Is my TA too high?

[langerking]

When your doing your TA test are you wiping the tip of the bottle with a damp cloth before you start and after each drop to remove static electricity ?

No I haven't done that, I will try it next time to see if it makes a difference.

 

[danacc]

Now that your pH is at 7.2, you don't need to aerate. There's no harm in aerating, but there's also no harm in just letting your pH drift back up, assuming that's what it still wants to do. I would tend toward laziness, and just watch for another week. If the TA ends up just as high again, then you'll know to aerate so that you can bring it down more. Otherwise, let it drift. Push pH back down if it gets back up to 7.8. See if pH / TA eventually find their own happy place, adjusting only when they start drifting out of range.

 

[Smykowski]

Now that your pH is at 7.2, you don't need to aerate. There's no harm in aerating, but there's also no harm in just letting your pH drift back up, assuming that's what it still wants to do. I would tend toward laziness, and just watch for another week. If the TA ends up just as high again, then you'll know to aerate so that you can bring it down more. Otherwise, let it drift. Push pH back down if it gets back up to 7.8. See if pH / TA eventually find their own happy place, adjusting only when they start drifting out of range.

Great advice. The main tenet of BBB is understanding your pool. If you over aerate and then overcompensate with MA, you'll never figure out where your pool's equilibrium lies.

 

[langerking]

Now that your pH is at 7.2, you don't need to aerate. There's no harm in aerating, but there's also no harm in just letting your pH drift back up, assuming that's what it still wants to do. I would tend toward laziness, and just watch for another week. If the TA ends up just as high again, then you'll know to aerate so that you can bring it down more. Otherwise, let it drift. Push pH back down if it gets back up to 7.8. See if pH / TA eventually find their own happy place, adjusting only when they start drifting out of range.

Great advice. The main tenet of BBB is understanding your pool. If you over aerate and then overcompensate with MA, you'll never figure out where your pool's equilibrium lies.

"pH / TA find their own happy place" - Exactly the words I was looking for and why I have posted what is going on here! This is much appreciated! I could have handled things myself using the wealth of information on this site, but it's so reassuring to have experts direct you from their years of experience.

 

[langerking]

When your doing your TA test are you wiping the tip of the bottle with a damp cloth before you start and after each drop to remove static electricity ?

I performed the test this way and it made a small difference. The solution turned pink with 10 drops. Thanks!

 

[langerking]

Well my pH/TA seem to have found a "Happy Place". I lowered the TA to 70 on September 24th. The pH read 7.0 at that point. I aerated for 4 days (until 9/28) when the pH reached 7.5. The pH gradually increased from there. The TA has remained at 70, last tested on Oct 3rd.

Thanks for everyone's efforts for creating this great website and the people who cheerfully provide answers and useful content every day! I am really thrilled to be able to maintain my pool without having to shock it and/or kill algae every few weeks.

Here are my readings:

 

[Patrick_B]

That's what we are all about. I say it over and over, but it really is pretty easy once you get things in the groove.