PH is always creeping up... what to do?

[deeze]

Hey guys, I've been reading around but my attention span is so short... my bad. However, ever since I've had my new pool (4 months) I am having to add a whole can of PH decreaser every 5 days or so. It's becoming a huge pain. Besides chlorine tablets I haven't really added anything else... what should I add to stabilize my PH? I did buy a really expensive jug of PH stabilizer a month or two ago but it didn't seem to do anything so I haven't added anything else like that again. Any help would be great!

[Watermom]

We need some more info to be able to offer any help. What type of pool is this and what volume? Also, please post a complete set of current water testing results. What type of chlorine are you using? I don't know what ph stabilizer is. What ingredients does the label list? Report back and somebody here should be able to help you. Welcome to the forum!

[deeze]

Hey sorry about that.
My pool is a standard in ground pool with the marcite. Chlorine is added by tablets and is kept around 3 ppm due to a Ozonating system (which works quite well to sterilize). Pool is 16,500 gallons. It seems like the ph goes up above 8.4 after about 5 or 6 days if I don't keep an eye on it. People tell me it's normal while the marcite cures but jeeze... it's been months and it increases so quickly. Alkalinity seems to be around 80 ppm and total hardness is aound 400ppm. I also heat the pool with a heat pump system... but need to lay off because my wife pays the electric bill and I've been slapped a few times...
I can't remember what the stabilizer was called that I put in my pool... I could have be used to stabalize something else... I was desperate and just started buying junk... ha!
Thanks a million for all your help!!!

[CarlD]

Curing concrete IS normal to raise pH, but 6-8 weeks is the norm. I don't know about the ozonator, but SWGs push pH up as well.

If you are using THAT much "pH Down" you should be using Muriatic acid instead.
a) It's LOTS cheaper--probably 1/4 to 1/2 what you are paying.
b) It doesn't add anything to your water--no total dissolved solids. It's Hydrochloric acid so mostly it releases a little chlorine into the water.
c) It acts VERY fast.

But you must be careful, wear long clothing, gloves and goggles, and don't breath the fumes. I like to pour it into a 5 gallon bucket of water so it's diluted before it hits the pools--won't damage anything expensive that way. Buckets are cheap.


But

[chem geek]

This is just an educated guess, but I'll bet your Total Alkalinity (TA) level is sky high. Also, do you have any aeration features (waterfalls, spillovers, fountains, etc.)? Test your water with a Taylor K-2006 test kit or equivalent (Leslie's Complete, for example) and tell us your Free Chlorine (FC), Combined Chlorine (CC), pH, Total Alkalinity (TA), Calcium Hardness (CH), and Cyanuric Acid (CYA) levels.

Richard

[deeze]

Wow... hey guys, thanks for the replies. I guess no one has any ideas that I can use to fix this? Chem Geek (your user name scares me...ha), my alkalinity is 80ppm and my total hardness is around 400ppm. Had to add another jug of ph down today... errr.

Thanks a million,