This may be a siily question but.......

[waterbear]

Ok-well I still have some ph minus from opening-so I will try that first. I added 1/2 cup to start for an 18x48 pool. I have read that if the ph gets to low it can harm the liner-so I a liitle hesitant. I will re-check in two hours. On average how long does it take for Alk to lower-is this another long process? Should I keep my filter running?

A couple more questions:

And I am still unclear about aeration.
by lowering the pH you have shifted the TA buffer system of carbonic acid/carbonates/bicarbonates to more carbonic acid and less of the other two. Club soda is carbonic acid! (carbon dioxide gas dissolved in water) If you shake the bottle of club soda (aerate it) it goes flat (you have driven off the dissolved carbon dioxide). You want to do the same with your pool (I know you can't shake it but you want to disturb the water as much as you can, perhaps a pipe in the return with a 90 deg elbow to create a fountain effect, or 10 kids having a splashing contest)
One alk is adjusted do I add borax to raise ph back.
No, as the carbon dioxide is driven off the pH will rise on its own as the TA goes down. Just stop aerating when the pH is where you want it.
Can I continue to add my bleach as normal during this process?
Yes
I really appreciate your help. By next season I should be a pro!!

Hope this helps.

[no1ford]

Great thanks! I will continue to "disturb" my water!

Should I leave the pump running the whole time?

you have been a huge help to me through this! Can't thank you enough!

[waterbear]

Great thanks! I will continue to "disturb" my water!

Should I leave the pump running the whole time?
I would, especially if you have some type of 'fountain' hooked up for aeration
you have been a huge help to me through this! Can't thank you enough!

That's what this forum is all about.

[no1ford]

Todays numbers-

CL- 5-10
ph- 7.5
alk-220
cya-30

I have added ph minus for 4 days now and my ph and alk will not drop! I have had a ton of kids in there to help aerate too! Is this another long process? should I go buy alk minus from Walmart?

Please help! My water is back to being cloudy again!

Also my test kit says to test cya 2 times per summer--sound right?

[mbar]

You have to lower your ph down to 7 or 7.2, then aerate the water. As the alk goes down, your ph will rise. You must continue to add acid to bring down the ph to 7 - 7.2 and then aerate again. You do this process untill your alk is between 80 and 120. Muriatic acid works for ph or the dry acid for ph down. Not alk reducer. Hope this helps.

[BlueBlobTX]

As far as aeration... Your Intex should have come with a little fountain/sprayer thing that hooks onto the pump outlet on the inside. Take off the fitting on the inside wall and replace with the fitting and hose that connect to the sprayer. You can direct the sprayer to spray droplets all over the top of you water and, thus, aerate your pool. For me, I'm using a Pool
Devil on the outlet... its a really cheap skimmer with a sock that works on the "venturi" principle... it goes on tout outlet and as the water is streaming in from the pump, it sucks the surface junk into the sock. The skimmer that tries to hook onto the side of the Intex has never worked right for me and always gets shifted when people are swimming. Anyway, the Pool Devil is adjustable and I can set it to create a little aeration action while it is skimming.. and there's no way I'm spending more than $20 for any accessories for a $200 (on sale last year) 18 x 48 Intex. Use the tools you have and the knowledge from this site. I've been doing the BBB thing since the day I put the pool up last year and all has been fine. Stay away from the pool store and be patient. Also, and I could be very wrong here, but I don't worry too much about PH and Alk. We're in a really high ALK area here... couldn't grow an azelea if my life depended on it... my ph stays pretty high as well as the alk, but in the Intex, it's not hurting anything. Pool is clear and chlorine is stable. I've been reading and lurking here for over a year... I'm sure Carl D will correct me if I'm wrong about the PH. I quit worrying about it though and just worry about keeping the pool clean and keeping my chlorine levels. Hope this helps.

____________________
LaLa in TX
18 x 48 Intex (affectionally known in these parts as our "white trash pool"
And very thankful that the people in this forum don't laugh at us!