PH continuing to rise - newbie

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J

Jelly roll

0
Aug 22, 2017
13
New Waverly, TX
Fist off, let me state that this is my first post and I have never owned a pool before. We moved into this home at the end of July, this past summer, and I have been trying to get this pool under control. The previous owners were not very much on top of their game with general maintenance. Since we have moved in I have done the following:
1. replaced the filters (you would not have believed their condition)
2. rebuilt the Polaris 280
3. replaced time clocks
4. learned that Leslie's is a joke
5. muriatic acid has become my friend
6. bought a Taylor K-2005 (after learning about #4 above)
7. bought a FAS-DPD test kit (last week thanks to TFP)
8. been following along this website trying to get up to speed with basic maintenance education (thank you to everyone for posting).

Aside from some staining issues that I can not determine what they are (I'll post more on this later), my pool is crystal clear and I'm getting more confidence in what my pool is doing and how to handle some of the basic things. (And trying to read the CYA level is getting better too).

However, recently I am getting beyond frustrated with my PH rise and also slight TA rise.
So once I determined the rise was continuing several weeks back, I have placed a brick over the bubbler to stop the water from exiting the surface. So right now, my pool makes zero noise aside from the occasional tail sweep from my Polaris 280.
But, here's my testing results.........and I'm increasing in PH daily by .1 to .2. I've read somewhere on here to get my TA down to around 50........but maybe I need some encouragement? Or, will a higher TA help keep my PH more steady?


Thur: 10/12/17
FC: 4
TC: 4
CC: 0
PH: 8.0
TA: 70
Hardness: -
CYA: -
Water Temp: 79


-filled water level about 1 inch


Fri: 10/13/17
FC: 3.4
TC: .2
CC: 3.2
PH: 7.9
TA: 80
Hardness: 275
CYA: 70
Water Temp: 80


-Added 50+oz muriatic acid
-adjusted chlorine to 3
-added chlorine tab


Sat: 10/14/17
FC: -
TC: .-
CC: -
PH: 7.4
TA: 70
Hardness: -
CYA: -
Water Temp: 82


-Added about 16 oz of muriatic acid.



Sun: 10/15/17
FC: 4.4
TC: -
CC: 0
PH: 7.2
TA: 60
Hardness: -
CYA: 60
Water Temp: 80


-added one chlorine tablet



Mon: 10/16/17
FC: 5.6
TC: -
CC: 0
PH: 7.6
TA: 65
Hardness: -
CYA: -
Water Temp: 76



Tues: 10/17/17
FC: 6.0
TC: -
CC: 0
PH: 7.7
TA: 70
Hardness: 275
CYA: 70
Water Temp: 73


-added 1 inch of fill water in the morning.
 
Welcome to the forum.

Lowering your TA will help with the pH rise. More on that here: Pool School - Lower Total Alkalinity
Don't aim for 50, just lower TA until the pH rise slows to a point you are happy with. A pH in the 7's is acceptable. Use pool math to keep an eye on your CSI score as well, very important with a plaster pool.

Honestly I'm a little surprised your pH is rising while using 3" tabs, they are acidic and typically keep the pH down. Be careful not to over use the tablets, they continue to add CYA to your water, and you are already very high for a non SWG pool.
 
And I am on well water. I have tested my well water (which comes out after the water softener) and my PH is 7.0 and my TA is 300.
Click to expand...

Your PH is rising due to high TA in your fill well water. In addition your plaster pool is helping with rising PH as well. A combination not very forgiving. The pool is a decent size, but not super large. Maybe inquiring about bring in some water from the outside to lower TA. If not, you will have to stay on top of the PH rise with acid additions. Some pools owners get used to adding acid that it becomes normal. I had about 1.5 years worth of acid additions until my TA went from 130 to about 70-80. Anything over 90 and I am back on the roller coaster ride. Good luck and keep us posted!
 
Welcome to the forum!

With a fill water TA of 300, you will be managing your pH continuously. When are adding fill water, as you will know how much due to no auto-fill, you will have to add more acid to combat that rise in TA. Typically, we say that the TA will settle and your pH will stabilize, but with a fill water TA that high, that will never really happen except when your evaporation is low or you get significant rain water.

Try keeping your pH in the high 7's. When it hits 8, only lower it to 7.6 or 7.8. It should not rise as fast. However, your TA will rise if you are adding fill water. A double edged sword.

I agree to watch out on the use of the pucks. They are detrimental if used for daily maintenance. This time of year you should be able to just add bleach every few days. Once you get to April next year it will be bleach every day unless you install a SWCG.

Take care.
 
I screwed up the CYA during Hurricane Harvey. I thought I would be smart and fill the puck tube with about 6 pucks..............being a rookie at this, I did not know that the pucks contained CYA and thought I was just helping supply a good high dose of chlorine with all of the rain.....I see the negative issues now. And I can't figure out the whole "dial" for chlorine..........but I'll post about my issues on this later.

I thought I would just give the latest results...........

Thurs: 10/19
PH: 7.7
TA: 70
- I added 30oz of acid and checked it 1 hour later. PH was 7.2 and TA was 60

Sat: 10/21
PH: 7.6
TA: 70

Sun: 10/22
PH: 7.7
TA: 70

I'll check it again today, but I'm sure I'll be at 7.8 or higher.
 
7.8 is fine for pH level. Your bubbler will cause some pH rise if you are running it a lot.

With your fill water you will likely always be having to add MA to keep TA at a range that helps to level out your pH. Counter intuitive, lowering pH to 7.2 will not extend the time much for pH rise to 8.0. But, adding this amount of MA will help lower the TA in an attempt to find your pool's happy place.

Have you used PoolMath to calculate your CSI. This is a very critical number to know and understand.
 
Yes. I've been calculating the CSI with each test. I've always been in the good range.....never high or low.

That happy place is what I'm struggling with.

I've heard that getting the TA down to as low as 50 is okay...........is that an accurate statement? I'm worried about going lower than 60, but the PH doesn't seem to really care. I'm just wondering if I need to keep adding acid to lower the TA just to see how my PH reacts. But this daily .2 rise in my PH is irritating.
 
You can try lowering your TA to 50. But with fill water TA of 300, you will be adding acid alot to maintain that.

If your TA gets too low you will know it. Your pH will react dramatically to any acid addition. Just add a touch of baking soda if it happens.

Take care.
 
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