Help with pH

[Poolsareeasy]

I am having to add 20 oz of MA every other day. These are my readings as of this am. Any ideas?

pH 8.2
CHLORINE-6
CYA-50
TA-60
CH-310

I aerated last week to get my TA down. It was around 120. My pH is still jumping up. Thanks for the help.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

What are there, if any, water features? Like fountains, waterfalls etc. which are sources of aeration. Have you noticed any air in your pump basket, indicating a possible suction side leak?

Was your PH more stable last season?

 

[Charlie_R]

Since your pool is almost 2 years old, it should be calming down by now. When was the last time you had your pH below 7.5?

 

[Poolsareeasy]

What are there, if any, water features? Like fountains, waterfalls etc. which are sources of aeration. Have you noticed any air in your pump basket, indicating a possible suction side leak?

Was your PH more stable last season?

I have a waterfall, spill over from hot tub and a weeping rock wall. My pH has always been high. It's been a constant battle. I remember reading an article last summer about don't fight your pH. However, it constantly runs around 8.2-8.4 and I wanna get it right.

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Since your pool is almost 2 years old, it should be calming down by now. When was the last time you had your pH below 7.5?

I had it down to 7.2 last week after aeration but it bumped right back up a few days later.

 

[AimeeH]

"I aerated last week to get my TA down. It was around 120. My pH is still jumping up. Thanks for the help."

Aerating won't lower your TA. The MA lowers your TA and aerating raises your PH.

 

[Poolsareeasy]

"I aerated last week to get my TA down. It was around 120. My pH is still jumping up. Thanks for the help."

Aerating won't lower your TA. The MA lowers your TA and aerating raises your PH.

Ummmm, I'm confused.....I thought aerating will lower your TA which helps buffer your pH. MA lowers your pH. So....if you aerate and lower TA will it not help stabilize the pH?

 

[AimeeH]

MA lowers both TA AND PH. Aerating is the only way to raise PH without affecting your TA.


When you are adding MA you are lowering both PH and TA. Aerating raises PH.

 

[Poolsareeasy]

MA lowers both TA AND PH. Aerating is the only way to raise PH without affecting your TA.


When you are adding MA you are lowering both PH and TA. Aerating raises PH.

Ok. If this is true, how can I get my pH balanced or is adding 20 oz of MA every other day normal?

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My spill over runs about 8 hrs a day. Can this be affecting my pH?

 

[Richard320]

That sounds a little high, but not a whole lot worse than my pool's appetite for acid. If you have hard water and you top off, you'll raising pH and TA every time. All those water features tend to drive pH up constantly, too. If you can reduce the flow to the spillover, it should help.

 

[AimeeH]

Here is the link to article in pool school about lowering TA.

http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/129-how-to-lower-lowering-total-alkalinity

I can't comment on what is "normal" as I have no experience with pool surfaces other than my own vinyl and for some reason I'm thinking that affects PH (I'm sure an expert here can chime in). If you have an SWG, that also causes PH to rise, requiring regular doses of MA. Areating a lot will keep that PH creeping up as well.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Any water features are aeration sources, as are SWG units... once you get your TA down to the 70 range your PH should stabilize. It may take some more routine doses of MA - every time it hits 7.8 or higher calculate to lower it to 7.2. Eventually the TA will fall into range and running your water features won't affect the PH as much.

 

[JasonLion]

With a large waterfall running every day, it is often quite difficult to stabilize the PH. The best approach is to add borates and lower TA to 40 (or maybe 50) and see how much that helps.