Weird pH problem!

[doncaruana]

I cannot keep my pH down at all. I have twice put in acid and lowered it to about 7.2 or 7.4 and it just keeps rising. Initially I had an air intake leak from my pump drain plug that I thought was driving this, but it's still happening after fixing that. It went from 7.4 to 7.8 in a matter of about 4 days. What could possibly be making it rise so much and so fast? I've got a SWCG but I've never had a problem maintaining pH before.

 

[mknauss]

Are you adding more fill water than before? Are you waiting until your pH rises to 8 and only lowering it to 7.6?
Share your Poolmath data or post your latest chemistry data.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Don,

What is your TA??

Jim R.

 

[jark87]

This summer, my pH has risen faster than previous years. I’m attributing it to our drought. My fill water has high pH and high TA, so my pH is rising even faster than yours due to evaporation.

You may want to try lowering your TA to the 50-60 range. That helped my pH rise. Again, due to my fill water, I won’t be able to do that until the evaporation slows down.

 

[doncaruana]

Have hardly put any new water in for a while, just rain. 5 days ago I put in 32 oz of 31.45 muriatic and it went from 8 to 7.4. That dropped TA from 110 to 90, which is roughly where it typically sits from year to year anyway. Then a little over 2 days ago, it had already risen back to 7.8 so I put 24 oz more (which should have lowered it roughly .4). This morning it's all the way back up to 7.8.

 

[PoolStored]

Have hardly put any new water in for a while, just rain. 5 days ago I put in 32 oz of 31.45 muriatic and it went from 8 to 7.4. That dropped TA from 110 to 90, which is roughly where it typically sits from year to year anyway. Then a little over 2 days ago, it had already risen back to 7.8 so I put 24 oz more (which should have lowered it roughly .4). This morning it's all the way back up to 7.8.

As you continue to add MA, your TA will continue to come down. As TA comes down, pH rise will slow. Next time, let it sit at 7.8 and see if it stays there. With a TA of 60-80, your pH should be fairly stable and manageable.