I have not had this problem before. Refilled the spa yesterday and initial TA 230. I did the acid/aerate routine a few times and I think I was over-zealous with this. Since my pH was getting less variable, I checked the TA again, and when I was putting the 5 drops of R-0008 in the tube, the water turned red instead of green with about the second drop. I figured I did something wrong and repeated the process, but I got the same result. What should I assume my TA is? Thanks in advance, TFP is the best resource ever. Chris
TA very low???
- Thread starter hurt5150
- Start date
- May 3, 2014
- 58,350
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Near or below 0. Add baking soda to raise TA 30 ppm. Circulate a few minutes and test. Repeat until you get TA of 50 or so.
- Jun 1, 2018
- 13,676
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
With a starting ta of 200+ it generally takes more than a few acid/aeration rounds to lower ta that far if you are keeping ph in the 7’s during the process.
Check your poolmath & be sure you didn’t use 1/2 strength acid for your calculation but actually were using full strength or something like that. Sounds like Something is off somewhere.
Check your poolmath & be sure you didn’t use 1/2 strength acid for your calculation but actually were using full strength or something like that. Sounds like Something is off somewhere.
that worked like a charm, thank you so much. I am wondering if I should wait another day and recheck before I add the borates?
- Jun 1, 2018
- 13,676
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Boric acid will lower ph some so keep that in mind & consult PoolMath effects of adding beforehand to be sure it lands your ph in the 7’s still.
I know I must have overdone the muriatic acid. Somewhere I did careless measurement of it.
- Jun 1, 2018
- 13,676
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
It’s easy to do in such a small volume with tiny doses. I have noticed poolmath reverting to the 1/2 strength option sometimes so now I always do a double take.
re-ran a set of readings: pH 7.5, FC 6.5, CC 0, CH 200, TA 50. I didn't check the CYA today since it was 0 yesterday, but am in control of getting that right, using diclor as my chlorine source bit by bit until I get to cya goal. I am a bit paranoid about adding the boric acid now and wondering if I am overthinking this process after I messed up. Should I wait and let it all settle out for a day and re-test it all before I do that or is it ok to add it now? thanks again for the help
Last edited:
- Jun 1, 2018
- 13,676
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
It looks boric acid addition will lower ph by .3 or so, perhaps by tomorrow ph will be higher & the hit will keep you in the mid 7’s & not effect ta as much.
The same with the dichlor- its acidic so check ph & effects of adding before you add as to not accidentally drop ph too low. There’s really no rush with any of it. I usually use the dichlor to help me lower ph/ta along with acid additions and take a couple days doing so before adding boric acid. So long as you are testing to know where you stand & have some baking soda on hand to correct ta if needed you’ll be fine.
The same with the dichlor- its acidic so check ph & effects of adding before you add as to not accidentally drop ph too low. There’s really no rush with any of it. I usually use the dichlor to help me lower ph/ta along with acid additions and take a couple days doing so before adding boric acid. So long as you are testing to know where you stand & have some baking soda on hand to correct ta if needed you’ll be fine.
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