Agree with the above. Let the pH drift up and when it gets to 7.8 or so, lower it back down. This should also lower the TA some and perhaps eventually the pH drift will stop.
Going to try to do it myself with a bit of back story.
- Thread starter Poolmonkie
- Start date
n240sxguy
Well-known member
Agree. I replaced my pool light last year and replaced some water due to lowering the level to do so. My TA went up to around 80-90, but over the course of the summer my TA went down as I maintained the ph. Eventually I wasn't adding acid hardly ever. I've had my pool open about 5 weeks now, and the ph has been solidly 7.3-7.4 without a drop of acid. My TA is 60.
Update on how things are going. Been using the TFP method for over a month.
FC 9.0
CC 0
CYA 60
pH 7.2 just added 140oz of MA
TA 70
CH 330
I'm maintaining the FC around 8 on average by adding 40-50 Oz of 10% Liquid Chlorine a day. The pH has been drifting up to about 8.0 then I have been knocking it down to 7.2. TA has gone from a start of 110 down now to 70. I'm hoping that after awhile the pH drift upwards will settle down.
So far so good. Any suggestions or advice?
Also can I expect my CYA to drop as the water evaporates over the summer months? Pool gets a lot of direct sunlight and temp averages around 83.
FC 9.0
CC 0
CYA 60
pH 7.2 just added 140oz of MA
TA 70
CH 330
I'm maintaining the FC around 8 on average by adding 40-50 Oz of 10% Liquid Chlorine a day. The pH has been drifting up to about 8.0 then I have been knocking it down to 7.2. TA has gone from a start of 110 down now to 70. I'm hoping that after awhile the pH drift upwards will settle down.
So far so good. Any suggestions or advice?
Also can I expect my CYA to drop as the water evaporates over the summer months? Pool gets a lot of direct sunlight and temp averages around 83.
- Jun 12, 2011
- 3,763
- Pool Size
- 19500
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pureline Crystal Pure 60,000
CYA does not evaporate. It remains the same unless you drain water.
The rise in pH is faster when pH is lower. When adding acid try only dropping to a pH of about 7.5. My pool seems to like a pH of 7.8. So I never lower it unless it's over 8 and then to a target of about 7.6. If I dropped lower it would be back To 7.6 or above in a couple days, so it's really just a waste of time and acid to go any lower.
The rise in pH is faster when pH is lower. When adding acid try only dropping to a pH of about 7.5. My pool seems to like a pH of 7.8. So I never lower it unless it's over 8 and then to a target of about 7.6. If I dropped lower it would be back To 7.6 or above in a couple days, so it's really just a waste of time and acid to go any lower.
As said above, the CYA does not evaporate, but it can slowly go down due to splashout, backwashing, rain overflow, etc. It also does slowly degrade, so you could see a ~5ppm drop over the course of a month or so.
Okay, very interesting, I thought that as the water evaporated and the leveler was adding new water the CYA would naturally drop. Good info thanks.
I'll see if I can keep the pH around 7.6 and see where it stays. So far it always seems to bounce up to 8.0 if I do nothing, plus I have a few fountains that I'm sure help to raise it on they're own. I don't want to keep putting acid in either, I guess it's best to just accept a littler higher pH in Arizona.
I'll see if I can keep the pH around 7.6 and see where it stays. So far it always seems to bounce up to 8.0 if I do nothing, plus I have a few fountains that I'm sure help to raise it on they're own. I don't want to keep putting acid in either, I guess it's best to just accept a littler higher pH in Arizona.
- Jun 12, 2011
- 3,763
- Pool Size
- 19500
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pureline Crystal Pure 60,000
Aeration will always raise your pH. If you cut down on using the fountains you should see a reduction in the amount of acid you require.
Ok Houston we have a problem.... I'm seeing white specks on pebble sheen floor, these were not there before, some I can see from above the water and the rest show up when I'm using a scuba mask. Here are my latest test numbers:
FC 9
CC 0
CYA 60
pH 7.6 (was at least 8.0 for 2 weeks, lowered this today with MA)
TA 90
CH about 400, has been climbing steadily for last 2 months, started around 250)
CSI 0.22 (from the pool math calculator)
I was trying to keep the pH down around 7.6 but I was adding a lot of Acid and decided to let it creep up to to at least 8.0 and see what happens. So now I am reading that a high pH and high CH can create these spots possibly?
So today I put in about a gallon of MA to get the pH down, aiming for about 7.2 and lowering the TA as well. Am I doing the right thing in now trying to get the pH to hold it around 7.4 and hopefully stop the white spots from continuing to show?
Any help would be appreciated
FC 9
CC 0
CYA 60
pH 7.6 (was at least 8.0 for 2 weeks, lowered this today with MA)
TA 90
CH about 400, has been climbing steadily for last 2 months, started around 250)
CSI 0.22 (from the pool math calculator)
I was trying to keep the pH down around 7.6 but I was adding a lot of Acid and decided to let it creep up to to at least 8.0 and see what happens. So now I am reading that a high pH and high CH can create these spots possibly?
So today I put in about a gallon of MA to get the pH down, aiming for about 7.2 and lowering the TA as well. Am I doing the right thing in now trying to get the pH to hold it around 7.4 and hopefully stop the white spots from continuing to show?
Any help would be appreciated
- Jun 12, 2011
- 3,763
- Pool Size
- 19500
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pureline Crystal Pure 60,000
CH tells you how much calcium there is in your water. CSI tells you if it will stay in the water or be deposited as scale. There are several factors that play into the CSI, including CH, pH, TA, temperature. Since the pH is much higher inside the salt cell when it is generating, that is where scale forms first. When the cell reverses polarity the scale breaks free and spews out into the pool. Those are the white flakes you see. If you can keep the CSI very slightly on the negative side you will never have scale. I try to keep my CSI between -0.10 and -0.30. The biggest factor, and easiest to adjust is pH, although lowering TA is a better long term fix, since that also slows pH rise. Lowering CH is the ultimate solution, but that requires drain and refill.
Lowering TA is a process, but since you seem to have plenty of aeration it may not take you very long.
Pool School - Lower Total Alkalinity
Lowering TA is a process, but since you seem to have plenty of aeration it may not take you very long.
Pool School - Lower Total Alkalinity
Thanks for the reply but I am not using a SWG. I have a chlorinator that I don't use, I am adding liquid chlorine by hand. I will change my signature to reflect this, sorry for the confusion.
These white spots are small hard white spots that are showing up on the surface of the pebble sheen. I noticed a couple of the spots about a week ago but now more are showing up. I have not tried to sand them yet. Unfortunately I'm about to leave on a business trip and so I'm handing this over to my family to watch. I'm planning on keeping the pH about 7.2 and try to knock down the TA along with it.
I am seeing that with our high CH that I will have to constantly keep adding MA to keep the pH around 7.4
Question is now can I stop this process so that more white spots don't show up and can I eventually reverse some of them or will they have to be sanded?
These white spots are small hard white spots that are showing up on the surface of the pebble sheen. I noticed a couple of the spots about a week ago but now more are showing up. I have not tried to sand them yet. Unfortunately I'm about to leave on a business trip and so I'm handing this over to my family to watch. I'm planning on keeping the pH about 7.2 and try to knock down the TA along with it.
I am seeing that with our high CH that I will have to constantly keep adding MA to keep the pH around 7.4
Question is now can I stop this process so that more white spots don't show up and can I eventually reverse some of them or will they have to be sanded?