So I'm starting a new thread to try to get as many people to help figure this out as possible. I have a 10k gallon plaster gunite pool with four swim jets that's about five months old. No matter what I do, even after adding about (still waiting for test strips for exact) 50ppm borates now, and the pH absolutely rises much faster with the borates than even it did without them. I managed to get the TA down to 60 and the pH to a nice 7.6 when the borates first went in and then, boom, eight days later, the pH was so much more magenta on the TF100 measuring kit that it must have been up around 9 or higher.
So here were the readings from two days ago to now:
I added a half gallon of muriatic acid two days ago and a gallon yesterday, got down to 7.4 or so and now, two days later, I retested TA and pH at:
So let me try to understand this. Basically, I can't even hire a pool person weekly because we wouldn't be able to swim five days out of the week because the pH would spike to ungodly levels in the time between they got here. At this point I should just get rid of the pool. I simply do to want to be working with muriatic acid every single day of my life. What gives here? Are there people out there that specialize in figuring this stuff out because I'm lost. I don't like working with MA. I don't mind doing it here and there, but every day??? The calcium runs up and down between 450 to 350 and back again. The TA won't stay down even with borates. I read that borates are supposed to hold the TA in the face of water features but in another thread I'm reading that the CO2 outgassing from the jets interact with the borates to make the TA and pH rise even faster so why did I even add the borates? I can't even get the same answer twice on this stuff but I'm ready to just have the thing filled with distilled water and call it a day.
What if I put about five gallons of MA in at once? Will that lower the TA enough to freeze it?
These swim jets are so powerful that if anyone in the house forgets to turn them off, in two hours, the pH goes up at least .2 per hour where it used to go up .1 before the borates.
So what is the point of adding borates? I wish I never did because now it's even worse.
I am begging for any insight that might help get this pool under control because ten gallons of MA later in the past month, and I'm just burnt out on it. There simply HAS to be a solution. Does anyone know someone who is a serious expert in New Orleans area that can get this under control because I'm just beyond frustrated that no matter what I do, the pH just gets even worse and our pool is completely un-swimmable most of the time. The chlorine is stable. the CYA is stable. The calcium is generally at 350 though occasionally at 450 (new plaster?). I always check 18" out and 18" down and never let top water seep in as I'm bringing up the container.
Is there even a solution here? Will distilled water help? I'm afraid of one of those acid dispensers but I'm ready to try anything. I may get the Sense and Dispense and just use the pH part.
So here were the readings from two days ago to now:
Date | 6/30/15 |
Time | 3:09 PM |
pH: | >>>8.2 |
FC: | 5.5 |
CC: | 0 |
TC: | 5.5 |
TA: | 150 |
CH: | 450 |
CYA: | 65 |
I added a half gallon of muriatic acid two days ago and a gallon yesterday, got down to 7.4 or so and now, two days later, I retested TA and pH at:
Date | 7/2/15 |
Time | 11:34 PM |
pH: | 8.2 |
FC: | - |
CC: | - |
TC: | - |
TA: | 90 |
CH: | - |
CYA: | - |
So let me try to understand this. Basically, I can't even hire a pool person weekly because we wouldn't be able to swim five days out of the week because the pH would spike to ungodly levels in the time between they got here. At this point I should just get rid of the pool. I simply do to want to be working with muriatic acid every single day of my life. What gives here? Are there people out there that specialize in figuring this stuff out because I'm lost. I don't like working with MA. I don't mind doing it here and there, but every day??? The calcium runs up and down between 450 to 350 and back again. The TA won't stay down even with borates. I read that borates are supposed to hold the TA in the face of water features but in another thread I'm reading that the CO2 outgassing from the jets interact with the borates to make the TA and pH rise even faster so why did I even add the borates? I can't even get the same answer twice on this stuff but I'm ready to just have the thing filled with distilled water and call it a day.
What if I put about five gallons of MA in at once? Will that lower the TA enough to freeze it?
These swim jets are so powerful that if anyone in the house forgets to turn them off, in two hours, the pH goes up at least .2 per hour where it used to go up .1 before the borates.
So what is the point of adding borates? I wish I never did because now it's even worse.
I am begging for any insight that might help get this pool under control because ten gallons of MA later in the past month, and I'm just burnt out on it. There simply HAS to be a solution. Does anyone know someone who is a serious expert in New Orleans area that can get this under control because I'm just beyond frustrated that no matter what I do, the pH just gets even worse and our pool is completely un-swimmable most of the time. The chlorine is stable. the CYA is stable. The calcium is generally at 350 though occasionally at 450 (new plaster?). I always check 18" out and 18" down and never let top water seep in as I'm bringing up the container.
Is there even a solution here? Will distilled water help? I'm afraid of one of those acid dispensers but I'm ready to try anything. I may get the Sense and Dispense and just use the pH part.