Start-up after Drain

[JamesW]

It's possible that you have some residual calcium carbonate scale on the walls that is contributing to the pH, TA and calcium.

You can go here to see demo videos of each of the tests. Just scroll down the list at the bottom to select the test you want to see performed.

Watch the
General Test Interferences:
Calcium Hardness Test [updated 3/10/10]
video, which shows how to do the calcium hardness test when there is copper present (or suspected) in the water.

 

[phipsi1237]

My fill water CH is about 350, same as the pool right now. I'm not sure, but that tells me that scaling shouldn't be an issue. The MA I added tonight brought the pH back down to 7.2. I'll test again tomorrow to see if the pH jumps back up. If so, any ideas. The high TA of 160 can cause the rapid increase in pH, right?

 

[dmanb2b]

TA of 160 will do it

 

[phipsi1237]

pH held overnight. I'm running pump now though. I redirected a couple of returns. One was hitting the top of the water, not bubbling though. Changed the direction of another. Should I turn the water fall on now to get the TA down, knowing that will increase the pH?

 

[JasonLion]

The waterfall sounds like a great idea.

 

[phipsi1237]

I dropped the pH to 7.2 once already, and it jumped back up on it's on. It didn't lower the TA though. Waterfall is running now. We'll see what that does when I test again tonight. Also, not sure that it affects pH, but the pool is in direct sunlight for probably 9 or 10 hours a day. Thanks for everyone's help. Y'all are amazing.

 

[JasonLion]

Aeration raises the PH without changing the TA. Adding acid lowers both the PH and the TA. However, depending on how much acid you add it might not lower TA enough for it to register on the test.

 

[phipsi1237]

Still fighting with pH and TA. Guess it's just a matter of lowering the pH to get that TA down. With the aeration, how often should I check the pH. Does pH stop climbing eventually? Or will it just go and go?

I figured I'd post a photo. I can't complain. Thanks to TFP for my sparkling pool. :-D

 

[JasonLion]

It depends on how much aeration you have and how high your TA level is. The rate at which PH increases slows down dramatically the higher the PH gets. So you can usually go 24 hours between PH tests. However, with high TA levels and lots of aeration you might not be able to wait that long. If left alone long enough the PH will usually get way too high, so you don't want to completely ignore it. Once you have done it once, you can count on subsequent rounds taking longer, because the TA will be lower each time.