Pool in The Villages Florida

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J

JKH

0
Gold Supporter
Jul 9, 2013
8
The Villages, Fl
Pool Size
4800
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
SWG Type
Hayward Aqua Rite Pro (T-15)
Hi all, My name is Jack and I've had an inground vinyl pool for 15+years in Meadville, Pa. We moved to The Villages, Florida a few years ago to a new home that has a concrete pool. It's small size (5,300 gal.)is a bigger challenge to keep balanced than our previous (26,000 gal.)pool in Pa. This new pool has a SWG cell and love the convenience it provides. Because of the small volume of water it has it requires an addition of muriatic acid every 4 to 6 days to keep the ph in range. We have a trip planned next week and for about 8 or 10 days, I'm concerned that the ph will rise way above 7.5 without an add. I am wondering if anyone has a simple solution to this problem short of calling the local pool company and have them come in and make an add.

Thanks for any ideas!
 
Last edited:
:wave: Welcome to TFP!!!

I don't think the pH rise has anything to do with the pool being smaller. Likely you just have not learned that a SWG by nature will drive the pH up and if your TA is higher that too will drive the pH up faster.

What test kit do you use and can you post a full set of test results?
 
I use a TF-100 and will do a full set of tests tomorrow and post the results.

I do, in fact, realize the ph is driven up by the activity of the SWG but also realize that the rapid ph rise may be caused by other factors. I have also looked into adding boric acid to around 40-50 ppm. I'll know better tomorrow after I run the tests.

Thanks for the comments, they are very much appreciated!
 
After reading a lot of the posts on this site, I sure wish I had found you guys sooner! I can also agree with your philosophy of doing you own testing. I had a sample tested by two different places a few weeks ago and they couldn't agree on anything except the pH! I ran my pool tests yesterday and I think that I know why it is needing so much muriatic acid. The total alkalinity went pink at 4 drops and red after 6 drops which gives me 60 ppm, correct? Also the CYA test was down to 20/30. Calcium hardness was 380 ppm. Free chlorine was at 6 ppm and combined chloromines was at 1 ppm. The pH was at 7.5.

To adjust the TA I made a 2 lb add of A&H sodium bicarb and will check it tomorrow. I think it will need 2 more lbs to bring it up to 90 ppm.
I added 3/4 lb of Cynauric acid to correct it's reading and won't recheck it until next week.

I read about a novel way to do the cyanuric add. Fill a ladies nylon knee high stocking with the acid then stuff the open into a water sample bottle, screw on the lid and toss it in. I have my return lines directed so the water circulates which in turn moves the floating bag of acid all around the pool.

I guess I'll know in a day or so if my adds will slow down the muriatic usage.

In my first post I was in error concerning the size of our pool. It's an modified oval kidney shape with a single straight side. I had been told by the builder that it was around 7,000 gal but when I plug in the dimensions in the pool calculator it comes out to 5,300 gal. Sure wish it was larger, but ran out of room.

Any and all comments are welcome..
 

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Finally had time to do a complete water analysis on our pool today and these are the numbers:

Free chlorine: 3ppm
CC: 0ppm
Total: 3ppm

T/A: 60

Calcium hardness: 360

CYA: 30/35

Ph: 7.5

It seems like that the adds I made on 4/17/14 had very little effect.
I made an add today of 14.5 oz. of cynauric acid, in the "sock".
I will keep a close check on the Ph to see if goes up over 7.5.
I'm still not sure if my muriatic usage is normal for my size pool.

I am unsure as to the correct protocol for posting, any suggestions?

Thanks,
 
JKH said:
Finally had time to do a complete water analysis on our pool today and these are the numbers:

Free chlorine: 3ppm
CC: 0ppm
Total: 3ppm

T/A: 60

Calcium hardness: 360

CYA: 30/35

Ph: 7.5

It seems like that the adds I made on 4/17/14 had very little effect.
I made an add today of 14.5 oz. of cynauric acid, in the "sock".
I will keep a close check on the Ph to see if goes up over 7.5.
I'm still not sure if my muriatic usage is normal for my size pool.

I am unsure as to the correct protocol for posting, any suggestions?

Thanks,
Click to expand...
Test results! Now we have a clue!

pink-panther clou.jpg

Your low CYA meant that the FC was getting broken down by the sun, so you (properly) raised the SWG run time to maintain adequate FC. The problem with that is, the longer you run the SWG, the higher you drive the pH. I suspect that with the proper amount of CYA, you'll be able to lower the percentage on the SWG and the pH rise will slow down. Good job!
 
Just retested the CYA and it came up to 40 and the Ph rose also to 7.8.

I have a son that runs an electroplating business and I was explaining the benefits of boric acid in pool water. They use a technical grade of boric acid as a buffer in a nickel plating bath. I am considering using it in my pool. Do you see any reason I shouldn't?
 
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