ph high

Jump to latest Follow Reply
S

sas90

0
Jul 31, 2017
105
edmond/ok
I've read several posts some dating back awhile regarding high ph (8.0 and even higher) and some seem conflicting or not as concerned as others. So, i thought i would start a new post just to see what responses I get for my situation.

I believe my signature has the details but i have a fiberglass pool (installed summer 2015) with sand filter and in-line chlorinator (which i shut off and strictly use household bleach, which i understand naturally has a higher ph, for sanitation due to a problem i had last year with high CYA and maintaining FC levels - which is now resolved after draining/filling and SLAM).

my ph has been fluctuating around 7.8-8.2 with everything else WNL when comparing to the chart for fiberglass pools. should i be that concerned about lowering the ph to 7.6 when everything else is good? i have added some muriatic acid (based on pool math) three times now without much if any change in ph. sometimes, it seems to be even higher the next day after adding muriatic acid. i thought it might be my reagents (bought it end of last summer) so i purchased a ph meter, calibrated, and it came up with similar results - 8.1. we haven't had much if any rain which understand can cause ph to rise. i do keep my pool open over the winter months and only circulate when below freezing or as needed for cleaning/adding chemicals.

latest pool chemistry
Chlorine - 4
TA 100
CYA 40
Calcium hardness 230

some posts say don't worry if all else is well while others seem to be really concerned when ph is 8.0 or higher and the need to add chemicals to lower it. just want to see what the general consensus is present day.

thank you
 
Muriatic Acid will lower pH when added in the correct amount - assuming that your acid is the concentration listed in PoolMath. Often, "pool" acid is sold at half-strength, so while PoolMath is telling you to add, say, 12oz, you add 12oz and don't see a big reduction in pH. Check the concentration on your bottle of acid and make sure it matches PoolMath.

As mentioned, keep your pH between 7.2 and 8.0. You'll need to add acid from time to time to make this happen - keep on top of it.
 
thanks for all the comments! this is my 3rd summer with the pool; never had an issue with ph but used to use tabs instead of household bleach. my TA has always been around 100-120. i'm adding the amount of muriatic acid based on the concentration i purchased at the local hardware store.
i don't have any fountains or water features either.
so, the general consensus is lower my ph; i guess i'll add more muriatic acid and hope it lowers it. since i've switched to household bleach (8.25%) will this (high ph) be a constant issue? based on cfherrmann's comment that bleach is ph neutral where the tabs were acidic (assume that helped keep the ph in check)?
thanks again
 
Unless you are consistently adding high TA fill water due to evaporation your TA will come down with each pH addition and eventually you will get to a balance point. Then you should be able to reduce the amount of acid you are adding.

You are correct that in the past with the use of trichlor, your pH was being held in check even though your TA was high. Now you need a lower TA to support a balanced pH with the use of liquid chlorine.

Take care.
 
Thanks for your reply mknauss! You've always helped me out in the past. :)
I'll work on lowering the ph.

Is there a preferred method for chlorination - tabs or household bleach? I know tabs add a little stabilizer and apparently help with ph. It's just we inherited our pool with a high CYA. It took me two summers to get that resolved. I just don't want to have that problem again.
 
Your primary source of chlorination should be liquid chlorine or a SWCG. For those times you go out of town for a few days to a week, you can use the tabs then. Just be sure to test your CYA when you return and adjust your target FC for the increased CYA.

Take care.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
so - i checked my fill water (it's been a very dry winter here and i've had to add water about every month since summer); our fill water has TA of 260! thanks mknauss for making me realize that's a factor in this equation. today, my ph is 7.4 using the ph meter so i plan to drop it a little further because my TA is still 100 and if we don't get enough rain soon, i will need to add more water to the pool because it's getting on the low side for the skimmer to work properly.
thanks again for everyone's comments!
 
That high TA fill water will require you to keep MA on hand and probably add every week. Yes the tabs were keeping your pH in check but at the cost of not being able to control your CYA as you (and most of us here) have discovered. Remember to keep MA and Chlorine stored separately. Chlorine should be stored in doors or certainly out of the sun/heat to maintain freshness and concentration levels.
 
thank you peirek! I was thinking i will need to do that from now on (keep MA on hand and add much more frequently, until this year i never had to worry about that); and yes, i store those chemicals separately! unless there's a compelling reason, probably won't ever go back to the tabs mainly because of the CYA issue i experienced.
thanks again to all for being so helpful on this forum.
have a great day!
 
