Muriatic Acid
Muriatic acid is used to lower pH and TA.
Muriatic Acid Strengths
You will find muriatic acid in various strengths. The most commonly found are 15.7% or 31.45%. Although you may find 14.5%, 28.3%, 29%, or 34.6%. Alongside the % strength there may be a Baume (Be) number.
Baume to percent
The °Baume scale is an old antiquated method of measurement of a chemicals Specific Gravity. It was devised a long time ago and is a scaling on a hydrometer which measures the Specific Gravity of solutions. To really make things confusing there are 2 ways of using this scale, one for liquids that are more dense than water and one for liquids less dense than water.[1]
- Liquids with lower S.G. than water, S.G = 140 / (°Bé + 130 )
- Liquids with higher S.G. than water S.G = 145 / (145 – °Bé )
So, if you have the °Baume of a known chemical, you could calculate the S.G. From this you can compare the S.G. of the particular chemical and see what the actual %concentration would be.
Example 20° Bé Sodium Hydroxide NaOHSG = 145 / ( 145 – Bé ) = 145 / ( 145 – 20 ) = 145 / 125 = 1.16 If you look at the data of Sodium Hydroxide you will see that a S.G of 1.16 represents a concentration of approx. 15 %
Dry Acid
Dry acid can be used to lower pH and TA. However dry acid contains sulfates which will accumulate in the water. Dry acid should not be used in pools with a SWG.
Sulfuric Acid
You absolutely should not use sulfuric acid in a plaster pool with an SWG. Sulfuric acid use can casue calcium sulfate scale. Sulfates are bad for plaster and SWGs.[2]
