Stabilizing PH

[westonstu.09]

Hello, just wondering how often you guys are adding muriatic acid to lower the ph? My ph consistently goes up every few days and I have to add anywhere from 6-12oz of acid to drop it back down every couple days. Just wondering if that is the normal. You can see my test and logs in poolmath. I’ve made sure the return jets are just breaking the surface to not agitate it. I don’t have anything else that would aerate the water either. I thought it was my TA but lowered that from 70-60 as I have seen on here that helps.

Pool has never looked better since I started taking over the care and have learned an incredible amount from here

 

[Newdude]

I last added MA in June 2023.

How high does the PH get ?

How much are you lowering it ?

How old is the pool ?


Ooooh. Please excuse my terrible manners. Belated Welcome to TFP !!! I musta missed your intro thread, apologies again for that.

 

[ajw22]

Yup, that can be the norm for some plaster pools.

Return jets should not break the surface at all. Point them straight or down.

Why did you add baking soda a month ago? Let your TA reach its natural equilibrium.

 

[westonstu.09]

I started taking care of the pool myself about a month ago and all of the chemicals were out of whack from the pool service so I was adding everything to get the chemicals to the right levels

 

[westonstu.09]

I last added MA in June 2023.

How high does the PH get ?

How much are you lowering it ?

How old is the pool ?


Ooooh. Please excuse my terrible manners. Belated Welcome to TFP !!! I musta missed your intro thread, apologies again for that.

I don’t know how high it will get. I always add acid when I see it’s above the recommended levels. I just add how much poolmath says to lower it to 7.6. Not sure how old the pool is exactly. House was built in 2010 and I moved in here last year

 

[Newdude]

Ok so the pool isn't new. Plaster has a big MA appetite as it cures the first year.

Another frequent headache is folks chasing ideal levels in the low 7s that ask for a quick bounce back.

Try shifting to 7.8 instead of 7.6 and see if that helps any. Dose at 8+, mix for 15 mins and retest to make sure you hit the target. Repeat as necessary. Occasionally you might goof to 7.6 and thats totally fine when it happens.

 

[ajw22]

I started taking care of the pool myself about a month ago and all of the chemicals were out of whack from the pool service so I was adding everything to get the chemicals to the right levels

Don’t touch your TA unless it hits 40 and then come back here and let’s discuss.

What is the pH, TA, and CH of your fill water?

 

[westonstu.09]

Don’t touch your TA unless it hits 40 and then come back here and let’s discuss.

What is the pH, TA, and CH of your fill water?

I have not tested that yet, but it looks like I’ll be doing that tomorrow

 

[pjt]

How are you testing?

 

[westonstu.09]

I use the TF-pro kit from here for my testing.

How are you testing?