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Thread: Ph or Alkalinity...which should i fix first

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    Default Ph or Alkalinity...which should i fix first

    We've just started working on our water quality last Saturday and we shocked the you know what out of it for a week. The FC is off the chart, but the pool went from a murky green pond to a deep, cloudy blue. I've got an Aquarite salt generator and i had to add close to 400 lbs of salt to bring it up to 3400.

    So, Alk and Ph are way off...both are very low. According to the calculator, with my pool holding 36500 gallons, I need to add 29.2 oz of Sodium Carbonate(soda ash?)..edit...read a bit more and can this be Borax instead? to bring the Ph up .2. So if i'm at 6.8 and i want to get to 7.4, i'll need to add approx. 87oz of this to get it up that level.

    My Alk is 0 and it looks like i need to get up to 80ppm. According to the calc, i need to add almost 40lbs of Sodium Bicarbonate(baking soda?) to get this up to 80ppm.

    So, does this sound right and which is most important to fix first. Also, it seems like i remember reading that alkilinity can be kept lower with SWGs.

    Any suggestions on this would be great.

    Thanks,

    Kash
    Last edited by JKashJ; 03-29-2008 at 09:14 PM.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Ph or Alkalinity...which should i fix first

    Don't trust your pH reading while your pool is at shock level. I wouldn't adjust anything until the chlorine is back down to a more normal level.

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    aylad's Avatar
    aylad is offline SuperMod Emeritus Burfle Ringer aylad 4 stars aylad 4 stars aylad 4 stars aylad 4 stars aylad 4 stars aylad 4 stars
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    Default Re: Ph or Alkalinity...which should i fix first

    I second what John T said.....and when the chlorine is back down to norm and you test again, I would fix the pH first. The higher your alk is, the more stuff you'll have to add to get the pH to move.

    Janet

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    Default Re: Ph or Alkalinity...which should i fix first

    John and Janet,

    Thanks for the advice on this. I'll wait until the Chlorine is down to a workable level prior to doing anything else.

    Does a high chlorine level create cloudiness in the water too? I've turned by SWG down to 40% now and the water coming out of the returns is white'r(yeah, made that up...:-) than the water in the pool. You can actually see clouds of it coming out of the returns and moving into the pool. I doubt this is salt, but there still could be some of the bottom being pulled into the main drain. I can't tell as i can't see the bottom...:-)

    Kash

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    Default Re: Ph or Alkalinity...which should i fix first

    I have to disagree. While high chlorine DOES affect pH, it usually makes it look high, not low. I would add borax (not soda ash) until pH passes 6.9. If it's above there, you can then wait for lower chlorine levels to get a truer reading, which may STILL be below 6.9--the danger point for vinyl pools.
    Carl

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    aylad's Avatar
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    Default Re: Ph or Alkalinity...which should i fix first

    Quote Originally Posted by CarlD View Post
    While high chlorine DOES affect pH, it usually makes it look high, not low.

    True, unless they are using strips or cheaper OTO test to test the water, AND the chlorine is exceptionally high...I have seen it happen in my own pool where the chlorine can get high enough to bleach out even the OTO test.

    Janet
    Last edited by aylad; 03-31-2008 at 12:34 PM.

  7. #7
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    Default Re: Ph or Alkalinity...which should i fix first

    I am using Walmart strips, they're AquaChem 6way strips. I did dump in a 4lb box of Borax last night and i wasn't here at all today, but my wife said that it cleared up considerably. Hopefully the ph came up to a more workable level. I'm going down to test in just a bit.
    Kash....Carrollton, Ga
    21x42 vinyl Lagoon 36,000 gallons
    Hayward 1.5HP Superpump & sand filter
    Aquarite SWG---currently testing with Walmart strips

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    aylad's Avatar
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    Default Re: Ph or Alkalinity...which should i fix first

    Do yourself a favor and invest in a good, drop-based kit. The strips may be okay for ball-parking, but are not reliable enough to balance water with. I still think you need to let the chlorine come down first before retesting your pH, ESPECIALLY now that we know you're using strips.

    Janet

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    Default Re: Ph or Alkalinity...which should i fix first

    I noticed that there are some who sell those on here...any recommendations?
    Kash....Carrollton, Ga
    21x42 vinyl Lagoon 36,000 gallons
    Hayward 1.5HP Superpump & sand filter
    Aquarite SWG---currently testing with Walmart strips

  10. #10
    aylad's Avatar
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    Default Re: Ph or Alkalinity...which should i fix first

    Ben's kit is no longer available--that's the one we've recommended in the past. Taylor's K-2006 is very similar, and is available online or at many pool stores. Duraleigh, one of the posters at the troublefreepools site also sells a kit similar to Ben's.

    Janet

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