Can't seem to get PH down

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S

SouthernHiker

0
Sep 13, 2016
38
Columbus/GA
I'm having a hard time getting my PH down:
On Saturday morning, my FC was 3, TH was 65 and my CYA was 65, and my PH was 7.7, Salt 3300 I planned to add Borax to the pool this weekend. So I put in some stabilizer, and adjusted my SWG to bump up my FC a little on Saturday, and I put in a full gallon of Muriatic Acid (Klean Green) to lower the PH in preparation for Borates on Sunday. I couldn't get a baume rating on the Klean Green Acid, so I put a little extra from the recommended dosing) to lower the PH down.

Over the course of the day I measured PH and it dropped down to 7.4, and I started adding Borax 20 Mule. I alternated 10 lbs of borax and half a gallon of muriatic acid every couple of hours. Ultimately, I ended up putting 40 lbs of borax and 2 gallons of muriatic acid in the pool throughout the evening. Checked the pool this morning and the pool was up to 8.2 again. So I added a half a gallon of muriatic acid this morning.
Here are this evening's readings:
FC = 5
CC = 0
PH 8.2
TA = 70
CYA = 70
Salt = 3300

PH seems to have stayed the same after running the filter from 8 to 6 (should have circulated all the acid and water in that time?). So I just added another half gallon of muriatic acid. Any ideas on why the PH is still high? Is it just the borax keeping it up and I need a little more acid to knock it down some?
 
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The "green" MA is usually half strength. I suspect that explains your results.

Just so you know, for future replenishment of borates, I personally prefer boric acid which I buy from DudaDiesel.com. No musing with MA and IME it works out to nearly the same cost, maybe a smidge more expensive

In the mean time, get some regular MA for better results...
 
Thanks, I was thinking half strength too. I checked it again this morning and it was down to 7.8. I still would've expected the amount I put in to have brought it down more than that. Especially with all of the rain I had last night.

I've been trying to locate some regular strength MA, but so far Lowe's, Home Depot and Wal Mart only carry the Klean Green stuff. Hopefully I'm done with the Borax for this season. I do need to find some regular muriatic acid though. I still would like to get that PH down closer to the 7.4 range.
 
There are no pros to using dry acid. The cons are it costs more and it adds sulfates to the water. Sulfates build up over time and can cause problems, more here, Sulfates why so bad?

Lowes here has both strengths of MA but you have to dig around a bit or ask someone.
 
Finally found the 31% at Lowes this year. Everyone kept sending me to the paint section, which is where I found the Klean Green. Low and behold this was in the garden section. Was back at 8.2 this afternoon, so put in half a gallon. Will check it in the morning.
 
So I'm guessing the Klean Green stuff may be less than even half the rating of the Kem Tek. I put half a gallon of Kem Tek in yesterday afternoon. Finally down to 7.4 (have had a ton of rain also though). Finally, have everyything right where it needs to be today. Pool looks crystal clear.
 
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