Alkalinity and ph won't come down.

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Young Doc

Active member
May 28, 2019
25
Bagley, WI
56,000 gal, 44 x 22 ft pool. Pool has been stable and clear all summer. Recently the alkalinity raised to about 180 ppm and ph went to about 8 ppm. At the advice of the local pool supply store, I added 1 gallon of muriatic acid. I waited 48 hours and saw little to no change in levels. I added another gallon of muriatic adid. After 2 days I still see no change in alkalinity or ph. What must I do to bring these levels back to an acceptable level.
 
How are you testing your pool water chemistry?

If the pH of 8 and TA of 180 are correct, a gallon of 31.45% muriatic acid would have dropped your pH to 7.5.

Do you have water features? How did your TA rise to that level?
 
Previous alkalinity has been about 120 ppm all summer long with the ph being at 7.5 ppm. I have no idea how the levels increased. We live in a rural setting with lots of plant life/weeds that blow seeds and debris into the pool. I vacuum frequently and keep the chlorine level at a consistent level. The 1hp pump runs 24/7. We get lots of beetles and frogs/toads but nothing out of the ordinary for a rural pool. I've been testing with and "hth" test strip. I know reagent kits are more accurate but up until now all levels seemed to test correctly with the "strips"
 
Test strips are inaccurate and unreliable.

Your TA has not changed.

Get a proper test kit.
 
TA doesn't just go up all by itself. If your test strips told you it did then that's pretty strong evidence that they are not trustworthy. And that lack of reliability prevents us from giving advice based upon results from them.

Besides, that pool is quite an investment. Why would you base your care of it on strips that are so cheap they can't even afford to properly QC them?
Also unreliable is pool store testing. Just cutting off that potential discussion from the get-go.
 
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Okay... I bought a Taylor test kit. I tested the water (twice) with the results being TA = 220 ppm. I tested the well water (twice) which we've added to the pool periodically through the summer and it tested TA = 300 ppm. We are new owners of the property and I have no idea if the water supply alkalinity was always at such a high level. I've had to vacuum the pool often thru the summer because of mainly plant debris that blows in from the surrounding fields. Hence I must flush the sand filter often and then replenish the pool with water from our well. (related: I've just realized I have a leak in the pool... I'm thinking it may be at one of the 2 return jets that are mounted aside the pool steps. The water drops to that level, then holds). I figure I need approximately 9 gallons of muriatic acid to bring the alkalinity level back to a proper level. Then, I must solve the leak problem [seperate post]... then I must monitor the alkalinity level more closely and continue to treat the added water with muriatic acid to maintain the proper levels. Any additional advise/solutions would be appreciated. One of these days I'm going to actually swim in that pool.
 
What type of pool are we discussing? Plaster? Vinyl? Fiberglass? IG? AGP?

It would help us help you if you out details of your pool in your signature.
 
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