Hi all,
I'm a new owner of a 19K gal gunite pool in SoCal.
I've been battling high pH (7.8-8.0) for awhile now, with a normal? TA ranging from 100-120. I've been adding about a quart of muriatic acid every 3-4 days, but I've NEVER had the pH go into the 7.4 range.
When I first bought the house, I had a pool guy come over to teach me the basics. He took tests and told me my CYA was off the charts (the previous owner just had a floater with chlorine tabs). After paying for a drain/acid wash/DE filter clean/re-fill, he explained the side-effect to too much conditioner (caused be the tabs), and recommended I use liquid.
The pool has been sparkling and beautiful since, but with two nagging issues. First, I haven't been able to get pH down and secondly my FC hasn't been completely stable because I'm still not sure how much to add daily (1,2,3 quarts?). It has been as low as .4 (barely registering) to 2.5. I use Home Depot's Kem-Tek which has 10% sodium hypochlorite.
I just found out that the Kem-Tek I use has a pH of 12!! With that in mind, it sounds like I'm solving one problem (low FC) and creating another (high pH). My latest TA measurement (today) is the highest ever, at 190. I immediately put in a quart of muriatic acid.
I've been doing a ton of research here, but I'm still not sure if I'm talking intelligently. Any advice would be appreciated!
I'm a new owner of a 19K gal gunite pool in SoCal.
I've been battling high pH (7.8-8.0) for awhile now, with a normal? TA ranging from 100-120. I've been adding about a quart of muriatic acid every 3-4 days, but I've NEVER had the pH go into the 7.4 range.
When I first bought the house, I had a pool guy come over to teach me the basics. He took tests and told me my CYA was off the charts (the previous owner just had a floater with chlorine tabs). After paying for a drain/acid wash/DE filter clean/re-fill, he explained the side-effect to too much conditioner (caused be the tabs), and recommended I use liquid.
The pool has been sparkling and beautiful since, but with two nagging issues. First, I haven't been able to get pH down and secondly my FC hasn't been completely stable because I'm still not sure how much to add daily (1,2,3 quarts?). It has been as low as .4 (barely registering) to 2.5. I use Home Depot's Kem-Tek which has 10% sodium hypochlorite.
I just found out that the Kem-Tek I use has a pH of 12!! With that in mind, it sounds like I'm solving one problem (low FC) and creating another (high pH). My latest TA measurement (today) is the highest ever, at 190. I immediately put in a quart of muriatic acid.
I've been doing a ton of research here, but I'm still not sure if I'm talking intelligently. Any advice would be appreciated!