Hello
I've gotten my TA down to 80 it was 120 about a month ago. My ph still seems to creep back up hovering around 7.7/7.8 without anything else being added to the water during this time other than liquid chlorine (household bleach 8.25%) to keep my FC levels WNL and of course, muriatic acid (31.45%) to bring it back down around 7.2. my assumption is if i don't add muriatic acid while my ph is WNL, that it might quickly get back out of range and from what i've read, it's important to keep it WNL.
this process (adding muriatic acid) has occurred daily to every other day since i first posted about my high ph (3/22/18) and we're not into summer yet which i can only assume may be more difficult to manage once swimmers, temperatures, and other factors occur.
there's maybe been 2 days where we had rain (one was just a light mist); other than that, i have not used fill water hoping to get my TA down (which i've done) and stabilize my ph (which doesn't seem to have occurred yet) before adding back to the problem of my ph.
my question - will this (continual need to add muriatic acid) be common (daily to every other day) for my situation or should i expect it to be less frequent (maybe weekly even?) at some point? what would my ideal TA be for this situation? i know 80 is WNL but maybe i need to get it even lower?
thank you for any thoughts
 
cfherrman said:
What's wnl?

My fill ta is like yours, I'm planning on rigging up a acid injection into the fill hose to get a head start on the ta
Click to expand...

WNL - within normal limits
technically, my levels are WNL but I also know i will soon need to add water (pool getting low at skimmer) and my fill water has TA 260.
your solution sounds interesting; but how do you plan to rig something like that up when i believe muriatic acid should be handled with extreme caution?
 
Same as acid or clorine injection with a pool except you hook your garden hose into a pvc fitting with the injection fitting and that hooks into your pool plumbing or fill line.

Will have to do a lot of tuning so the pool pH doesn't crash, not sure how well it will work but there is ststems like this for drinking water
 
cfherrman said:
Same as acid or clorine injection with a pool except you hook your garden hose into a pvc fitting with the injection fitting and that hooks into your pool plumbing or fill line.

Will have to do a lot of tuning so the pool pH doesn't crash, not sure how well it will work but there is ststems like this for drinking water
Click to expand...

interesting - good luck!

- - - Updated - - -

re-posting to see if i can get other responses to "my questions" below -

I've gotten my TA down to 80 it was 120 about a month ago. My ph still seems to creep back up hovering around 7.7/7.8 without anything else being added to the water during this time other than liquid chlorine (household bleach 8.25%) to keep my FC levels WNL and of course, muriatic acid (31.45%) to bring it back down around 7.2. my assumption is if i don't add muriatic acid while my ph is WNL, that it might quickly get back out of range and from what i've read, it's important to keep it WNL.
this process (adding muriatic acid) has occurred daily to every other day since i first posted about my high ph (3/22/18) and we're not into summer yet which i can only assume may be more difficult to manage once swimmers, temperatures, and other factors occur.
there's maybe been 2 days where we had rain (one was just a light mist); other than that, i have not used fill water hoping to get my TA down (which i've done) and stabilize my ph (which doesn't seem to have occurred yet) before adding back to the problem of my ph.
my questions - will this (continual need to add muriatic acid) be common (daily to every other day) for my situation or should i expect it to be less frequent (weekly or less?) at some point? what is an ideal TA for this situation? i know 80 is WNL but does it need to be lower to minimize the ph increases?
thank you for any thoughts
 
From what I understand, pH is on a logarithmic scale. Generally, your pool will rise from 7.2-7.6 faster than it will from 7.6 to 7.8. Anything below 8.0 is ok, so if your pool tends to hover well at 7.8, stop fighting it and let it hover. I test pH daily when I test chlorine. When it finally reaches 8.0, I'll add acid to drop it to around 7.4 or so, and then let it come up again. Fighting it down to 7.2 and trying to hold it there may be counterproductive if your pool just likes 7.8 or so. :)

How long does it take for your pool to go from 7.2 to 8.0?
 

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