Trying to balance

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Grammyx2

Active member
Aug 19, 2017
37
Auburn/IN
I just opened on May 4th. My current numbers are: free chlorine 2.5, CC .5, total alkalinity 120, ph is low between 6.8 and 7.2. I use the Taylor test.
I took a water sample to the pool store on Wednesday to see what their levels showed and they said my phosphates were high 4000, iron was .1, TA was 123, FC was was .22, ph was 7.2, CYA was 38.
I have brought the chlorine level up, I had reduced the TA to 110 yesterday but then pH went down so I added soda ash to bring pH back up but the TA came up too. I have a bottle of phos free to add but I believe I need to get my levels balanced first. My water is not green at all but it is cloudy.
I’m a little stuck on what I should do about the pH and TA. My TA always runs high. I have well water and live in the country. Is the iron a problem?
Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.
 
If your water is cloudy I suggest you follow the SLAM Process
You only listed a couple of your own test results. Can you list them all? We do not use pool store tests for our guidance.
FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA

TA is the last thing you worry about. Just adjust pH into the 7's. We suggest 7.2 before you SLAM.
 
You can raise pH without chemicals by aerating it. Point the return up. Build some sort of fountain. When you add water, don't just drop the hose in, tie it to the ladder and have it spray a jet stream on the surface. Just putting a kid in with a kickboard would churn things up a good deal.

For what it's worth, high TA is only going to be a problem if you have a lot of Calcium and you're at risk of forming scale on the walls. It will also drive the pH up, and some people find daily acid additions to be annoying, so they work to Lower Total Alkalinity - Trouble Free Pool It's sort of a ratcheting action. Acid drives pH and TA down, aerating brings pH back up but TA stays down

Iron will cause staining, and sometimes a yellow or greenish tint. You'll know if you have Iron because you'll have rust stains in the toilet tank. From a health standpoint, it's not a problem. There are some threads about Iron removal using polyfill -- that's pillow stuffing.

Phosphates are not worth worrying about just yet. We can have that discussion later.

Cloudiness is probably the beginnings of an algae bloom. The cure for that is what we call the SLAM Process You should jump right into that. If you catch it early enough, you will save yourself gallons of bleach and hours of brushing and days of waiting.

If you really want you pool to sparkle, stay away from the pool store and read here. Read until you look like :crazy:
 
Yesterday I moved the return jets to the surface and aerated for four hours. I checked the pH and it hadn’t gone up enough so I added 2 cups of soda ash. Today I backwashed and added two inches of fresh water. Here are my current numbers: pH 7.2, TA 160, CYA 55, FC 2, CC.5.
I added three jugs of LC like pool math told me to do to SLAM it. It is still cloudy but not green. I have my pump running on the highest speed. How long should I wait to test FC again? What do I do about the alkalinity?
 
The soda ash you used added TA. Do not use soda ash when your TA is that high. Just aerate the water to raise pH. Patience.
During SLAM test and add liquid chlorine several times per day. 3 or 4 is best.

No need to mess with the TA. It will come down as you manage the pH, after the SLAM.
 
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