just put up new pool

[Gibby]

got some muriatic acid today from CT. put about 1 pint in about 2 hour ago my PH was 7.8 now its 7.5 should i start aerate now and how long should i do it for or do i just test it like 2-3 hour to see what my PH is thx

[BigDave]

Put in another pint and start aerating.

[Gibby]

I did, would like to know how long should I aerat for, do I let it go all night?

[PoolDoc]

Actually, so long as you are not using calcium hypochlorite to chlorinate, it's not necessary -- for you, in your pool situation -- to specifically work on lowering the alkalinity. Instead, just use muriatic acid to keep the pH in the 7.0 - 7.4 range. If you do so, the alkalinity will drift down over time, all by itself UNLESS you cover it with a gas tight membrane, like a solar cover.

The high alkalinity is only a problem for you if you add some sort of calcium OR raise the pH suddenly. Do NOT use baking soda (Alkalinity Increaser), soda ash (pH UP) or calcium chloride (Calcium UP) in your pool. If you happen to overdose with muriatic acid, let some kids splash around . . . and the pH will rise, along with the drop in alkalinity. If for some reason you do need to raise the pH use ONLY borax.

[Gibby]

i do have a solar cover, but it comes off in the day time. just go on at night. should i leave it off?

[PoolDoc]

Again, the risk to you, from the high ALK, is precipitating a calcium cloud. You do NOT want it to go higher. But if you keep the pH down, and leave the pool uncovered at least some of the time, the ALK will gradually go done.

So, leaving it on at night, and off during the day, should be fine.

[Bosch232]

I did, would like to know how long should I aerat for, do I let it go all night?

I have an 11k gallon pool, more than your 7k. I put a pvc pipe w/a 45 deg elbow in the filter discharge back into the pool so it would shoot an arc of water back into the pool. If I ran it all night (2 hp pump) my pH would go from 7.2 to 7.8 overnight. Just fyi to help you along. I checked it every morning and evening for 8 days. See this thread: http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthr...-do&highlight=

Charting the progress REALLY helped me see what I was doing.

[Watermom]

Thanks, Bosch232, for sharing that with Gibby. That is what makes the Pool Forum so great. Lots of people willing to share what they have learned in order to help others. Thanks again!

[Bosch232]

Considering all the help I've gotten here myself, it's the least I could to.