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Thread: Too much acid?

  1. #1
    Join Date
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    Unhappy Too much acid?

    Ok I decided to take over the pool chore. Went down to the pool store with my water. The guy there told me to put in a 1/4 gallon of acid wait four hours then shock the pool. Well here I am thinking I can just poor the acid in and kind of measure it by the eye. I ended up pooring too much of course almost a half of gallon. Is this way too much? I am reading you have to drain you pool in this case.

  2. #2
    p.p.h. is offline ** No working email address ** p.p.h. 0
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    Default Re: Too much acid?

    You wont have to drain the pool. Relax. Test the water again and see how low the PH is. There are cheap and easy ways of raising the PH back up if need be. Its hardly an emergency though.

  3. #3
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    Red face Re: Too much acid?

    Quote Originally Posted by p.p.h.
    You wont have to drain the pool. Relax. Test the water again and see how low the PH is. There are cheap and easy ways of raising the PH back up if need be. Its hardly an emergency though.
    Ok Thank you! Wew I didn't want to tell the hubby when he gets up.
    Thanks again

  4. #4
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    CarlD is offline SuperMod Emeritus Vortex Adjuster CarlD 4 stars CarlD 4 stars CarlD 4 stars CarlD 4 stars CarlD 4 stars CarlD 4 stars
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    Default Re: Too much acid?

    OK,
    If you haven't fixed it yet:
    How many gallons is your pool and how low did pH go? Is your pool vinyl or gunite/concrete/tile?

    I'm guessing here on what's best, and with that much acid I'm guessing it's WAY down. I rarely even add a quart of acid to a 20,000 gallon pool:

    If your pH is the lowest on the scale, dump a box of 20 Mule Team Borax in IMMEDIATELY into the skimmer. This is especially important if you have a vinyl pool. Keep the pump and filter running constantly (high speed, if it's a 2 speed pump). Wait a 2-4 hours and test pH again. If it's STILL off the scale, add another box and wait 2-4 hours again.

    Keep doing this until you get a pH reading that's on the scale, even if it's low. With a vinyl pool, you want that pH to be 6.9 or better or you risk damaging the liner if you don't get pH up in a reasonable amount of time.

    Once it's 6.9 or better you can relax. If your pool is big (30K gal or more) you may want to add another box of Borax. If it's smaller, (20k or less), you may only want to add 1/2 box. If it's really a small pool, only 1/4 to 1/3 of a box. Wait, re-test.

    Thankfully, 20 Mule Team Borax is cheap and at most supermarkets. It's also really safe and effective.
    Carl

  5. #5
    aylad's Avatar
    aylad is offline SuperMod Emeritus Burfle Ringer aylad 4 stars aylad 4 stars aylad 4 stars aylad 4 stars aylad 4 stars aylad 4 stars
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    Default Re: Too much acid?

    Carl has you all set with the advice you need to follow. My question is, just out of curiousity, why did the guy say you needed to add all the acid in the first place?

    Janet

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