pH adjustment

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blue180m

Member
May 8, 2024
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Hi all,

I am going through the SLAM method, and honestly, I’m not really sure if I got pH right before adding the chlorine. I think I had it at 7.4 before, but now I’m doubting myself.

Using the Taylor FAS-DPD for chlorine and HTH 6 way kit for the others
FC: 12
CC: 1
CYA: 30
TA: 80

I measured my pH now, and I know it’s not accurate at FC over 10, but it reads 7.8. I’ve been doing the SLAM method for 3 days now keeping my FC at 12 or slightly above, and the water hasn’t improved any at least that I can tell. My question is, should I let FC come down and then check pH and adjust and restart SLAMing the pool, or should I not worry too much about the pH. I’m worried that I’m wasting time and money if the pH is off because I haven’t really seen any improvement yet. Thanks.
 
Welcome to TFP! :wave:

Chances are your FC will be 10 or less in the morning. If so, check the pH then and add acid if needed. Then dose FC to get back to SLAM level.

While in the SLAM, just test FC and dose accordingly.
Once the water is clear and you aren't losing chlorine too fast, perform an OCLT (FC and CC).
 
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blue180m said:
Hi all,

I am going through the SLAM method, and honestly, I’m not really sure if I got pH right before adding the chlorine. I think I had it at 7.4 before, but now I’m doubting myself.

Using the Taylor FAS-DPD for chlorine and HTH 6 way kit for the others
FC: 12
CC: 1
CYA: 30
TA: 80

I measured my pH now, and I know it’s not accurate at FC over 10, but it reads 7.8. I’ve been doing the SLAM method for 3 days now keeping my FC at 12 or slightly above, and the water hasn’t improved any at least that I can tell. My question is, should I let FC come down and then check pH and adjust and restart SLAMing the pool, or should I not worry too much about the pH. I’m worried that I’m wasting time and money if the pH is off because I haven’t really seen any improvement yet. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Three days in a SLAM isnt very long. Whats the wTwr look like?
 
I wasn’t expecting the water to be clear this fast, but it really seems like there has been no improvement at all. The water is green, and I can’t see the bottom.

For context, last season I maintained my pool per the guidelines on Trouble Free Pool with no issues. My wife said she didn’t want the pool anymore, and I just left it open with no maintenance over the winter with the intention of tearing it down this spring. Well, she changed her mind, and I’ve been working on getting it back up. I vacuumed all the leaves out to where now when I vacuum I may just get a few. Been running the pump all day and changing the cartridges several times a day. Brushing the pool once a day.

I did an OCLT last night and had 1.5 ppm loss. FC was 10.5 and CC was 0.5. How long should I expect it to take to clear up? Thanks.
 
blue180m said:
How long should I expect it to take to clear up? Thanks.
Click to expand...
It is dependent on many factors. If you can't see the bottom, may take a week or two.

To improve the speed, check and replace FC every 2-3 hours. The more often you check and replace FC, the faster it will go. Continue running the pump, and cleaning the cartridges regularly, this is good. Note clean filter pressure. When it rises 25% clean them again. (i.e.. if clean pressure is 12, when it hits 15 clean them).
 
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Okay thank you. I’ll keep at it. I just checked FC and it was at 8.5, and then checked pH and it was at 7.6. I’m going to add some dry acid to drop the pH and then add in enough chlorine to get it back to 12.
 
Oh didn’t know that. It seems like it shouldn’t be an issue for me because my calcium hardness is 0 (I didn’t bother with it because I have a vinyl liner) and I have zero concrete around my pool. I used dry acid because the store close to me has it. It’s a 45 min drive to get to a store that has MA for me. I’d prefer to use it, but don’t want to drive to get it. I’ve been using it so far to adjust pH because I have it on hand. Is there any other reason not to use it?
 
It is not clear where you live, or what equipment you have. You might fill out your profile (with location/zip) and signature:

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www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

You are correct, without CH and concrete, your risk is low. Do you have a Salt Water Chlorine Generator? If so, you should not use dry acid.

If you don't have a SWCG,, the only risks of having excess sulfates in the water are 1) it will increase the likelihood of corrosion on metal parts (heaters, ladders etc.) and 2) calcium sulfate crystals which can puncture a liner. (lower probability because of your low CH).

I would not use dry acid. It is a fact that sulfates will build up in the water and destroy metal. We generally discourage the use in pools.
 
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Okay, good to know. No, I don’t have a salt water generator or a heater. This is a cheap above ground pool. The ladder is only in the pool when we swim. Otherwise, I take it out. I probably won’t worry about it, but when I do run out of my current dry acid, I’ll plan to get some MA to use instead for the future.
 
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