Alkalinity won't go down...

[Sunnydaze]

It's been several hours since i added the acid. I retested and Ph is 7.2 and TA is 80ppm. This is kinda fun actually having measurable and rather predictable results. What pool math says will happen...happens. This is much better than wild guessing.

My girlfriend says I'm obsessing over the pool. She's probably right. I'd rather learn what i need to know now and get the pool balanced so it's ready for summer instead of fighting it while we're trying to swim. Though I'm sure the pool's needs will change once it's being used then I'll be learning more.

 

[Newdude]

Though I'm sure the pool's needs will change once it's being used then I'll be learning more.

It's OK because you are figuring it out now while it's easier with no bather load and much less UV from the sun. By the time hard mode starts, you'll be your own pro and just adapt as needed.

Plus there is a small army of helpful folks here, if/when you need.

 

[Teald024]

Great job getting the pool in order! It may not seem like it now, but soon enough you will go out there, grab some water, do a test and be able to predict the results. An you will learn how much chlorine you need to add each day and it just becomes natural.
You are seeing the benefits of testing. Not dump & hope like your buddy. When he comments on how great your pool looks, ask him if he's tired of fighting algae yet....

 

[Sunnydaze]

Great job getting the pool in order! It may not seem like it now, but soon enough you will go out there, grab some water, do a test and be able to predict the results. An you will learn how much chlorine you need to add each day and it just becomes natural.
You are seeing the benefits of testing. Not dump & hope like your buddy. When he comments on how great your pool looks, ask him if he's tired of fighting algae yet....

This is from tonight. I can't wait to jump in. We have 90+ degree days in the forecast already so i don't think it'll be too much longer.

 

[cowboycasey]

Love that clear TFP water

 

[Sunnydaze]

Ugh. So the pool company was here dealing with an issue on my new pump they just installed. While he was here, i asked him about a rust stain on the bottom of the pool that recently showed up. This is the same company who resurfaced it so i figured he could tell me what it is or at least how to get rid of it. He took a pvc pipe and put it over the stain then dumped in what i guesstimated to be about half a gallon of acid down the pipe. I didn't know it was acid until he was done. Now my ta is 60 and ph is 6.8 or lower...i believe i read that the color will be the same whether it's 6.8 or 6.5. I'm aerating again to bring it up asap because i don't really know how low the ph is now. Can low ph damage anything in a day or so? I can probably get it up to 7.2 by morning if its not too low.

Pool math says 60ppm TA is at the low end of "ideal" so i think i should be fine there. It will go up anyway as i add fill water.

Edit: After doing the "effects of adding" on pool math, 64 oz of 31.4% acid would bring TA down by 17 and PH by 1.1. My TA dropped about 20ppm so i fear my PH is now around 6.1.

 

[mknauss]

I do not see a heater so the low pH is not an emergent issue. Keep aerating to get it up.
Muriatic acid was the wrong product to use for an iron stain - typical pool company using a hammer when a soft touch will do. Use a handful of Vitamin C tablets in a sock, crush them a bit, and set on the stain.

 

[Teald024]

Wow. I’d be more concerned about what that acid did to your new pool surface. You can continue to aerate, but could put some washing soda (sodium carbonate) in to get your pH to 7 at least.
If it was my pool, I’d call the company, ask for the owner and chew their ear off. Then get something in writing saying they’ll fix any long term issues this may have caused. This is one time I take a water sample to the pool to get proof of what happened.
And then I would never give this guy any more of my business.

 

[Sunnydaze]

Wow. I’d be more concerned about what that acid did to your new pool surface. You can continue to aerate, but could put some washing soda (sodium carbonate) in to get your pH to 7 at least.
If it was my pool, I’d call the company, ask for the owner and chew their ear off. Then get something in writing saying they’ll fix any long term issues this may have caused. This is one time I take a water sample to the pool to get proof of what happened.
And then I would never give this guy any more of my business.

