alkalinity ??

[borrott]

Pool store test as follows:-

hardness 220
adj tot alkalinity 96
tot alkalinity 110
pH 7.8
free cl 2
tot cl 2
CYA 45
tds 700
saturation index 0.2

pools tore says need to add balancer a ( A LOT) then add acid to reduce pH .

So I`m ok with Ph but wats all the fuss with alkalinity ?? if pH is ok.

also he says that i need to use alge inhibitor , pool is perfectly clear,
so what do i need to do??

16000gal IG plaster with pentair pump and 60ft DE filter.

advice needed

[Watermom]

Your alk is fine where it is and as long as your ph goes no higher, it is also fine. If it goes to 8.0, you'll want to lower it but 7.8 is OK.

You also do not need the balancer (whatever that is?) nor the algae inhibitor. The best algae inhibitor is just chlorine. As long as you maintain adequate chlorine levels, you won't have algae problems. With a cya of 45, you need to keep your chlorine level between 3-6. FC of 2 is a little too low. Hope this helps.

[borrott]

thanks so guess yr saying that keep pH and Cl in check and the rest will pretty much look after its self Thanks.

[borrott]

one more thing ,, If i need to lower pH and add cl do i need to do it in any paticular order ??
Will adding Cl affect pH. ??

[waste]

Borrott, welcome to the forum!

W/ re: will adding bleach effect pH - according to chem_geek the high pH of the bleach is negated by the acidic reaction of 'zapping' the 'nasties' in the water so the net effect on pH = ~ 0. With that said, I'd change whichever parameter needs the most 'tweeking' first (if the cl is way low, do that first - if the pH is low and the cl ~ok, bump the pH first). If you do as CarlD says and "keep ahead of your water..." this will probably not be an issue most of the year, though for start-up things may be a little more demanding (in terms of time spent and attention/ dosing).

You are doing the BEST!! thing for your pool by comming here and asking any questions you have!

Happy swimming! :) - Waste

[borrott]

thanks will do as you suggest .
will test l8r in week and post results.
tnks

[nater]

Hey Borrott, welcome and congrats on the new pool! Sounds like you had a good experience with the DIY pool build. Now comes the easy part, keeping the water clear ;)

If you don't already have one, make sure you get a good drop based kit (don't use the strips). Ben's M.I.A. currently, so I'd suggest direct order from Taylor. I just ordered some refills for mine and they shipped in 2 days.

http://www.taylortechnologies.com/products_testkits_search.asp

You'll find that with experience and this forum you'll quickly become more of an "expert" than most pool store water testers (Waterbear excluded) and will only need to go to the pool store on occasion for equipemnt/parts.

Be sure to save the Bleachcalc program to your PC desktop too, its a great tool.

Good luck!