Is TA too high

[tagteamcomputing]

My latest test is:
chlorin: 7.5
PH: 8.2
CYA: 70
TA: 130
CH: 275
Salt: 3800

It seems my TA is too high and my PH keeps rising pretty quickly. On the 15th of this month, my PH was at 8.2 so I added 20oz of MA which brought it down to 7.5 and now it is back to 8.2 a little less than 10 days later. Is this normal? I do have one waterfall that splashes into the pool from the hot tub. It is not a hard one with a ton of water it basically dribbles over the hot tub into the pool.

 

[PoolGate]

Yeah it is about normal. My 30k gallon pool needs a gallon a week. You could try lowering the T/A which is basically pre-loading acid into the pool. I did it once and quite frankly it wasn't worth the effort. It takes like a week or so with the waterfalls constantly running. I think I ended up getting it down maybe 20 points.

 

[Mdragger88]

Just keep doing what you’re doing & ta will fall over time with every acid addition or you can actively try to lower it.
But really needing acid every week to 10 days isn’t too bad.
A higher ta alone isn’t a problem but All the factors make up your csi so be sure to turn on csi tracking in
PoolMath

Lower Total Alkalinity

A lower Total Alkalinity level can help a pool owner stabalize their pH increase. We'll explain how to lower TA with a little help from muriatic acid.

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Calcium Saturation Index (CSI)

How is CSI calculated? Very simple – by using the PoolMath tool. To ensure long plaster life and save money, click here to learn more

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[JoyfulNoise]

You should also measure the pH/TA/CH of your fill water. If you add a lot of highly alkaline water to the pool each day, the pH will rise. The easiest routine is to let your pH get above 7.9 and then only knock it down to 7.6 or so. Don’t go any lower. As you cycle between 7.9 and 7.6, the TA will eventually drop down and stabilize at a level that matches your acid additions. You can try to drive the TA lower but if you try to lower it too far from what your fill water is, you’re just fighting a losing battle.

 

[tagteamcomputing]

I did not realize that it would be so frequent to add MA. Great idea to test my fill water. It tested and PH is 7.6 and TA is 130 with CH at 150. So it makes sense that if I am going to try to keep around 7.5 then if I add regular water it will actually make the PH go up a bit just from filling and the TA will stay high. It also explains why my CH is on the low side bc I don't have much in my fill water and I thought I did so I usually did not add much CH increaser.
I will just plan on adding MA much more regularly and keeping it between 7.6 and 7.9 if I can. I see now why people who want to automate put in a peristaltic pump to feed the acid and keep it at a certain range.

I have been trying to track my fill water and it looks like I end up using fill water at least 2-3 hours per month so does anyone have any methods for testing fill water? I would imagine you do something like fill a 5 gallon bucket and time that and extrapolate. I have a timer on my faucet so I can keep the flow rate pretty static.

Also, does anyone have any recommendations on using a peristaltic pump to feed the acid?

 

[pjt]

anyone have any methods for testing fill water?

Are you asking for the flow rate of water into your pool? If so, use your water meter. It may give you an instantaneous flow rate (mine does) or you can fill for a set time and compare the starting and ending meter readings.

 

[tagteamcomputing]

Yeah my meter is out in the ground in a pretty dirty hole. It is not digital and I don't think that I would be able to get an accurate reading from it.

 

[mknauss]

You can get a hose end water meter. Orbit. About $20.