First test suggestions

[Kevink]

Just received my new testing kit and had the following results:

FC = 5
CC = .5
pH = 8.2
TA = 100
CH = 650
CYA = 30

I tested the water twice to make sure I got accurate results. Obviously the pH is high and I'm about to add muriatic acid. CH also appears to be really high. How do I go about lowering this?

I also want to mention something I can't figure out. For the last 3 weeks my salt reading has been steady at 3,000. However the last few days it's jumped to 3,100. What's the cause of this? I haven't added any salt and the cell is only a few months old.

And by the way, the pool is new to me, but it's 8 years old.

Advice is greatly appreciated.


Thanks.

 

[duraleigh]

1. Lower the pH very soon....down around 7.2 - 7.4. It's important to do that because of your somewhat high CH.

2. The Ch is a little high (250-400 is better) but you can manage it if you will keep pH and TA down in the mid to lower side of normal ranges. The only way to lower it permanently is to do a partial drain and refill......I'd manage it by controlling pH and TA if it were my pool. You can test the CH of your fill water to see how much good a drain and refill will do if you want to.

3. Disregard your salt result. That's within the accuracy of the test.

4. How does your water look? Do you see any signs of scaling on the pool walls?

 

[JasonLion]

Hum, duraleigh types more quickly Here are my similar comments.

Definitely get the PH down right away. I suggest bringing the PH all the way down to 7.2. You are at risk for calcium scaling with the CH that high as long as PH is also high.

Don't worry about tiny changes like that in the salt reading. The reading is +-400, tiny changes like that don't mean anything.

With CH that high you need to be very careful to keep the PH and TA levels down on the low end of their range. Make sure that you don't allow PH to go above 7.6 until you either bring down TA or CH.

You need to check your fill water CH levels. With high fill water CH it is nearly impossible to keep CH in the normal range and you have little choice but to keep PH and TA low to compensate. If your fill water CH level is under 100, you should replace water to get the CH level down.

 

[Kevink]

Wow, those were some fast responses.... :-D Thank you!!

I just added acid to the pool per the pool calculator to bring the pH down to 7.2. Will test again in the morning.

As for scaling, I'm not 100% sure as to what it looks like, but there appears to be some minor streaks on the pool floor and walls in various spots. The plaster is white so these streaks are darker. I do have white streaking on my stone coping, but I was under the impression it was salt (another issue for another thread).

So, if I understand this correctly, if I keep the pH on the low end, my TA will eventually decrease. Is this correct?

I was reading about the importance of CYA. Since my test showed it to be on the low side, should I add some of this as well?

Thanks again for the lightning responses...

 

[Kevink]

Oh, and the water is very clear, even at night when viewed with the pool lights on.