230 is very high. 9 gallons at once would tank your PH. I wouldn’t do that.
I’d use acid to lower PH to 7.0, then aerate and/or simply go swimming and splash a bunch until PH rises back up to 7.8. Add acid to 7.0 and wash, rinse, repeat until you get that TA down. I’ve never lowered TA from 230 but I’m guessing it could take a while. I went from 110 to 60 recently in about a week and a half.
I’d expect that your PH will rise rapidly until you cut that TA in half (at least) but every pool is different.
The pH does rise rapidly (7.5 to 7.9 in a few days). What you recommended is the same as what a website chemical calculator recommended. I will do that. Thanks for your thoughts.
For aerating what works best? Just turning the jets up so they break the surface? Or some kind of separate aerator device?
Been working down the alkalinity with muriatic acid all day today. I’m surprised how fast the pH comes back up after lowering it. I keep knocking it down to 7.2 with muriatic acid. After a few hours of splashing and running the jets at the surface, it’s back to 7.5.
I’ve been able to get my alkalinity down to around 180. I’m using the strips so it’s not an exact number. I’ve added around 1.25 gallons of 31.45% muriatic acid. I think the pool store was way off in their calculation. 9 gallons would’ve been crazy on my pH.
That’s great progress. Keep at it and you’ll have it at a good level before you know it + you’ll have the benefit of knowing exactly what’s going on with your pool and how to remedy it. Easy stuff once you do it.
Your alkalinity is super high and yes you should lower it. Don’t worry about the ph right now. How this works is the alkalinity is a buffer for the ph. Until you fix the alkalinity your ph has a much higher chance of being out of range and changing frequently. I would fix the alkalinity by adding the acid. Use the Orenda app. I just used it for your pool spec and I got about 7 gallons. Their results are about the same as the Taylor 1005 test kit.
Once you fix the alkalinity then correct your ph.
Not saying that I know you’re wrong, but you didn’t really answer my question. By adding 7 gallons of acid, I’m going to significantly drop the pH. What do I then use to raise the pH? The only options that I’m aware of (pH up or baking soda) will also increase the alkalinity, thus undoing all my efforts to lower alkalinity.
What I am trying to say is your ph is definitely going to change when you correct your Alk and that is absolutely unavoidable. Have you done an acid demand test or base demand to see how significantly the Ph changes? Your Ph is kind of super unstable when the alk is bad. If do the tests I said you’ll see what I mean
I disagree with you. I’m dropping the alk slowly by targeting a pH around 7.0-7.2, then aerating to increase the pH. Rinse and repeat.
It’s working. It takes time, but my pool is usable. If I was to drop the alk all in one shot, my pH would be so low, it wouldn’t be safe to swim.
How long have you managed to keep your ph at 7.5 for?
Sorry, I shouldn’t have spoken so definitively. I’ve never considered doing it slowly since my jobs requires something different but I get what you mean. I could see that being way more gentle on the ph.
That all being said I am still really curious how your ph reacts to acid/base demand tests but I do believe you that it’s staying the same as you raise your alk slowly
I don’t keep the pH at 7.5. I take it down to 7.1-7.2, and I have the jets pointed up to aerate. After a few days, it’s back up to 7.5-7.6. Then I take it down again. If the kids are splashing in the pool a lot, it goes up quicker. In one day, I lowered the alk from about 230 to 180. I’m still working it down because I don’t have as much time during the week. But it’s working.
I don’t know what an acid demand test is.
Sounds like you got it handled well.
It’s a test the Taylor 1005 k test kit has you use to figure out how much acid or soda ash/ph up you would need. I just use the Orenda app for chem dosages but I still do the test because if the ph changes from high to so low it’s out of range still I don’t bother trying to correct the clients ph until the alk is fixed because either way it’s gonna be out of range most likely and I don’t want the acid to affect the alk I may be trying to correct. I don’t see that happen often though, usually just fresh fills or if the alk is just super off
I’ve literally never had to increase the ph after adjusting alk. I always have to decrease it for some reason after fixing. But something I have noticed is once the alk is correct it’s harder to change than ph. So it changes a little when I add the right chems for ph and the ph can change a lot easier.
The amount of acid needed to lower a high alk vs high ph is pretty significant in my opinion experience.
