High PH - Feeling stupid

[Newbie65]

TC = 0
ALK = 200 or >
PH = 8.2 or >
CYA = ? used up all of test regeant....
33' round 4' deep ABG

Had the pool a cloudy blue, then had a leak, husband working OT no time to fix pool. Finally got leak fixed after draining below skimmer and refilling. Now I'm back to swampy green. I was told by "pool chemical hotline" that ph needs to be lowered before wasting shock or chlorine. On my own, thinking that more had to be better and quicker, poured in 7 lbs of ph minus on Tuesday. Called hotline last night was told to just add 2 more lbs. of ph minus. It is now Thursday and no change in ph. Called "hotline" was told that I should only have added 4 lbs of ph minus for every 20,000 of water every day. Now "hotline" tells me to wait 4 to 5 days and do nothing other than test every day. Any ideas on what I should really do? Will check here first from now on.
Thanks.

[CarlD]

Yes! Get a test kit ASAP! Even a $7 OTO/pH drop kit will help!

If your pH is below 6.9 it can damage your pool. If you cannot measure below the lowest reading in the kit, it's TOO LOW! If so add 1 box of 20 Mule Team Borax (that's right, Borax) and wait 6-12 hours, measure your pH again, wait, measure, until ph is above 7.3 (but below 7.8). Your Total Alk will surely be lower then as well.

Next, you need to dump in 6 gallons of regular 5.25% bleach, NOW! Within 6 hours, I'll be chlorine will be 0 and you'll need to add another 6 gallons (or 4 LARGE bottles of 6% ultra bleach). You want your chlorine level to go to 15 and keep it there until your water clears.

I'd rather see you get a better test kit--check the kit at PoolSolutions.com or the FAS-DPD kit from Leslies web site.

[Newbie65]

Thanks for the reply, however my ph is 8.2 or greater, i'm trying to lower it not raise it. And I have a test kit, just out of the CYA regeants. Since my ph is high I was wondering if the hotline was correct in saying not to put any bleach in until I get it lowered. Thanks again. Any other comments are welcome!

[mwsmith2]

Well, personally, I'd use muriatic acid to lower the pH. If you are at 8.2, start with 2 quarts of muriatic. Circulate 2 - 3 hours and test again. Since your alk is really high, that's what's causing the problem in trying to reduce your pH. You'll probably have to slug a good bit of acid in the pool before it moves.

Definitely get some Cl in there. It WILL help. I'm consistently amazed at the order of what pool "professionals" tell you to fix the green pool problem. When I was a new owner, they did the same thing to me...add the bleach last, and wait a day between chemical additions. CRAZY! To hit 15 ppm, you are going to need about 6 gallons of plain unscented 6% bleach.

I'd get that acid in there, dribble it around the edge of the pool. Wait about 15 mins for it to disperse and then add the bleach through the skimmer. You should see the green fade as you watch. Maintain 15 ppm until the water is clear. Watch your pH as bleach has a tendency to raise it.

Michael

[KurtV]

Newb, I don't think it will hurt anything to get some chlorine in there now, but you do need to get the pH down ASAP. As you probably know, your pH could be very, very high as all your test is telling you is that it's somewhere over 8.2

You'll probably get quicker results with muriatic acid than the pH minus (which I think is dry acid or sodium bisulphate). You can get it at pool stores, most Home Depots and Lowes', etc. Since we really don't know how high the pH is, I'd add a quart or even a half gallon of acid, wait a few hours, retest, and repeat.

Be careful with the muriatic if you use it. Stay upwind of the fumes and wear eye protection and gloves.

[Newbie65]

Thank you! Thank you! I will buy acid and bleach at lunch and go home after work and put it in. I checked my alk this morning and it was at 170. I will add the acid then the bleach and check in 2 hours. Hopefully, this will get me on track. How high do I need to keep my TC readings and for how long?

[KurtV]

...I checked my alk this morning and it was at 170. I will add the acid then the bleach and check in 2 hours.
I usually wait about an hour after dosing with one before adding the other.
Hopefully, this will get me on track. How high do I need to keep my TC readings and for how long?
You need to get your Free Chlorine (FC), not Total Chlorine (TC), up to shock levels, test frequently (like 3x per day if you can), and add more bleach after each test to return the FC to shock level. You can use "Ben's Best Guess Table" to determine the shock level for your pool but it's a function of the amount of CYA you have in the water. So, you're going to have to get more CYA reagent or take a sample to the pool store to have it tested for CYA. In the interim, it will probably be OK to use 15 ppm as a guestimate. As Michael said, it will take about six gallons of 6% bleach initially to get to 15ppm. You'll need to keep bringing the water to that level of FC until you hold FC overnight. It will probably take at least several days.

Best of luck.