If this was your fill water, what would you do?

[BigDave]

I wasn't clear. When I wrote "... push it back down ...", I meant with Muriatic Acid. Be sure to read Using Muriatic Acid to Safely Lower Your Pool's pH first.

[Bosch232]

Thank you for the reply.

Do I want to be messing around with chlorine at all during this time, or does balancing come first?

[BigDave]

Absolutely!
Do you have a K-2006? If not, order one - you'll be -much- happier with it than without.
Maintain FC levels appropriate for your CYA level as per Ben's Best Guess Chart. If you don't, you'll have to clean up a swamp. It's a good idea to read through The BBB Method of Swimming Pool Care if you haven't yet.

[Bosch232]

Yes, I have the 2006 kit.
Thanks for the replies.

I don't want a swamp.

[BigDave]

me neither. . . . is that spelled right?

[Bosch232]

Well I filled the pool 5 days ago, and I've successfully gone from TA = 300+ to TA = 100 and pH of 7.4 as of tonight. It required gradually adding 3 1/2 gallons of muriatic acid and aerating 24-7 for 5 days straight. But I'm there.

Does TA change a whole lot week-to-week, or should it be pretty stable now?

[BigDave]

Congrats, sounds like your fill and startup went well.

TA shouldn't move a whole lot but what's "normal" will be uniquely "normal" for your pool. Keep an eye on TA and pH stability for a while to get a feel for what's normal for your pool. A TA about 80 may be ideal for bleach chlorinated pools but if pH stays stable, 100 should be just fine.

[Bosch232]

Here is graphical data of my weeks activity.