HELP! Closed pool PH TOO HIGH

[stslimited84]

Guys/Gals,

Our pool is closed and has been since September as we our in Pennsylvania. I'm draining some water out of the pool as the level has risen too high recently due to the snow and rain we've been getting. While doing that I decided to check the PH as last year when I opened the PH was 8.0 or higher and the pool developed some scaling in as a result.

So i tested the water and its at 8.0 or higher!

I'm in need of some serious help. Last year the scaling was bad but tolerable; however I'm afraid with another off season of high PH its going to be horrible.

What do I do to rectify the situation? and how do i stop this from happening?

Fast responses are greatly appreciated!

Sincerely,

a frantic pool owner

 

[fast1971chevelle]

Well your test kit will only register up to 8ppm so it may in fact be alot higher. Is your pump still operational? If so turn it on and use the pool calculator to see how much m/a to add to get the ph down to 7.5 and re-test in a hour to see whefe it is at and re-dose if needed. You will need a full set of test results to put into the pool calc to get the proper amout of m/a to use......Mike

 

[stslimited84]

Well your test kit will only register up to 8ppm so it may in fact be alot higher. Is your pump still operational? If so turn it on and use the pool calculator to see how much m/a to add to get the ph down to 7.5 and re-test in a hour to see whefe it is at and re-dose if needed. You will need a full set of test results to put into the pool calc to get the proper amout of m/a to use......Mike

Thanks for the fast reply. As I said, the pool is closed as in cover on, holes plugged, filter empty, electricity turned off.

I'm frustrated and lost...The pool was brought to proper levels at closing.

What do I do to fix this? Why is this happening? It happened last year and its happening now. I dont want my pool's condition to be ruined.

Here were my test results from closing in October (copy and pasted quote from another thread):

FC: 11
CC: 0
PH: 7
TA: 80
CH: 350
CYA: 25

PH was high this morning so I brought it down. Everything look right? The pool is being closed this afternoon so is there anything I need to adjust? any last minute recommendations?

pH seems a tad too low. I think that 7.2 is the lowest recommended.
FC looks perfect.
CC's look perfect.
TA seems fine.
CH - depends on everything else - I didn't run the numbers in Pool Calculator - have you? You'll need temp....
CYA - is a bit low but no big deal since you'll (I assume) check again on opening.

Desperate need of help...

 

[duraleigh]

First off, there is not really anything you can do until you open the pool or can get your pump running. Secondly, the colder water will register your pH as higher.

I think you will be fine and there is no practical fix until you are ready to open, anyway.

Open as early as practicable and retest your water. Make whatever adjustments are required then and especially keep your pH in the low 7's all swim season. you should have no issues.

 

[PAGirl]

Maybe opening your pool as soon as it is feasible would help minimize the scaling. As a fellow Pennsylvanian, maybe doing it the first of May, before it warms up to much, would help. I'm no expert though, just a thought.

 

[UnderWaterVanya]

If I recall correctly, pH tends to rise add water gets colder. Edit: I recall [incorrectly] that water holds fewer dissolved gases as it gets colder[wrong], this may result in outgassing[end edit]. For some pool owners this is a good thing since it keeps the csi index from getting too low and damaging plaster. At least that is what I recall.

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[CivengPE]

If I recall correctly, pH tends to rise add water gets colder. I recall that water holds fewer dissolved gases as it gets colder, this may result in outgassing. For some pool owners this is a good thing since it keeps the csi index from getting too low and damaging plaster. At least that is what I recall.

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Actually, gasses dissolve more easily in cold water....

 

[UnderWaterVanya]

If I recall correctly, pH tends to rise add water gets colder. I recall that water holds fewer dissolved gases as it gets colder, this may result in outgassing. For some pool owners this is a good thing since it keeps the csi index from getting too low and damaging plaster. At least that is what I recall.

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Actually, gasses dissolve more easily in cold water....

Yes I realized my blunder today but I haven't been back online. Excited (warmer) molecules move around more and bump through to freedom as I recall... But that too might be confused.

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[stslimited84]

So are you guys saying the cold water is making the reading falsely higher or lower?

I fully plan on opening very early this year to hopefully mitigate any problems. That being said, I'm very interested in putting in some kind of automatic Muriatic Acid feed into the system. This way I can constantly keep the PH where I need it in the low 7's to eliminate the scaling I already have, and not have to worry as much about it constantly rising to high levels.

I've seen a few threads around on the topic. Have you guys done it, bought one, or can point me in the right direction?

 

[UnderWaterVanya]

So are you guys saying the cold water is making the reading falsely higher or lower?

No - the pH actually rises it is not a false reading.



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