Is is safe to swim with high Alkalinity??

[Cari]

We are brand new pool owners. Our gunite/plastered pool was just completed and filled on Saturday (6/30) and equipment start-up was on Monday (7/2). The chlorine and ph levels are great, but the alkaline is very high, which I believe is to be expected since it is newly filled & the plaster is curing. When I tested the TA, I stopped adding drops after 26, so the TA level is 260+. I have 2 questions...

1) At this early date of pool startup, do we need to begin taking the steps I've seen recommended on this site to bring up ph, then bring down both ph and ta? Or do we need to wait it out a bit before adding extra chemicals?

2) With the 4th of July tomorrow, we were hoping to swim with family. Is it okay to swim with such high TA levels? I am 8 months pregnant and also have a 5 and 3 year old. We are anxious to swim, but obviously not at any health risk!!!

I would appreciate any replies. I hope everyone has a great 4th of July!!!!!!!

Cari

[chem geek]

So long as you have sufficient chlorine in the pool and the pH is between 7.0 and 8.0 (7.5 is best), then the high Total Alkalinity (TA) is no problem for swimming. The main problem with the high TA is that if the Calcium Hardness (CH) is also high then you can get cloudiness or scaling. Over time, your pool will tend to rise in pH unless you use an acidic source of chlorine (such as Trichlor, but that increases Cyanuric Acid levels).

[benson]

The ta 240
cya are 30-50
ph is 7.5-7.8

is it ok to swim in it?

[chem geek]

Again, the safety has to do with whether you have a disinfectant in the water and you did not list any disinfectant level such as Free Chlorine (FC). A high TA is not a problem unless the Calcium Hardness (CH) is also high in which case you can risk getting calcium carbonate scale -- not a health hazard, but not good for pool surfaces (including gas heat exchangers).

[Poonamdpi]

Hello,
No, it is not safe to swim with high alkalinity. The high alkalinity can cause problems with you as well as the pool. A pH above 7.8 can cause cloudiness in the water and scale along the sides of your pool.

[Denniswiseman]

Hello,
No, it is not safe to swim with high alkalinity. The high alkalinity can cause problems with you as well as the pool. A pH above 7.8 can cause cloudiness in the water and scale along the sides of your pool.

Yes it is safe to swim, however high TA will cause your pH to rise which isn't desirable, lower pH under 7 is more of a problem as it's acidic
To Lower TA
Raise pH to a higher level by aeration
Use muriatic acid to lower it to 7.2 using Pool Maths
This will lower TA as well
Repeat the process untill your TA is at a better level
Use these common chemicals to maintain your pool
Liquid chlorine (sodium hypochlorite or plain bleach)
Muriatic acid (hydrochloric acid) to lower pH and TA
Bicarbonate of soda to raise TA
Aeration will raise pH only
Soda ash will raise pH and TA

[Poolcovers]

Yes, it is safe for swimming. Total Alkalinity is the sum of all the alkaline chemicals in your pool. The TA levels can impact the pH if the levels are too low. The standard and optimum pH for pool water is 7.4, since this is the same as the pH in human eyes and mucous membranes. A pH of 7.4 also gives good chlorine disinfection. Remember, adjusting the TA levels can affect your pH levels as well, so be careful when adjusting these levels as you may have to readjust your pH levels when you are finished. It is very important that total alkalinity should be maintained in the range of 80 to 150 ppm. If it violates, then it acts as per below:
If total alkalinity is too low:
pH changes rapidly when chemicals or impurities enter the water. pH may drop rapidly, causing etching and corrosion.
If total alkalinity is too high:
pH becomes difficult to adjust. High pH often occurs causing other problems such as; cloudy water, decreased disinfectant effectiveness, scale formation and filter problems.

[Teapot]

The original poster had a new pool, it is wise to start a new concrete, plaster tile pool on a higher level of alkalinity to allow the pool surface to cure quicker. This alkalinity level can then be reduced.
If the pool is vinyl liner or glass fibre the alkalinity can be much lower 40-60ppm providing the pH remains stable. Using very acidic pool pucks will lower pH and alkalinity over time. Using bleach (Chlorox etc) allows a lower alkalinity to be used but even at 40ppm there is still around 7 times more carbonates in the water than the air so the off gassing of CO2 (the cause of pH rise) will be much slower than with an alkalinity of 80 to 150 ppm. The amount of acid (pH-) required to correct any pH rise will be considerably less so some of the old guide tables only based on concrete, plaster, tiled pools which need to run a higher alkalinity can confuse the issue, although running a higher pH could also reduce any aggressive water issues.

[swimlikearock]

Should be fine to swim with high Alkalinity. Just keep an eye on your chemicals levels and test often.

[Pooltechjeff]

Yes it's safe for you to swim in, as far as if it's safe for your pool. It all depends on the saturation index of your water chemistry. So much attention is given to chasing the correct PH and chlorine levels people dont realize it's a sum of a few other things together that determine if our water is safe for our pool, equipment and maintaining longevity to our pool surfaces. Also, when it comes to TA and your CYA is 100ppms or more you'll need to subtract 1/3 of your TA reading to get your true TA reading.