Just overwhelmed

Jump to latest Follow Reply
I see those samples as 7.8 all day. Personally, I like holding mine up to the sky. It may change the absolute color but it changes it for the sample as well as the control block. The comparison is still valid. As others have said, whether it's 7.8 or higher, it wouldn't hurt to bring it down a bit. Look at pool math, assume you're at 7.8, put in enough acid to bring it down by .3 (to 7.5, the next lower color) and retest tomorrow. You could get a little more aggressive and add enough to bring it down to 7.2 but I would only do that if you're experiencing pH creeping up. You don't want to bring it too low. You just want to be comfortable that you're under 8. Eventually, you'll get comfortable evaluating your colors.
 
Squatting Hen said:
What is considered rising PH? How much does it have to rise over how long? Is adding a cup or two of acid weekly normal? Is there a normal?
Click to expand...
A few things can raise pH. I’m not sure about them all, but I know running water features that cause aeration can raise pH. I also know that balancing total alkalinity will tend to stabilize pH. Many people have pH that continually increases. The amount you have to add and how often would be very specific to your pool.
 
Squatting Hen said:
What is considered rising PH? How much does it have to rise over how long? Is adding a cup or two of acid weekly normal? Is there a normal?
Click to expand...
If the pH test result goes to a higher number, you have rising pH.
For some, a cup or two of acid weekly is normal, for others it may be too much or too little to keep their pH in check.
Every pool is different. Normal is what is normal for your pool. My normal is different then yours or others.

Adding acid will eventually lower the TA. Once TA gets to 60-ish, the pH should probably stabilize around 7.8-8.0.
But any fill water added that has a different pH and TA than the pool can effect this.
 
proavia said:
Once TA gets to 60-ish, the pH should probably stabilize around 7.8-8.0.
Click to expand...
^^^^^^This.
@Squatting Hen My water is probably from the same source as yours. My TA finally settled at 60 and pH
became much more stable. It took a while but as you've read/heard most any pH reading in the 7’s is good.
TA will eventually find it's happy spot as you dose the pH.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Newdude
My TA and pH has been stable since day 1 at 80 and 7.8. I had to add a small amount of acid once this year. I am lucky my fill water from the tap is happy.
 
So the PH should stay pretty stable in a perfect scenario? Tested again today and it seemed to rise a bit but hard to tell. Maybe 7.6/7.7 to 7.7/7.8.

My chlorine was 12 and that was even after I lowered the swg to 10%. Might turn it off for a bit tomorrow.

Guess maybe my TA is a little high too.
 
Squatting Hen said:
So the PH should stay pretty stable in a perfect scenario? Tested again today and it seemed to rise a bit but hard to tell. Maybe 7.6/7.7 to 7.7/7.8.

My chlorine was 12 and that was even after I lowered the swg to 10%. Might turn it off for a bit tomorrow.

Guess maybe my TA is a little high too.
Click to expand...
There is no perfect scenario. Just when you suspect it's perfect, some unknown (wind, dust, debris, swimmers, fill water, etc) will come by to disrupt your perfect scenario. This is why there are recommended ranges - poolwater chemistry is constantly changing.

Seems you may be getting lost in the weeds with trying to be too precise with what you think the final reading is.
Do the tests accurately and report the result

Your TA could be high or low - but without posting test results, we don't really know.

Your pH being 7.6/7.7 to 7.7/7.8 means it's in the 7's, probably between 7.6 and 7.8. Just pick a number and don't over analyze it.

When you provide test results, just post the results you see - and ask for any possible changes needed.
Round CYA to the next multiple of 10 if the reading falls between (55 is rounded up to 60, etc).

Only do the tests you need to do that day.
Do FC and pH daily.

FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA
Water temperature

Or better yet, enter them into PoolMath and click save.
Also, share your PoolMath logs - you need to sign into PoolMath using the same email and password as you use for your forum account - and then turn on sharing in PM settings.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lilypad and Newdude
I have pretty much been adding a cup of MA every few days as the PH looks high. Seems a bit much/excessive. But obviously I am new to this so, maybe that’s normal.

Seems like the pool people were adding some each time they came out as well, just more at once.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
So Wednesday, Sunday, and today I have added about a 1/2 - 1 cup or so of MA. My PH seems to want to sit at around 8 - 8.1.

Pool math, CSI actually gives me a better number at 8 compared to anything lower.

Just curious if I should be adding MA every few days to keep it under 8.
 
Is there some other numbers I have that are just off, that I need to correct? Pretty confusing on this CSI rating. My pool tends to want to stay around a PH of 8, from what I can tell. That show my CSI is good. But if I try to lower it to 7.4 or even 7.6, the CSI is much worse.

Do I still try to aim for 7.4 - 7.6 even though my CSI is worse or keep it around 8?
 

Attachments

  • IMG_3033.png
    IMG_3033.png
    78.1 KB · Views: 11
  • IMG_3034.png
    IMG_3034.png
    66.3 KB · Views: 11
Last edited:
Needing some cold weather help.

PH is always rising over 8, so I basically have to add MA weekly. No big deal, but just something I have to keep adding.

Weather here is between 40-65 range and I have liquid chlorine ready to go.

I assume I should be turning down my salt generator. It was at 18% and checking the chlorine today it was at 15, which is about double I should be around. I turned off the generator and can turn it back on when the numbers are down and I can also put it at 10%.

But, should I be turning it off entirely and just use liquid in the cooler months? I planted on having liquid on hand and only using it when it was too cold for the generator to work.

What’s the best plan/option for the cooler months?
 
Squatting Hen said:
Needing some cold weather help.

PH is always rising over 8, so I basically have to add MA weekly. No big deal, but just something I have to keep adding.

Weather here is between 40-65 range and I have liquid chlorine ready to go.

I assume I should be turning down my salt generator. It was at 18% and checking the chlorine today it was at 15, which is about double I should be around. I turned off the generator and can turn it back on when the numbers are down and I can also put it at 10%.

But, should I be turning it off entirely and just use liquid in the cooler months? I planted on having liquid on hand and only using it when it was too cold for the generator to work.

What’s the best plan/option for the cooler months?
Click to expand...
The generator will stop working when the water is lower than ~55F anyway so probably about time to shut it off. No point in having it powered on and not doing anything.
 
Last edited:
Starting to warm up here so I turned the generator back on today. Went through about two gallons of liquid chlorine.

Tested everything today and here is what I got

TC/FC: 6.5
PH: 8-8.1 (added 1 cup or so of acid)
CH: 300
TA: 60
CYA: 60-70
Salt: 2800

PH is always rising. Always at 8+ when I test it and I add acid weekly.

Is that because any of my other numbers need to be adjusted? Is the TA too low?

I know we don’t go by adjusted TA, but that’s even lower.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply