I need some advice on how to get PH and TA under control so I can SLAM my swamp of a pool. At opening, PH was extremely high. The solution was purple so I have a feeling that PH was over 8.0. TA was 60. I added muriatic acid (using pool math) and I must of added too much because PH was only 6.8 and TA was only 2.0 afterwards. I made the mistake of going to a pool store for water testing and they told me to add some soda ash since it would increase PH and TA at the same time. I ignored their dosage advice, and added the amount on the pool math calculator and it increased TA to 50 but it increased PH to 8.0 which was much higher than my target of 7.2. Since I carefully measured it out and only added the amount that the pool math calculator said, I don't understand how this happened. Since I need to SLAM my swamp of a pool, I assume that I need to lower it with muriatic acid again but I'm worried about making another mistake since I'm eager to SLAM. Since TA is only 50, do I need to increase TA with some baking soda before I lower the PH with some acid, since the acid will lower the TA, or wait and increase it if the muriatic acid lowers it? If so, what TA level should I shoot for and how long would I need to wait between adding the baking soda and adding the muriatic acid since both affect PH? Since I'm apparently bad at determining how much muriatic acid I'm pouring into the pool, I'm open to any suggestions on how I can safely measure out the dose next time. If I used one of the safer "green" muriatic acids like "Jasco Green" or "Kleen Strip Green," could I pour it into a plastic measuring pitcher (wearing gloves and goggles, of course) like I do with the liquid chlorine?
PH & TA troubles after opening pool
- Thread starter poolnewbie4
- Start date
- Jun 22, 2014
- 47,872
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Sounds like you got yourself caught in the dosage yo-yo game. 
It happens. I suspect the pH bounced around more than you anticipated because the TA was already so low. 50 is about as low as you want to be. You can try adding just enough acid to lower the pH to about 7.2-7.4. Once you confirm it is there, check the TA. If the TA remained at 50 you're fine. Even if it dipped to 40, you could probably just address that after the SLAM with some baking soda. If you try to get too picky with the TA right now, you'll play ping-pong with the pH.
It happens. I suspect the pH bounced around more than you anticipated because the TA was already so low. 50 is about as low as you want to be. You can try adding just enough acid to lower the pH to about 7.2-7.4. Once you confirm it is there, check the TA. If the TA remained at 50 you're fine. Even if it dipped to 40, you could probably just address that after the SLAM with some baking soda. If you try to get too picky with the TA right now, you'll play ping-pong with the pH.
If I start the SLAM with a TA of 40, will this cause the PH to rise more than expected during the SLAM and reduce the effectiveness of the chlorine? Also, since I just added some liquid CYA to the pool, how long do I need to wait before adding the muriatic acid? They claim that it is PH neutral, so I wasn't sure if I needed to wait very long before adding the muriatic acid and starting the SLAM.
- May 3, 2014
- 58,522
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
A TA of 40 will not push the pH up. And the effectiveness of chlorine is not that effected by pH, as long as you have CYA in the water. The main reason we wish you to start with a pH of 7.2-7.5 is that you cannot test it during the SLAM as your FC will be above 10 ppm.
Add your MA now as Pat described. Let it mix for 30 minutes or so and test the pH and TA. As Pat instructed.
Then get on with the SLAM. That is job one.
Add your MA now as Pat described. Let it mix for 30 minutes or so and test the pH and TA. As Pat instructed.
Then get on with the SLAM. That is job one.
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