Getting Started

[Tony'sPool]

Hello;

I'm a new pool owner and pool construction was completed very late in the season last year. I just opened the pool this morning and things actually look pretty good. Needed to add some water so i was running pump on main drain to get the water moving through the filter and vacuumed and brushed all day. Started testing the water this evening; needless to say there is no chlorine in there so i'll start adding liquid tomorrow until water is warm enough for SWG.

Here are some of my test results:
TA - 120
Cl - 0
Ph - over 10
Calcium Hardness - 300

When i plug into pool math, i'm told to lower Ph with Muriatic Acid to also lower TA. My question is how much muriatic acid should i add at one time; I assume pump should be running and test until i get Ph down to 7-7.2?

Thanks very much for any advice you can offer. Hopefully my details/equipment is showing in my signature, but let me know if any questions.

Tony

 

[ajw22]

How many gallons in your pool?

Add enough MA to lower your pH by 0.4-0.5 at a time, let circulate for at least an hour, retest, repeat as necessary until pH is in the 7s. 7.8 is as good as 7.2.

What test kit are you using?

How did you test a pH of 10?

 

[Tony'sPool]

I also tested CYA and filled the tube and could still see the black dot, so it appears i'm at less than 30? Looks like i'll need to add some stabilizer also.

 

[ajw22]

I also tested CYA and filled the tube and could still see the black dot, so it appears i'm at less than 30? Looks like i'll need to add some stabilizer also.

Did you let the CYA test sample warm to room temperature before adding reagent?

 

[Tony'sPool]

i'm about 18,000. i used the TF Pro test kit and i was off the chart, i also used a digital reader and it read like 10.5/10.6? does that make sense?

 

[Tony'sPool]

i didn't let it warm but will test again tomorrow with some pool water that i'll leave inside over night.

 

[ajw22]

i'm about 18,000. i used the TF Pro test kit and i was off the chart, i also used a digital reader and it read like 10.5/10.6? does that make sense?

Yes.

Add about 1/3 gallon of 31% MA and work the pH down

Took me 3 gallons of MA to get my pH into the 7’s. You can read about it…

Pool Opening Spring 2025 - High pH and Leaking Heater Manifold

Opened my pool today. Some observations: Pool opened up pretty clean. Water temperature was 49F. Leaves all vacuumed up. See pics below. I added borates the end of last year and did not see any winter scaling. pH tested way high and added 40 oz of MA to begin working it down. I had 4 gallons...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Tony'sPool]

Thanks so much!