Aeration/pH Drama

EnglishM · May 3, 2020

New pool owner, microbiology geek, and TFP Fan! This is my first post, but I am so grateful for the wealth of knowledge and experience I've been able to mine from this forum for the past few years. Our pool build was completed at Thanksgiving, so I'm still learning about the impact of various chemical and environmental factors on balancing water, especially as the weather warms up.

Like many, I've struggled with an everlasting high pH problem and probably should have bought stock in a muriatic acid company months ago! After putting myself back thru Pool School, I picked up that the aeration my twin sheer descents are providing is likely the primary culprit. We love the noise and have been running them about 10 hours a day (don't laugh!), so you can imagine the magnitude of my failure in chasing it with acid. Sigh...

I guess my question is if there's any reasonable way I can still enjoy the wonderful noise while combating a soaring pH. I recognize that new plaster pools require acid, but I'd like to buffer the demand (pun intended), if that's possible. Thanks, y'all!

Texas Splash · May 3, 2020

Welcome to TFP! :wave:

Yes, you can enjoy your water features, but you have to be realistic as well. If you're at the pool - enjoy them. When you're not at the pool - off. You didn't mention your TA, but if it's elevated, it also contributes to the pH rising a little faster. So do SWGs for that matter. Your pH should eventually settle around the 7.7-7.8 mark, but if it's rising more than than, check the TA or post back and we can review all your numbers.

Pprior · May 3, 2020

One of my projects (of many) on my list is to automate my water features to help with this same problem. Right now we are plumbed / valved to have water descent (in our case a spa overflow) running always when pool is running. We get about 0.5 gal muriatic acid use per week (new pool + above).

My plan is to get motion sensors to turn on the water overflow when we are out on the pool, but off otherwise.

Nothing commercially available but I've seen some interface with pentair wireless system and I have hubitat so SOMEDAY (hopefully in the next 6 months) I will have this project done.

edit: HUBITAT, not habitat... stupid autospell

jnojr · May 3, 2020

I wish aeration was my issue. My pH is always trying to climb into the 8s. If I leave it for more than a day or two, I'm easily up to 8.3 I'm guessing I use a gallon of acid every three weeks or so.

Funny, though, that when pool temp gets over 88 or so, and I leave the aerator running when the pool is cycling at night, I don't get as much and maybe even less rise in pH I wish the app would draw graphs. Maybe I can export the data and have my wife pull it into Excel...

EnglishM · May 3, 2020

Texas Splash said:
Welcome to TFP! Yes, you can enjoy your water features, but you have to be realistic as well. If you're at the pool - enjoy them. When you're not at the pool - off. You didn't mention your TA, but if it's elevated, it also contributes to the pH rising a little faster. So do SWGs for that matter. Your pH should eventually settle around the 7.7-7.8 mark, but if it's rising more than than, check the TA or post back and we can review all your numbers.

Thanks for your reply! Here are this morning's numbers:
FC 4
CC 0
pH 7.4
TA 60
CA++ 350
CYA 70
NaCl 2600
CSI -0.63

So TA isn't high, and I understand I can help myself out with a TA on the lower side...but it sounds like I don't need to go any lower than 50. True/false? I do have a SWG.

EnglishM · May 3, 2020

Pprior said:
One of my projects (of many) on my list is to automate my water features to help with this same problem. Right now we are plumbed / valved to have water descent (in our case a spa overflow) running always when pool is running. We get about 0.5 gal muriatic acid use per week (new pool + above).

My plan is to get motion sensors to turn on the water overflow when we are out on the pool, but off otherwise.

Nothing commercially available but I've seen some interface with pentair wireless system and I have habitat so SOMEDAY (hopefully in the next 6 months) I will have this project done.

Projects! Projects! Do they ever end???

Texas Splash · May 3, 2020

English, your numbers look quite good. But I would do the following:
- Let the pH rise to about 7.7-7.8. With an SWG it probably wants to be there. It will help bring your CSI back up which your pool needs.
- TA is great; don't do anything with it.
- Salt looks to be a bit low, You might compare the SWG reading with a Taylor K-1766 tester to be sure. But as long as the SWG is happy and not sending errors, you should be okay; keep an eye on that FC though. No lower (algae)