My first drop test kit results

Like a kid with a new toy at Christmas, I went ahead and ran the tests this noon while I was home for lunch :)


TC- 2
FC- 2
CC- 0
PH- 8.0
Alk- 230
CYA- my best guess is 10-20ish (tested only with sticks, residual from last year).


Notes-

FC shade was between 1.5 and 3 ppm, but closer to 1.5, so I'm going with 2. I asked my 11 year old which color she thought matched best, and she had the same opinion before she knew mine. I let the water stand for several minutes, the color never faded, so I feel confident my residual is 2ish ppm with no CC.

PH- I went ahead and did the acid demand test. 1 drop dropped it to 7.8, 2 to 7.6 and 3 to 7.2. The color match was identical. I'd like to get this to 7.5 as a goal to adjust for.

Looks like I need to lower my PH and alk will follow. I've used nothing but bleach this season, so this makes sense. I'm off to Michael's bleach calc to see what it says, then I'll be back.

Any thoughts?

Calc says 43 oz of muratic acid should lower my PH by .5, provided my Alk is neither really high nor really low.

Does 230 qualify as high? I'm assuming so.

Should I lower Alk first then go after PH?

I do have acid on hand, and would like to address this tonight.

Just re-read Ben's info on lower alk. In the Alk FAQ he says Alk should be between 100-200. So 230 isn't that high, right?

I guess I'll add the acid and see what it does to PH/alk. If it doesn't move, I'll follow the sticky for lowering Alk.

Sound like a plan?

I had to get out, so I ran by home and added 42 oz of acid. I figure if I overshoot the PH goal, I'll aerate to bring it back up since my alk is elevated as well.

I'll let it circulate then test again tomorrow and go from there.

I got curious and tested my PH and Alk last night at 10 pm. Acid had been circulating for about 7 hours.

PH had dropped from 8.0 to 7.6.
Alk had dropped from 230 to 180.

I ran a quick PH test this morning.

PH had risen from 7.6 to 7.8.
Didn't have time to test alk.

I am getting a bit of air in the suction side of my pump and my return flow is bubbly. I assume this could be having an aeration effect, explaining the PH rise. I was reading Ben's high PH article again, and will probably just keep an eye on it for awhile to see if the PH rise levels out. If it gets above 8.2, I'll add acid again.