Why am I using so much acid?

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J

jacob_coulter

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Jan 2, 2013
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So I had my pool redone about 3 months ago. I used to have a fiberglass pool, now it's a quartz/plaster.

Something Ive noticed is before, I basically did zero maintenance, and everything worked out. I dropped a tablet in about once a week, and had the water tested every few weeks at the pool store, and they said it was perfect. I literally went over a year without putting any acid in. I only added tablets and shock maybe twice a summer. i did this mainly because I knew I was going to have the pool and equipment redone in the near future.

Now I test my pool regularly myself, and I find the PH is always wanting to get near 7.9-8.0. From my reading, the target is around 7.6/ I probably use about 2 gallons of acid a month. I also find myself adding chlorine a few times a week.

Is all of this a result of going from fiberglass to plaster?

Also, what is the downside of letting the pool hover around 8.0 for PH? I feel like I'm fighting a war I can't really win, and I would be better off just trying to keep the PH below 8.0.
 
How old is the plaster? New plaster can drive the pH up.

What are you full test results? As I said in your other post, high TA can drive the pH up.

Most people here add chlorine (bleach) every 1-2 days, that is normal. Depending on your CYA level, you pool will lose 2-4 ppm of FC everyday that must be added back into the pool.

The use of pucks or "shock" to add the FC is not sustainable in the longer term because the stabilizer (CYA) does not get consumed and with rise higher and higher which is turns requires higher FC levels to prevent algae from starting.

If you let the pH get high, you can get calcium scaling on your pool finish, which is difficult to remove once it starts.
 
Due to the plaster curing process, during the first month after fresh plaster is applied the PH, TA, and CH levels will all go up fairly rapidly. The PH will continue to go up more slowly for up to a year after that. You can expect to have to add acid daily during the first month, and every couple of days for the first year. After that PH increases due to plaster curing will stop and the chemistry will at least somewhat more closely resemble what you are used to.

It is important to keep the PH at 8.0 or lower at all times. If you let the PH get too high you are likely to experience calcium scaling. During the curing process, it might be easier to lower the PH to 7.2 each time it gets to 8.0. That will give you a bit more time between acid additions.

A number of other levels also influence how easy it is to take care of the pool. For example, if CYA is too low you will lose all of your chlorine to sunlight fairly quickly.
 
Thanks for all the feedback.

I was aware that the new plaster caused the PH level to rise, but for some reason I thought that was a really short term phenomenon and I would be past that, not something that was going to last up to a year.

I like the idea of shooting for a lower PH at longer intervals rather than constantly tweaking it to get to 7.6 during this curing stage.
 
[center:2los6a18]Okay, now that you have the technical answer, I'll put it to you in simpler terms.

You use so much acid because you're a hippie.
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:jocolor:[/center:2los6a18]
 
Several things will raise PH in your pool. I have a SWCG, waterfalls, and new plaster which ALL contribute to a rise in PH. I lower mine to 7.2 on Sunday and by Thursday it is Up to 8.2. I dose my pool manually but this is the reason Acid feeders are manufactured. I have a lot of automation so I don't mind adding acid manually. At least I don't have to lug around a bunch of chlorine every week.
 
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