Muriatic Acid Question!!!! *pic*

[thefloatqueen]

Ok so the pool is open VERY early and I’ve been testing and trying to get my chemicals adjusted. Confession: this it’s my first time using MA. *gasp!*…I know. I’ve always used dry acid and I’m aware of the bad things about it, so please spare me lol. Point is, I switched to muriatic acid and I’m about to use it for the first time. I have a couple questions.

1. My borates test strips have not arrived yet so I do not know what my borates are. At closing, they were 30ppm. Is this important when it comes to dosing the MA? What should I enter as the number for borates? 30 or should I undershoot it? Last season was my first time using borates.

2. I noticed there are MANY MANY different types/strengths of muriatic acid on the PoolMath app. Here is a photo of the stuff that I bought from Menards while picking up a ton of liquid chlorine lol
:

So my question….is this considered a high strength MA or lower? Which ones are the weakest and which are strongest? May stick to the weakest next time until I’m more comfortable using MA. Sorry for the dumb questions.

Oh, and am I supposed to dilute this stuff in a bucket, or just slowly pour in a measuring cup in front of the return like I do with liquid chlorine? I’ve always been intimidated by MA for some reason and now you see why lol. Thanks in advance!!!


- The Muriatic Acid Phobic Float Queen

 

[mknauss]

Use 31.45% 20 baume in Poolmath.

I would recommend you assume 0 borates. That is conservative. You likely will have to add acid, wait an hour or so, retest, repeat.

Just pour at a pool return with pump on. I would suggest brushing the area after adding.

 

[thefloatqueen]

Use 31.45% 20 baume in Poolmath.

I would recommend you assume 0 borates. That is conservative. You likely will have to add acid, wait an hour or so, retest, repeat.

Just pour at a pool return with pump on. I would suggest brushing the area after adding.

Thank you so much for your help! I assume putting 0 for borates (it probably is zero anyways, but can’t test until the strips arrive) will tell me to add LESS acid than if I were to put a number, correct? I definitely don’t want to drop the pH too much. I will be adding more borates as soon as it gets warmer and I’m able to test for them.

 

[mknauss]

Right. With borates, it takes more acid to lower the pH. So inputting 0 borates, will result in PM indicating a lower amount of acid for a specific pH drop. Circulate, retest, etc.

 

[Newdude]

Remember not to panic if you catch a whiff of fumes. It's nature's way of telling you you're doing it wrong, before there's a problem, and you'll be fine.

If you smell it pouring on your right, pour with your left. Or walk around to the other side that's upwind.

Eyeballing XX ounces is fine. I don't like pouring it into something only to pour *that* into the pool. It's twice the work and more likely you'll get drops on the Jimmy Choos.

 

[thefloatqueen]

Right. With borates, it takes more acid to lower the pH. So inputting 0 borates, will result in PM indicating a lower amount of acid for a specific pH drop. Circulate, retest, etc.

Sounds good! Since I’m trying to also lower my TA, I’ll be dropping it to 7.2 and aerating to get it where I like it to be. I assume this process is exactly the same as when I used dry acid? Also, are there any pool chemicals that should NOT be added shortly before or after MA?

 

[Newdude]

I assume this process is exactly the same as when I used dry acid?

Sure is.

Also, are there any pool chemicals that should NOT be added shortly before or after MA?

Mix it for 20 mins and you're good across the board.


Dang. Santa brought you a ROBOT ????

 

[thefloatqueen]

Remember not to panic if you catch a whiff of fumes. It's nature's way of telling you you're doing it wrong, before there's a problem, and you'll be fine.

If you smell it pouring on your right, pour with your left. Or walk around to the other side that's upwind.

Eyeballing XX ounces is fine. I don't like pouring it into something only to pour *that* into the pool. It's twice the work and more likely you'll get drops on the Jimmy Choos.

Remember not to panic if you catch a whiff of fumes. It's nature's way of telling you you're doing it wrong, before there's a problem, and you'll be fine.

If you smell it pouring on your right, pour with your left. Or walk around to the other side that's upwind.

Eyeballing XX ounces is fine. I don't like pouring it into something only to pour *that* into the pool. It's twice the work and more likely you'll get drops on the Jimmy Choos.

Beat up old Nikes for pool maintenance only, sir! I’m OCD and second-guess/overthink a lot, which is why I always use the measuring cups. Don’t judge.

 

[thefloatqueen]

YE

Sure is.



Mix it for 20 mins and you're good across the board.


Dang. Santa brought you a ROBOT ????


View attachment 559599

YES!!!!! My brand new Dolphin Escape! I named him Carlos, LOL!

 

[Newdude]

As soon as I saw you I had to go check the epic PoolMath notes.

 

[Bperry]

Thank you so much for your help! I assume putting 0 for borates (it probably is zero anyways, but can’t test until the strips arrive) will tell me to add LESS acid than if I were to put a number, correct? I definitely don’t want to drop the pH too much. I will be adding more borates as soon as it gets warmer and I’m able to test for them.

Don’t hold your breath on the borate strips doing much, they are about as accurate as regular test strips. I stopped using borates cause of them.

 

[thefloatqueen]

As soon as I saw you I had to go check the epic PoolMath notes.

I do them just for you guys now, LOL!!!!

 

[Divin Dave]

YES!!!!! My brand new Dolphin Escape! I named him Carlos, LOL!