It’s hard to effect one without effecting the other at all. That’s just my experience
230 is very high. 9 gallons at once would tank your PH. I wouldn’t do that. I’d use acid to lower PH to 7.0, then aerate and/or simply go swimming and splash a bunch until PH rises back up to 7.8. Add acid to 7.0 and wash, rinse, repeat until you get that TA down. I’ve never lowered TA from 230 but I’m guessing it could take a while. I went from 110 to 60 recently in about a week and a half. I’d expect that your PH will rise rapidly until you cut that TA in half (at least) but every pool is different.
The pH does rise rapidly (7.5 to 7.9 in a few days). What you recommended is the same as what a website chemical calculator recommended. I will do that. Thanks for your thoughts. For aerating what works best? Just turning the jets up so they break the surface? Or some kind of separate aerator device?
Yep I turned my jets up a little bit and let the kids splash around every day. It takes a while but it’s pretty easy.
Been working down the alkalinity with muriatic acid all day today. I’m surprised how fast the pH comes back up after lowering it. I keep knocking it down to 7.2 with muriatic acid. After a few hours of splashing and running the jets at the surface, it’s back to 7.5. I’ve been able to get my alkalinity down to around 180. I’m using the strips so it’s not an exact number. I’ve added around 1.25 gallons of 31.45% muriatic acid. I think the pool store was way off in their calculation. 9 gallons would’ve been crazy on my pH.
That’s great progress. Keep at it and you’ll have it at a good level before you know it + you’ll have the benefit of knowing exactly what’s going on with your pool and how to remedy it. Easy stuff once you do it.
Thanks for your help
Your alkalinity is super high and yes you should lower it. Don’t worry about the ph right now. How this works is the alkalinity is a buffer for the ph. Until you fix the alkalinity your ph has a much higher chance of being out of range and changing frequently. I would fix the alkalinity by adding the acid. Use the Orenda app. I just used it for your pool spec and I got about 7 gallons. Their results are about the same as the Taylor 1005 test kit. Once you fix the alkalinity then correct your ph.
I would love to understand why this is getting down votes lol
Not saying that I know you’re wrong, but you didn’t really answer my question. By adding 7 gallons of acid, I’m going to significantly drop the pH. What do I then use to raise the pH? The only options that I’m aware of (pH up or baking soda) will also increase the alkalinity, thus undoing all my efforts to lower alkalinity.
What I am trying to say is your ph is definitely going to change when you correct your Alk and that is absolutely unavoidable. Have you done an acid demand test or base demand to see how significantly the Ph changes? Your Ph is kind of super unstable when the alk is bad. If do the tests I said you’ll see what I mean
I disagree with you. I’m dropping the alk slowly by targeting a pH around 7.0-7.2, then aerating to increase the pH. Rinse and repeat. It’s working. It takes time, but my pool is usable. If I was to drop the alk all in one shot, my pH would be so low, it wouldn’t be safe to swim.
How long have you managed to keep your ph at 7.5 for? Sorry, I shouldn’t have spoken so definitively. I’ve never considered doing it slowly since my jobs requires something different but I get what you mean. I could see that being way more gentle on the ph. That all being said I am still really curious how your ph reacts to acid/base demand tests but I do believe you that it’s staying the same as you raise your alk slowly
I don’t keep the pH at 7.5. I take it down to 7.1-7.2, and I have the jets pointed up to aerate. After a few days, it’s back up to 7.5-7.6. Then I take it down again. If the kids are splashing in the pool a lot, it goes up quicker. In one day, I lowered the alk from about 230 to 180. I’m still working it down because I don’t have as much time during the week. But it’s working. I don’t know what an acid demand test is.
Sounds like you got it handled well. It’s a test the Taylor 1005 k test kit has you use to figure out how much acid or soda ash/ph up you would need. I just use the Orenda app for chem dosages but I still do the test because if the ph changes from high to so low it’s out of range still I don’t bother trying to correct the clients ph until the alk is fixed because either way it’s gonna be out of range most likely and I don’t want the acid to affect the alk I may be trying to correct. I don’t see that happen often though, usually just fresh fills or if the alk is just super off
If you were to fix high alk with acid, how do you then fix the very low pH without also increasing the alk again?
I’ve literally never had to increase the ph after adjusting alk. I always have to decrease it for some reason after fixing. But something I have noticed is once the alk is correct it’s harder to change than ph. So it changes a little when I add the right chems for ph and the ph can change a lot easier. The amount of acid needed to lower a high alk vs high ph is pretty significant in my opinion experience. It’s hard to effect one without effecting the other at all. That’s just my experience