Our PB turned over the reins to our new pool last week. On his final visit we went through a quick pool school where he checked the chemical levels using test strips and dosed the pool accordingly. At that time he added ~5lbs of CYA (pool had none) & 1/2 gal of acid to bring the pH downfrom 8.2 to 7.4ish. Last night my wife and I took a swag at checking the pool levels. Here's what we got:
pH 8.0
FC 5
TA 200
CYA 80
Temp=63°
AquaRite Salt Cell @ 30%
Salinity 3000ppm
Note: This was using test strips. With the exception of pH and FC these things are rediculously difficult to read. I plan to order the Taylor kit tonight.
The most obvious thing out of balance was pH. I addressed that right away by adding one third of a gallon of acid in front of one of the returns. I'll test again this even to see if it had the desired effect. According to the CYA Chart my ideal FC is 6, so I'll raise the salt cell to 35%. Should I be concerned with the high TA? My understanding is that the only way to lower TA is to drop the pH and then aerate. I've got 3 arching deckjets that could serve as aerators. Won't aeration raise my pH? seems like this would just undo the acid I just added? Lastly what causes the TA to rise and will it return?
My builder left me a bottle of Phosfree and put 2 capfulls in during our pool school. He claimed it helps keep the waterline clean. From reading this site it seems like most don't bother measuring phosphates and this is an unnecessary additive. Add a capfull per week or no?
pH 8.0
FC 5
TA 200
CYA 80
Temp=63°
AquaRite Salt Cell @ 30%
Salinity 3000ppm
Note: This was using test strips. With the exception of pH and FC these things are rediculously difficult to read. I plan to order the Taylor kit tonight.
The most obvious thing out of balance was pH. I addressed that right away by adding one third of a gallon of acid in front of one of the returns. I'll test again this even to see if it had the desired effect. According to the CYA Chart my ideal FC is 6, so I'll raise the salt cell to 35%. Should I be concerned with the high TA? My understanding is that the only way to lower TA is to drop the pH and then aerate. I've got 3 arching deckjets that could serve as aerators. Won't aeration raise my pH? seems like this would just undo the acid I just added? Lastly what causes the TA to rise and will it return?
My builder left me a bottle of Phosfree and put 2 capfulls in during our pool school. He claimed it helps keep the waterline clean. From reading this site it seems like most don't bother measuring phosphates and this is an unnecessary additive. Add a capfull per week or no?