Very high TA

[Novabec]

Our pool is new, only up and running about 10 days. Started with very high iron on filling, water was orange then green after adding chlorine float.
6/28 stopped the chlorine (float with 3” pucks) added 16oz metal magic, ran filter for 8 hours then had a power outage for 2 days.
6/30 added remainder of metal magic, 1 gallon of chlorine and 16oz polyquat 60
7/2 add chlorine float back in (husband forgot about it) and 1 bag quick shock
Water cloudy and slightly green but improving a little each day.
7/6 Water looking much better, starting to look blue finally but slightly cloudy still
test results (kit finally arrived was relying on pool store until now)
Taylor k2006: TA 325 / store: TA 220
PH 7.6 / PH 7.6
CH 220 /
FC 2.8 / FC 3
CC 0.4 / TC 3
CYA >30 /
/ Phos 750
Temp 86

So they gave instructions to add muratic acid (24oz) away from skimmer and returns, run filter 30min then leave off overnight, then run filter in the am at least 4-6 hours (we do 8hours daily) and retest in 2-3 days. When I put that amount of MA 31.45% into the pool calculator it only says it will lower TA by 11 is that the correct amount?

 

[Texas Splash]

My advice to you would be a little different....
- Stop with iron product for the moment and make a DIY polyfill filter like the ones you see in the clips below. Get rid of the iron, don't just try to keep it in suspension or you'll always be battling it.
- Make sure your CYA is at least 30, perhaps even 40 this time of year if you get a lot of heat/sun.
- Keep the FC balanced to the CYA as noted on the FC/CYA Levels.
- For the TA, let the pH rise to 8.0 then use enough acid to lower the pH to 7.0. Then wait (or aerate) to let the pH naturally rise to 8.0 and repeat. Each time you do that you will knock the TA down a bit.
- Don't waste $$ on algaecides this time of year.
- Trust your K-2006 kit; don't bother with the pool store.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Oh my. What an odd way to add MA??? I wonder what the Pool Store thought that was going to do? As Texas Splash says Polyfil is your new friend!!

Take your test kit and test what ever water you used to fill the pool. Lets see how high that is to begin with?

Stop using the Pool Store for anything at this point. They're mostly worthless for advice and questionable for testing accuracy.

When testing your FC and CC, use 10cc of pool water so that each drop of 0871 reagent equals 0.5. In short...count your drops and divide by 2.
This saves your reagents.

Ignore phosphates.

Do not use any product that also adds stabilizer or calcium at this time. Vinyl pools don't need added calcium.

Add 1/2 gallon of plain unscented non-thickened bleach daily and brush. Do NOT use Clorox or any bleach that advertises that it has new technology or some other adspeak. Plain, usually on the bottom shelf. Or Liquid Chlorine found at Walmart in pool section or Lowes/HD.

Lets see how your new resuts stand.....

 

[Donldson]

Oh my. What an odd way to add MA??? I wonder what the Pool Store thought that was going to do?

It's called an Acid Slug. It's an old technique that's supposed to make the acid lower TA without lowering the pH based on [realistic explanation missing]. It's a wonderful example of something "industry experts" recommend because they were taught it and have never bothered to question the validity of the practice. A reminder that "some pool guy told me this 40 years ago and since then I've repeat it as fact" is how the industry operates.

 

[Novabec]

My advice to you would be a little different....
- Stop with iron product for the moment and make a DIY polyfill filter like the ones you see in the clips below. Get rid of the iron, don't just try to keep it in suspension or you'll always be battling it.
- Make sure your CYA is at least 30, perhaps even 40 this time of year if you get a lot of heat/sun.
- Keep the FC balanced to the CYA as noted on the FC/CYA Levels.
- For the TA, let the pH rise to 8.0 then use enough acid to lower the pH to 7.0. Then wait (or aerate) to let the pH naturally rise to 8.0 and repeat. Each time you do that you will knock the TA down a bit.
- Don't waste $$ on algaecides this time of year.
- Trust your K-2006 kit; don't bother with the pool store.

My understanding is that once the iron is suspended from chemicals and “invisible“ that it doesn’t get filtered out by the polyfill ??? We used polyfill pillows with the hoses stuffed inside them for the second half of filling but didn’t really notice much difference. With the holiday last weekend I wanted it to look better and was worried about staining the liner if I couldn’t get it out quickly so I used the metal magic (I know panic + lack of planning = bad decisions). I was going to use polyfill in the skimmer basket but again did not because I thought it couldn’t be filtered in the suspended state.

 

[zea3]

Yes, the polyfil only works when the iron is out of suspension. In about a month your sequestrant will be depleted and you will see the water start to change color. At that point you can filter it out.

 

[Novabec]

So the next day after posting this I went out and my water was (and still is) crystal clear and I hadn’t done anything. My TA remains very high, but since the water is clear do I worry about it? My FC was low so I added a bag of quick shock and the next day it was high. But if the pool looks great do I need to do anything other than maintain right now?

 

[Texas Splash]

With high iron locally, I wouldn't make TA the priority. Continue to maintain a steady FC level for sanitation to avoid algae. If you can get lucky enough to see the pH get to 7.8-8.0 without causing stains, then hit it with muriatic acid and lower the pH to about 7.0. Each time you do that it will lower the TA. Not a rush, not a race. As long as your pH isn't going through the roof too fast it will be okay. But definitively watch the FC to avoid algae. If you have to do a SLAM later it will probably aggravate the iron and cause problems.