lowering TA a little bit?

[doncaruana]

My pH is just a tad high (7.7-7.8 or so) but my TA is 110. That isn't ideal, but it's not crazy high (right?). I know the standard way to lower TA is to to use acid and take pH all the way back down to 7.2 and then raise the pH back up naturally. But if I were to only reduce pH to say 7.4, would that have some marginal effect on the TA at least? Or is it truly necessary to take pH all the way down to 7.2 first?

The other question is should I really worry about TA anyway? Even with the SWG and the air leaks I have in the system (which would seem to be really good aerators), my pH is really steady. I guess my question is whether this might be a YMMV type thing.

I mean, taking the "real world" approach, should I worry more about how the system is responding in this case than hitting a target number?

 

[BoDarville]

But if I were to only reduce pH to say 7.4, would that have some marginal effect on the TA at least?

Yes it would still lower it, just more slowly.

TA is a measure of the water's ability to buffer pH changes. Low TA levels often cause the pH to swing around wildly. High TA usually causes pH to drift up. So, the real factor to consider in determining whether to adjust TA is, Is your pH relatively stable within the recommended target range? If it is, I wouldn't fiddle with TA.

I mean, taking the "real world" approach, should I worry more about how the system is responding in this case than hitting a target number?

Yes! You are a fast learner.

 

[Richard320]

Yes, any acid you add will lower TA. Check out the effects of adding chemicals at the bottom of pool calculator. First you plug in numbers to get the acid dose for the pH. Go plug that amount into the effects box and it will show you how much TA will go down. I'd do just what you propose, myself - keep it right around 7.4 which is the pH of human tears.

 

[Butterfly]

^^^^ what they said

Even with the SWG and the air leaks I have in the system (which would seem to be really good aerators), my pH is really steady.

Wow, you are lucky :-D

 

[doncaruana]

Check out the effects of adding chemicals at the bottom of pool calculator. First you plug in numbers to get the acid dose for the pH. Go plug that amount into the effects box and it will show you how much TA will go down.

For crying out loud! I totally forgot about that! And I have the page bookmarked of course, I just never scroll down that far. That totally answers that question and the 2 follow up ones I just asked myself.