New pool owner; SWG; TA VERY HIGH (280); ph HIGH 8.2, DID POOL MATH, ?'S

[Jabo]

Here are my numbers from testing this morning:
FC 2.5
CC prob .1, slightly pink when tested with 1 drop added back
CH 250
TA 280
CYA 60, possibly slightly lower, but close to 60
PH 8.2
salt 2600

Pool math says to add 21 oz of 6% bleach or 1.5 oz trichlor to correct FC.

1st Quest: With SWG, couldn't I run my SWG again today, maybe another 3 hrs or so to see if that raises the FC? (I run it at night; FC appeared to be high recently from the daily tests, so have been running an hour less the last several nights). Or is it suggesting adding the chlorine to immediately deal with the lower FC so swimming can resume? Just not sure about adding chlorine to the SWG?

2nd QUEST: Please clarify the importance of TA in SWG.
3rd QUEST: Any ideas what causes this to be high in SWG? Mine has been running this high for awhile. Pool Math says to add 29 oz of muriatic acid; to lower both TA and PH, then aerate to increase PH if needed. PH had been low a couple weeks ago, so I added Mule Team and that corrected it. Told, then, not to worry about the TA.

Reading about balancing the SWG emphasizes that the TA and PH are both important. Getting two different messages about TA so confused about its importance overall.

4th QUEST: How can I stabilize these to reduce future problems? We have had a lot of rain but not much this past week. Temps down today in 70's, had been in 80's. Wondering if experienced SWG owners can tell me what has most effect on the balance of TA & PH.

Also says to add 13 oz by weight of stabilizer and 22 lbs of salt, I can easily do both of those.

Since a newbie, I want to be cautious about overdoing something.
Could someone please clarify a bit. As I understand it, I should add some acid, but want to be cautious in how much at first.

4th QUEST:I don't have an aerator but could use the ideas shown to make one. How important is that to clearing up my problems. Will running the pump more help that issue?

Thanks, hope not too much, but all questions are interrelated. Appreciate help. Thanks again.

 

[RobbieH]

You can run the SWG, but if I drop below the minimum limit, I prefer to hit it with a shot of bleach to get it immediately back up where it needs to be (in your case around 5 FC) and then let the SWG take over from there. Don't use tablets.

High TA will allow pH to swing down when aerating or using SWG. SWG doesn't cause TA to be high.

You are reading right. Bring pH to 7.2 then aerate. The SWG will do your aeration for you, don't worry about any other method.

A pool is like a pet. You can't stabilize it so that you never have to attend to it. Getting TA in line will help with pH. Get your run time and percentage right on the SWG and this will help with FC. Once TA is in line (around 70), you can consider adding borates to potentially stabilize pH. I have found it has some effect, but it still isn't going to eliminate the need for at least weekly checks and acid additions.

 

[Jabo]

Thanks, RobbieH, I get it. OK, will add the items per pool school, prob just half first time to see what happens, then increase my SWG time. Thanks so much for your answers.

 

[RobbieH]

Don't be afraid to add all the chlorine. Also, I'd shoot higher than half on the acid, because 8.2 is the top of the test's range. pH is probably higher than 8.2.

 

[svenpup]

High TA will allow pH to swing down when aerating or using SWG. SWG doesn't cause TA to be high.

Robbie, I think you may have let your fingers get in front of your brain here. TA buffers pH to keep pH more stable, but high TA plus aeration equals pH rise.

 

[ping]

First thing is to bump up the FC to 5 ppm and don't let it fall below 3 ppm. The SWG might need some run time adjustment to start putting a little more chlorine in to the pool.

Next, 1/2 hour after the bleach bump, add enough acid to lower the pH to 7.2. Check the pH 1/2 hour later to see if it reached 7.2 and add some more acid if it did not read 7.2. Since the TA is high and you are using a SWG the pH will rise fairly quick on its own. When the pH gets to 7.8, at the most, lower the pH back down to 7.2 and this will eventually drive the TA down to more a reasonable level.

I would not add any more stabilizer until the pool is dialed in because 60 is enough CYA for now. Once you are comfortable with your chemical levels then you will want to bump it up to 70/80.

Normally we say if the SWG is happy and making chlorine then leave the salt level alone. If you want to boost it up to 3000 that would be fine in this case, but it is not needed at the moment since the SWG is working.

 

[Jabo]

Thanks so much ping, appreciate the more detailed instructions. Will do as you recommend. Thanks again.