Low TA and CH Readings ..... should i do anything??

[ship of fools]

I believe i know the answer(s) but figure it is worth checking

FC 5
CC 0
TC 5
PH 7.5
CYA 30
TA 50
CH 40

Water is crystal clear and has been all year and i have had no issues at all with water quality since becoming a BBB'r before the 2012 season

It is a vinyl pool so i assume the low CH reading means nothing?

As far as the TA goes my ph doesn't swing wildly and i have seen a very gradual increase since opening .... 7.2 or so to start in May and it creeped up to 7.8 or so in two months so i brought it down just a little.

Should i mess with the TA?? What is the thought process behind leaving it or raising it??

Thanks in advance

 

[BoDarville]

Your numbers look fine. Wouldn't mess with TA just for the sake of messing with it.

What is the thought process behind leaving it or raising it??

TA is a measure of the water's ability to buffer pH changes. If it were too low or too high, your pH would either be unstable and erratic or spike up quickly. If it is taking two months for your pH to increase from 7.2 to 7.8, I'd say that is pretty stable.

Still continue to test TA a couple of times a month, though.

It is a vinyl pool so i assume the low CH reading means nothing?

Correct.

 

[JasonLion]

I would raise TA just a little, to 60 or 70.

 

[ship of fools]

I would raise TA just a little, to 60 or 70.

Would / could you explain why?? .... i am not being difficult .. just trying to learn more

 

[JasonLion]

When TA is too low, the PH tends to swing around more than one would prefer. Any chemical addition causes the PH to change at least a little. The lower the TA, the more the PH changes. You might not notice this if you test at the same time each day, as it will tend to return to normal by the next day.

You can get by with TA at 50, especially if nothing dramatic happens (like algae), but unless you also have borates in the water, TA of 60 is a safer number. With borates TA can go down to 40 safely.