High pH in AG pool.

[Tsudduth]

I just tested my water and the ph is at 8.2. We did have a heavy rain last night. Could this contribute to the rise in pH?

FC 4
CC 0.5
TA 130
CYA 35 - 40

I haven't tested the CYA in a while because I only use liquid bleach. The water looks hazy with a very slight greenish tint, but I can still see the bottom fairly well.

I have added something new to the pool this year. I built a solar heater to help get the water temp up to swimming temps (we have had unusually cool weather in W Tx). I put a "Y" on the return line to push some water through the heater to help the solar cover I had on the pool. Unfortunately, my pool is mostly shaded in the morning right now, hence the need for a heater.

As I said above, we got a lot of rain yesterday. Could this be the cause for the rise in pH and the hazy green color?

 

[Richard320]

Yes. Heavy rain aerates the pool, which drives pH up.

And high pH can cause metals to precipitate. The tiniest bit of Iron in the water will give it a yellowish tint, which will look sickly green when viewed against the blue pool.

Get some acid in there, pronto. Brush it around good. And then bump your FC up to your daily target, just in case some of that green is algae.

 

[Tsudduth]

Just added 16 oz of acid and will let it circulate. The iron fall out makes sense out here in W. TX as we have very hard water. Unfortunately, we are expecting more rain the rest of the week. I guess I'll have test the pool daily until this weather passes.

 

[Tsudduth]

Ok the ph is back down to 7.7 and the pool is still hazy with a sickly greenish tint. I'm thinking I need to start a slam. This mornings test results are:

FC 2
CC .5
pH 7.7
CYA 35

Got more rain yesterday and more coming for the next several days. Should I wait on the slam until rain has passed and just try to maintain target FC of 7 or should I start slam today.

 

[mknauss]

Lower your pH to 7.2 and SLAM away! Use 40 as your CYA number.

Rain will not hamper the SLAM - though you might get wet adding bleach and brushing. But summer in Midland is normally pretty warm so it might be nice to cool off!

Take care.

 

[Tsudduth]

Slam complete. Crystal clear water again. I've narrowed down the culprit to my pool ladder. It has hollow rungs and leg extensions in the pool and I failed to clean them proprely before putting them in the pool.