To lower TA or not?

[Jnet]

Just opened after a long, cold winter... My numbers in general are good, but I have a question on TA. Right now, it's 130. The "Water Balance for SWG" article says TA should be "60 - 80 ppm (THIS IS IMPORTANT!)" but the article on lowering TA says not to lower TA just to aim for a number unless there are obvious issues. These seem to contradict each other. My CSI is -0.13 - pretty good, I think - and there's no sign of scaling. My pH is stable at 7.5-7.6.

Should I be doing the lower pH and aerate thing or not? Any words of wisdom are appreciated.

 

[Jezza]

If your pH is stable and CSI is in range, I wouldn't worry about actively reducing my TA. Just add acid when your pH climbs above 7.8 and let the TA come down over time.

 

[tim5055]

The TA is going ot come down on it's own. The "60 - 80 ppm THIS IS IMPORTANT!" is there because so many in the industry, like your local pool store are going to keep trying to sell you baking soda to keep it around 100-120. Due to the cavitation/aeration inside the SWCG cell while chlorine is being produced pH rise is common on a SWCG pool and it rises faster the higher the TA.

So, while it seems the two seem to contradict each other, they are both pointing you to a lower TA which results in a more stable pH.

If you have to add acid every day to keep the pH in check, then that is an "issue" that would cause you to want to force the TA down quickly. If you are just adding a couple of a few times a week I wouldn't bother, each addition of acid pushes TA down and it will slowly move to it's sweet spot.

 

[Jnet]

Fantastic! Thank you both for the quick replies!

 

[JamesW]

How are you chlorinating?

 

[Jnet]

I'm using 12% liquid to slam and until everything is stable, then SWG.

 

[JamesW]

Ok, just manage pH and the TA will be fine.