Start-up after Drain

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Yes, it has very strong fumes. The reagent is maybe 2 months old, and the bottle doesn't appear to be stained. According to the calculator, my pH would have to have been over 9 with the amount of acid I have added and it still not showing. However, I haven't really seen any color change at all. I'm kinda at a loss I guess till I either get a sample to the PS or wait till my TF kit comes in. I may do some experimenting. If anyone else has any ideas, I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks.
 
OK. Tested our tap water with the reagent, pH 7.8+. Tested our RO water, showed lowest scale or lower. That tells me the reagent is good. So I added about 2ml of water from a cup of water I diluted some acid in to the tester with tap water. pH dropped again from 7.8+ to lowest number or lower. That tells me the acid is good.

So, if the reagent and acid appear to be good, should I add another 6oz to the pool? Or wait till my TF kit comes in. It shipped yesterday, so I'm expecting it by Wednesday.
 
The next thing to double check is the TA test. If your TA was higher than you think it is that would account for what you are seeing. High TA can also cause the PH to go up fairly quickly, so if TA is higher PH could actually be going back up after you lower it with acid.

In the meantime, adding another 6 oz to the pool is fine.
 
That is a conundrum. The dilemma is, do you trust the test or not?
Have you looked at the bottle to see what strength the acid is? There have been reports of 14.5% acid in some places. That would require a lot more acid to move the pH, also if your TA is not 90 but higher, it'll take more acid to move the pH.

ETA -- Jason and I were typing at the same time again!
 
Since I was showing a pH of 7.8+ on my test kit, I figured I'd add enough MA to bring it down to 7.2. So, I added about 14oz last night and tested it about an hour later. It seemed to have brought it down to about 7.5. Progress? Tested it today, seems to be back up to 7.8. TF kit should be here tomorrow. I'll test everything tomorrow and post the results here. Since Saturday afternoon, I've added about 33oz of MA!!!!!
 
I can't remember the exact time frame but I added a couple gallons of 10.5% MA pretty quick when I first filled then had to add a gallon a week until I finally got my TA to a reasonable number. I still add a cup or two a week, especially when I'm adding water due to evaporation. Fill water is simply high TA and pH.
 
What were your chemical readings before draining the pool?

Were there any particular issues that prompted the drain and refill?

Did you have scale buildup on the walls?

Do you have anything that agitates the water, such as a waterfall etc?
 
I drained the pool because my TDS was probably 3000 plus, and the PS said I needed to. The pool is going into it's 4th season here in Vegas, and the consensus seems to be that pools need to be drained every 1 to 3 years here. I don't have the previous readings (PS may be able to get them for me). I never noticed any sort of build up on the walls. I have cleaned the filters, but I know they need to be replaced (waiting to close on the house). We have a waterfall, but it hasn't been on.
 
Just an FYI, TDS is not a good indicator of when you need to drain, though it is somewhat related. In that area you probably do need to drain, or get an RO treatment, every few years. The best way to tell when you need to do that is a CH test result.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
I received my TF Kit today. Here are the results. Drum Roll Please!!

FC: 2.5
CC: 0.0
TC: 2.5
pH: 8.0+ Hard to tell exactly
T/A: 160
CH: 380 Wasn't sure if I was supposed to mix after each drop of R-0012, or mix at all. So, I sorta did both. Results pretty close to same.
CYA: 40
Temp: 65

What I get out of this: This is new fill water (less than a week). My T/A and CH are high naturally. There's nothing I can do about the CH. It's going to take a higher than normal amount of MA to bring the pH within limits. I can bring the T/A down by adding enough acid to bring the pH below normal, then bring up to range.

So, I need to start adding acid. How much can I add at a time? I've read things that say to add no more than xx amount per 10K gallons at a time. I need to add my nightly chlorine as well. Where do I start?

Thanks.
 
Run the calculator as if it the pH was 8.0 and add enough to get it down to 7.2 Test an hour or so later and see what affect it had. Obviously have pump running at least a half hour before adding acid and for an hour afterwards.

I don't think there is a limit as long as you use reasonable doses and test in between. JasonLion or others can help you there.
 
I added the MA plus a little to bring the pH from 8 down to 7.2. It worked. I also tested the CH again last night making sure I mixed it after each drop. I think it might be closer to about 350. It kind of depends on what you think is blue. It's pretty obvious when it is no longer pink, but seems subjective going from clear to blue. Are we talking the slightest tinge of blue? Also the CH test has slightly different requirement if you have copper in the water. How would I know if there was copper in the water?
 
The proper way to perform the tests is to keep dropping until the last drop doesn't change the color, then don't count the drop(s) that didn't make a change. If you have copper the colors will be different but the test is still good.

As a side note. The CH test is MUCH easier to perform if you have a magnetic stirrer (i.e. the speedstir). You let it do the stiring and all you have to do is concentrate on dropping the drops every few seconds. Also when done properly it takes a long time by hand to perform the test.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply