I consistently have pH around 8. I add muriatic acid to bring it down to 7.0 or 7.2 to avoid scale buildup on my SWG cell. Invariably it rises back up. I do have a thin stream of water flowing from my spa into the pool just to keep the water in the spa moving. I have seen other posts where users just leave the pH high. I really don't want to have to remove scale from the cell because that eventually wears it out and is expensive to replace (I'm on my 3rd one in 15 years). Any suggestions?
pH in Mesa, AZ
- Thread starter lblomq
- Start date
- May 3, 2014
- 58,778
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
With a 1400 CH and a TA of 80, you are going to be hard pressed to keep scale from forming in the SWCG. It is time for a water exchange.
Ride out the rest of this season, then when November rolls in, do a full drain and refill. If you have a soft water system in your house, look into having it hooked into your autofill, it will help keep that CH way down.
Running your water features will also contibute to Ph rise due to aeration. Mine do but I like the look and if I have to add some MA once or twice a week, it's worth it to me. Couldn’t tell from your posts if you use them etc.
- Feb 6, 2015
- 6,249
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
The last test results you logged in PoolMath were from April 6 - over 4 months ago. If you haven't done a drain/refill since, your CH is probably above 1600. You can easily manage CH to around 1000. Being you are well above that, a water exchange is in your near future. Of course, it's way too hot for that right now. Once the daytime temps get in the upper 70's to low 80's, plan for a full drain refill. Your fill water most likely has a CH of 250 and TA around 110.
Post a complete set of current test results... including water temp and salt level. What test kit are you using? What are you using to test salt level?
For now, keep the pH around 7.2-7.4. Once it gets to 7.4, lower to 7.2. Let the TA drop to 60. TA of 80 will let the pH climb faster. Keeping the pH in the 7.2-7.4 range and TA 60 will help minimize SWG scale buildup. With your CH as high as it is, you may still get some scale buildup. It would help to minimize the spa overflow (keeping aeration to a minimum) - in reality, it probably only needs to overflow 30-60 minutes a day. How long are you running your pump per day?
As was mentioned, look into a water softener and plumb it into your pool refill line. Either that or plan on replacing your pool water every 2 years or so. Here in the valley, your entire pool volume or more can evaporate in a year - and the CH does NOT evaporate with it.
Post a complete set of current test results... including water temp and salt level. What test kit are you using? What are you using to test salt level?
For now, keep the pH around 7.2-7.4. Once it gets to 7.4, lower to 7.2. Let the TA drop to 60. TA of 80 will let the pH climb faster. Keeping the pH in the 7.2-7.4 range and TA 60 will help minimize SWG scale buildup. With your CH as high as it is, you may still get some scale buildup. It would help to minimize the spa overflow (keeping aeration to a minimum) - in reality, it probably only needs to overflow 30-60 minutes a day. How long are you running your pump per day?
As was mentioned, look into a water softener and plumb it into your pool refill line. Either that or plan on replacing your pool water every 2 years or so. Here in the valley, your entire pool volume or more can evaporate in a year - and the CH does NOT evaporate with it.
- May 3, 2014
- 58,778
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
It is possible to do a water exchange whenever you wish. No need to drain the pool of water.
It would be tough Marty to do a water exchange during this time of year. Tap water is hot, pool water is hot, it’s just friggen hot! 
- May 3, 2014
- 58,778
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Not really. With that calcium level, and most likely pretty high salinity, the pool water weighs quite a bit more than the tap water.
Similar threads
