constantly adding acid

[melsteph]

Hi! I am fighting a high pH/high TA problem with my AG pool. I add acid about every 2-3 days to keep it in the 7.5-7.8 range. Even after kids swim and pump is on for hours, the TA is at 200.
At what point do I add stabilizer to these numbers and am I going to fight the high pH all summer???
Thanks for always knowing how to help!
East Texan
Melissa

14,600 gal AG/Intex, sand filter pump, SWG,
FC - 3
CC- 0
TA- 200
Ch - 175
CYA - ? ordering more regent because I ran out. Was about 30-40 last week

 

[jblizzle]

There is no real "stabilizer" for pH ... that is what the TA does. pH rises due to aeration (kids splashing and the SWG while generating) and the fact that your TA is so high means that it will rise even faster.

Just keep doing what you are doing by keeping the pH in range and the TA should slowly come down. But, being in TX, your TA in the fill water may be very high and you may never get the TA down.

 

[svenpup]

The pH rise is caused by the high TA. You can use your test kit to test the TA of your fill water, but I assume it's high. This means that you will be fighting rising pH (no duh, right?).

Part of your problem (which I think is what you are hinting at) is that with low CYA your SWG is working overtime to keep up with FC loss caused by the sun.

I am not sure why you are holding off on adding CYA. We recommend 60-80ppm CYA for SWG pools.

The only reason we would have told you to hold off on adding CYA is if you had to SLAM. Is the water clear?

Assuming your water is in clear and you don't have any algae you are fighting, you can add CYA to get up to 70 or so.

Don't forget that with higher CYA, your target FC will go up. :lookhere: Chlorine CYA Chart
It may seem counter intuitive, but with the higher CYA it will be easier for your SWG to keep up, even at the higher FC level.

 

[melsteph]

thanks!
And YES my water is clear and sparkly! Beautiful pool but I want to keep it that way! I see scaling on the SWG and know I will need to clean it again soon so I just want to get everything balanced for optimium efficiency --if possible.
Ok sio Pool Calculator says to add a little over 1.5 lbs of stabilizer, so I will go ahead and do that. I added a total of 5 lbs about 10 days ago. Just trying to figure out if that and acid will be what I have to continually keep adding. And the stabilizer isn't that cheap!
Melissa

 

[aussieta]

stabilizer does not evaporate, it is lost from splash out, backwashing filter only
so does not need much once you are at your chosen level 70-80
muriatic acid you will need to keep adding to keep ph to your chosen level 7.6-7.8
the TA will gradually come down but if you are in a hurry you can aerate your water and adjust your ph more frequently
i would also get your FC a little higher

 

[jcp]

If you choose to you can lower your ph to 7.0-7.2 while you're in the process of lowering your TA. It can buy you a little extra time between additions. This level is referenced in pool school.

My fill water runs about 240+ TA. I run an Intex SWCG too, so I fight the same battle every year too especially early in the year. I think I'm currently down to about 160 TA so it's getting better. Luckily my local hardware store sells muratic acid for $3.99 a gallon so I don't go broke in the mean time.