pH Will Not Come Down

[rgrountree]

Hello,

I just completed a drain, acid wash, and refill for my pool a little over a week ago. I cannot seem to get my pH down below 8. I have been adding MA upwards of 40 ounces (23,000 gallon pool) per treatement and it does not seem to bring pH down.

FC 2
CC 0
TA 100
pH 8+

Using a Taylor test kit. I was wondering if my reagents were bad/old but took my water to LP and they came back with the same results.

I appreciate any input.

 

[Richard320]

Since a second test shows the same pH, I think we can rule out old or wrong reagents. (R-004 and R-0014 are not interchangeable)

The TA is down to a reasonable number to where adjustments should start showing up as a color change.

It makes me wonder if maybe you're using understrength acid. Did you buy the "safe" or "low-fuming" stuff? Some of that is half-strength but full price, and if you're dosing the pool thinking you're using 31% and it's only 15%, it'll take forever to see any changes.

Did the pool store run the acid demand test? The reagent is acid. By counting drops until the pH changes the color you want, you can then calculate the acid dose. It's really only useful when the pH is waaaay off the scale, like yours. Otherwise, plugging pH and TA into poolmath gets the answer, and more accurately in my experience.