Time between adding chemicals

[Osmigo]

There are several aspects of maintaining pool chemistry that seem to be all over the map; one of those things where you ask 10 people and get 10 different answers. One of these is "how long to wait between chemicals?"

This regards three basic adjustments: alkalinity, pH and chlorine, being tested and adjusted in that order, as seems to be the common wisdom. From what I've read, you test one, add to adjust or correct, then wait..... how long?... before going to the next one. I've heard everything from "doesn't matter, just do them all at once" to "wait overnight, then recheck." Others say 15 minutes, others say 2 hours, blahblahblah.

What is your input on this topic?

 

[TinFoilHat]

1/2 hour is good if the pool is circulating. I sometimes add acid and chlorine together, though on opposite ends of the pool, and I have good results but it's better to adjust the PH before adding the chlorine.

 

[mknauss]

Recommended Pool Chemicals

Which should I buy? TFP's recommended pool chemicals are cheap, easy, and won't unbalance your pool water.

www.troublefreepool.com

Under each topic it explains how to add the chemical to the water.

 

[Osmigo]

Still not getting an answer to the question. Say the pH is high, like 8.0 or 8.2. I add the calculated amount of muriatic acid to lower it. Should I wait X amount of time, then retest, then if it is correct, then go on with testing/adjusting chlorine? That "X amount of time" is the question.

I know some people (some of whom are pool "experts" that work for pool companies) who don't bother. They check everything in one go, then add the calculated amounts all in one go, and they're done.

 

[Mdragger88]

As mentioned above 30 minutes with the pump running should be sufficient to retest ph
or go ahead with another chemical.
The only ones that you need to wait 24 hours before retesting are cya and salt.

 

[RickRude]

I almost always add muriatic acid and liquid chlorine during the same trip outside. Acid goes in in front of my deep end return, followed by a few plunges of my brush. Then I move to the shallow end and add the bleach. I don't retest until 24 hrs later when it's time to add more chlorine.

Your pool has about one-third the volume of mine, so you may not have two different "ends" of the pool for chem adds. In that case you may wanna wait longer. But I do not see any reason why you need to retest after adding chems if everything is "normal", i.e., not in the middle of a SLAM, chem levels haven't been erratic lately, etc.