.0
ACID DEMAND= 2
COPPER= 0
IRON= 0
PHOSPHATES= 200
Water Temp- 72-77 degrees
Outside Temp this week around 75 in central california

Thanks!

Mike

 

[mihzyd777]

Can someone please point me to the link of the pool school article I need to read? I can't seem to find it. The only think I see is how to lower TA? Is this the same? If so it talks about aerating. What if I don't have that option? Can I just run my pump?

Thanks,

Mike

 

[JamesW]

Your numbers aren't too bad. Your TA is a little high for a SWG. Keep lowering the pH to 7.2 until you get your TA down to around 70. Once you get the TA down to about 70, keep the pH about 7.6.

Increasing your Cyanuric acid to 70 ppm will help, as well. The pool calculator will help you calculate the doses of acid to add to lower the pH.

I think that the acid you're using must be a lower percentage than 31.45 % due to how much you are using without seeing much effect on the pH.

I also recommend that you get your own test kit to test the chemistry yourself as pool stores are often inaccurate.

http://tftestkits.net/splash-page.html

 

[Ohm_Boy]

I'm a little skeptical of the ph readings, if 4 gallons of MA have not dropped the ph. Granted that 8.0 is typically the upper limit/ceiling of the test kit's ability, but it seems to me that it would have been WAY high to start with. Any way you can confirm those readings?

 

[dmanb2b]

Hey Mike, welcome back to TFP

If you truly mean what the title of this thread says, it's time to take a thorough read through pool school and invest in your own test kit. TFP's Pool School has all the suggested water chemistry parameters spelled out, but you need to decide if you are willing to educate yourself on how certain chemicals impacts your water chemistry. It's what BBB is about, consistent and reliable testing and having the "know how" to adjust your chemistry as needed. BUT...you have to be willing to commit. It take a bit of time, but when you see your water sparkle again, it's all well worth it

Here are some helpful links

test kits

pool-school/pool_water_chemistry

pool-school/recommended_levels

pool-school/recommended_pool_chemicals

pool-school/water_balance_saltwater_generator

pool-school/bbb_for_pools

 

[mihzyd777]

OH MY GOD!!! I JUST FOUND MY PROBLEM!!!! I AM SOOOOOOO FREAKING STUPID!!! F$%*%(*#(*%(#%*(#*%(*@) MY WIFE IS LAUGHING!! I was typing to you just now of what I was using and LOOKED at the box to tell you the percentages and the box says.....................................drum roll......................................ready for this................................................................................it says............CHLORINATING LIQUID!!!! I think that explains enough....

yes yes yes go ahead and have a good chuckle cause me and the wife are! lol. Off to the store to buy MA for sure.

Thank you all and I will let you know in a couple days what's up.

God bless,

Mike

 

[mihzyd777]

and James...thank you thank you thank you for asking what the percentage of MA I was using. That's what really made me look and find out what the heck was wrong. Oh and I have a great test kit and believe it or not I think I know what I'm doing lol. I've had perfectly balance water for over a year until now lol.....I guess we all make mistakes and life moves to fast to pay attention sometimes.

Anyways....thank you again everyone! YOUR THE BEST!

Mike

 

[chem geek]

Don't feel bad...this happens to many of us. In this recent thread it turned out that the Dichlor percentage was only 15%. We probably need to ask the question "check the ingredients and percentages on the label" whenever something happens that we do not expect.