LOL, I love it! My robot is named Wu-Tang.

Hey, since you are a rookie using Muriatic Acid, let me share something with you. If you know this already, then just ignore me......

If you spill muriatic acid, it stays active for a long time. It can eat up your concrete, kill the dirt your grass grows in and other nasty stuff. WASHING SODA (soda ash) will neutralize spilled muriatic acid.
So if you have a spill, sprinkle a good bit of washing soda over it and it will prevent the damage MA can do. So it doesn't hurts to have some washing soda on hand, for just in case.

 

[rmchambers]

YE

YES!!!!! My brand new Dolphin Escape! I named him Carlos, LOL!

Dealing with any acids even 30% can upset your day. I've worked in semiconductor manufacturing areas and those guys use HF which is way more nasty than HCl.

Treat any acid with respect, if you are worried wear gloves (like dishwashing gloves) which will protect your hands and forearms from splashes and about the worst place a drop of HCL can go is in your eye so eye protection is a good thing. Your acid phobia will keep you safe.

I have a lot of lead-acid batteries with my home-grown solar project. That's sulphuric or sulfuric acid depending on which side of the Atlantic you are from. It's not fun to get on yourself either, eats through your best jeans in a heartbeat.

Another thing to mention is the arch enemy of acids are bases.. Baking soda is a good one to have on hand - it will neutralize spills and then you can spray them away with the hose. I keep a bag of baking soda near my battery bank.

 

[stshields91]

LOL, I love it! My robot is named Wu-Tang.

Hey, since you are a rookie using Muriatic Acid, let me share something with you. If you know this already, then just ignore me......

If you spill muriatic acid, it stays active for a long time. It can eat up your concrete, kill the dirt your grass grows in and other nasty stuff. WASHING SODA (soda ash) will neutralize spilled muriatic acid.
So if you have a spill, sprinkle a good bit of washing soda over it and it will prevent the damage MA can do. So it doesn't hurts to have some washing soda on hand, for just in case.

Thanks for the tips on Acid neutralization! Our Robot is Named Jacques!

 

[RLP]

Just be careful with the acid and you will be fine. Safety glasses are a must. No respirator required, just hold your breath and turn your head the other way if you get a whiff.

No need for accurate measurements. Get an empty gallon jug, and do some practice runs with water.

Pour the water (substituted for acid) slowly into a measured container, and count out the time it takes to pour the amount you need. One potato, two potato, etc.

Then you can count the same when you pour the acid directly from the gallon jug into the pool, in front of the return.

A few ounce's either way will not matter. What's important is to handle the acid the least amount of times that you can.

From the jug, right into the pool. No reason to transfer to another vessel to get an accurate measurement.

After a few times, you'll just strut right up to the pool with the jug, look away and pour it in to a certain count. Mine is about a 4 count every 2 weeks.

 

[Newdude]

A few ounce's either way will not matter

+1. Maybe with a smaller pool you can eyeball 10ths of a gallon instead of the quarters I aim for. Sharpie the bottle with lines until you get a knack for it. But close enough is close enough because each ounce is diluted 960,000 times. (7500g x128oz)

 

[Homebrewale]

No need for accurate measurements. Get an empty gallon jug, and do some practice runs with water.

Pour the water (substituted for acid) slowly into a measured container, and count out the time it takes to pour the amount you need. One potato, two potato, etc.

Then you can count the same when you pour the acid directly from the gallon jug into the pool, in front of the return.

I like this method. Don't know why I have not done it before. I do something similar with my backpack sprayer for the lawn. I have a notebook where I did a lot of test runs with water on the street. I laid out a 1000 sq.ft. area on the street. I knew my sprayer took 2:08 minutes to spray 1 gallon of water. It took me 6 runs to calibrate the speed I needed to walk to cover the area in that time. Now I'll need another notebook for the pool.

 

[thefloatqueen]

LOL, I love it! My robot is named Wu-Tang.

Hey, since you are a rookie using Muriatic Acid, let me share something with you. If you know this already, then just ignore me......

If you spill muriatic acid, it stays active for a long time. It can eat up your concrete, kill the dirt your grass grows in and other nasty stuff. WASHING SODA (soda ash) will neutralize spilled muriatic acid.
So if you have a spill, sprinkle a good bit of washing soda over it and it will prevent the damage MA can do. So it doesn't hurts to have some washing soda on hand, for just in case.

I had no idea! Thank you so much for that information! And I love your robot’s name!

 

[thefloatqueen]

Just be careful with the acid and you will be fine. Safety glasses are a must. No respirator required, just hold your breath and turn your head the other way if you get a whiff.

No need for accurate measurements. Get an empty gallon jug, and do some practice runs with water.

Pour the water (substituted for acid) slowly into a measured container, and count out the time it takes to pour the amount you need. One potato, two potato, etc.

Then you can count the same when you pour the acid directly from the gallon jug into the pool, in front of the return.

A few ounce's either way will not matter. What's important is to handle the acid the least amount of times that you can.

From the jug, right into the pool. No reason to transfer to another vessel to get an accurate measurement.

After a few times, you'll just strut right up to the pool with the jug, look away and pour it in to a certain count. Mine is about a 4 count every 2 weeks.

This was very helpful! I did just this about 40 mins or so ago when I had to add MA. I think I’m getting the hang of this.