Now that you mention it, there is a large circle at the deepest part of the pool around the main drain that looks darker than the rest of the pool. This is 4 or 5 ft away from where he poured the acid. I'm almost certain it wasn't that dark before. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. The pump was not on when he did this so it would have sat on the bottom. I figured he knew what he was doing but i guess you can't trust anyone but TFP! I'll wait a little bit longer until its dark and take pictures with the light on to compare them with the ones i took last night. Otherwise, I'll see if i have pictures in daylight to compare it to....i hope I'm just being paranoid. This company is already ******* me off with the pump issue i posted about in another thread. Now to add this...

 

[Sunnydaze]

Ph is back up to 7.2. I'll leave things alone and keep an eye on ph to see where it wants to go!

I did notice a few small spots of green on the walls on the shallow end. I can only assume thats algae...admittedly there were a couple days recently when fc was down to 2ppm. Last night after i noticed it, i brushed the pool throughly and dumped in 1 gallon of chlorine which was all i had. It brought fc up to 9.5. Not quite what was recommended for a SLAM or enough to maintain but I'll do a proper slam if i need to after getting more chlorine. Anywho, the fc was 9.5 and cc .5 last night. This morning, fc was still 9.5 and cc .5. Perhaps the small amount of algae wasn't enough to use up chlorine overnight?

 

[mknauss]

I did notice a few small spots of green on the walls on the shallow end.

The pool cleaner you use does not scrub the walls very well, does it? I suspect you need to brush the pool more often if you are finding a bit of algae on the walls.

The FC not dropping just means you caught the algae very early.

 

[Sunnydaze]

The pool cleaner you use does not scrub the walls very well, does it? I suspect you need to brush the pool more often if you are finding a bit of algae on the walls.

The FC not dropping just means you caught the algae very early.

My cleaner doesn't climb the shallow end walls. And yeah i have only been brushing once..maybe twice a week. It climbs the deep end often which is probably why i didn't find algae on the deep end, only shallow. It's a cheap "amazon special" vacuum which was here when i bought the house. I've been looking at the barracuda g3. Or are the more expensive ones recommended?

 

[mknauss]

The best pool cleaner you can get is a Robot. Many of us here use Maytronics robots. The S200, Active20, or Pentair SE (all the same, just different badging).

 

[Sunnydaze]

So what is considered "stable" ph? After i got my TA down, my PH doesn't raise nearly as quickly but i am wondering what is considered stable. On 3/26, it was 7.2 and i haven't added anything but liquid chlorine and its just a little darker than 7.5 on the tube today. That is 6 full days. That seems pretty good to me but is that normal or "stable?" How often do you guys have to adjust PH?

 

[mknauss]

How often do you guys have to adjust PH?

That is pretty good. This time of year I add acid about every week. In another couple weeks, that will go to twice a week. All due to adding high TA fill water.

 

[Sunnydaze]

That is pretty good. This time of year I add acid about every week. In another couple weeks, that will go to twice a week. All due to adding high TA fill water.

Sounds good. So my buddy who i mentioned was using pool store advice said he was constantly adding soda ash to bring ph up. Was that likely because he was using granule shock and tablets which were bringing ph down? I guess I'm wondering if I'll ever deal with low ph or if I'll mostly be bringing it down. My fill water is 7.5ish.

 

[mknauss]

Was that likely because he was using granule shock and tablets which were bringing ph down?

Yes.

I guess I'm wondering if I'll ever deal with low ph

VERY unlikely if you use liquid chlorine or get a SWCG.

 

[Sunnydaze]

Yes.

VERY unlikely if you use liquid chlorine or get a SWCG.

Thank you! Also, since youre in a warm climate as well, do you find that running your pump at night when ambient temps are cooler that it cools down the pool? Or is that a myth? I know how warm pools get here and sometimes its uncomfortably warm.

 

[mknauss]

That would be a myth. Unless you are using a sprayer of some kind to enhance evaporation. But that will drive your pH higher and increase your CH rapidly.

My pool never gets over about 88-90F. Afternoon shade. If you can, use sail cloth to stretch over the pool to reduce late afternoon sun on it.

 

[Sunnydaze]

Late last week when temps were increasing here, i was losing about 1.5ppm of FC each day. I added 10ppm of cya (to bring me to 40) and i started losing only .5ppm per day. We are forecasted to hit 99 degrees here this week. When we hit our sunniest of days, how much FC should i expect to lose each day? That would determine if i need to bring cya to 50 or even 60ppm, right?