Help with PH and total alkalinity

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smcbee
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Help with PH and total alkalinity

Postby smcbee » Tue 09 Apr, 2019 12:28

Hi, I just bought a new house with a large oval pool and it uses bacquacil. I checked the pool with some test strips the owner had left and it showed okay range on ppm softswim B (biguanide), ppm total alkalinity 240 (very high), PH 6.2 or under (very low), and ppm softswim clarifier 10 (add). can someone help me because im not too sure what to buy or what to do to get it ready for this summer.


Teapot
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My Pool: 12 x 24 (45m3) liner pool, Triton TR60 filter with AFM glass media (Activate) and variable speed pump running 0.08HP
Location: UK

Re: Help with PH and total alkalinity

Postby Teapot » Tue 09 Apr, 2019 15:47

I would really suggest you changing/converting to chlorine. We don't call it Bacacrap for nothing. Twice the price or more than chlorine, also you get a pink biofilm slime build up after a while.
Teapot
Pool Industry Leader
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Posts: 1337
Joined: Tue 17 Oct, 2017 10:52
My Pool: 12 x 24 (45m3) liner pool, Triton TR60 filter with AFM glass media (Activate) and variable speed pump running 0.08HP
Location: UK

Re: Help with PH and total alkalinity

Postby Teapot » Wed 10 Apr, 2019 04:25

To sort out the high alkalinity you need to go through several cycles of lowering the pH with acid, then aerating the water to raise the pH then lower the pH again with acid and aerating once more. Each cycle will lower the alkalinity and aeration returns the pH to the normal setting without increasing the alkalinity.
Denniswiseman
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My Pool: 10k inground fibreglass, Telescopic Cover, Hayward Powerline pump, Quality filter with glass media, 27kw output heat pump, K-2006C test kit
Location: United Kingdom

Re: Help with PH and total alkalinity

Postby Denniswiseman » Wed 10 Apr, 2019 17:00

With a low pH of 6.2 I would work on increasing it with aeration up to 7.8 before you start decreasing your TA
Only add enough acid to take your pH down to the low 7's before aerating again to raise your pH
Aerator
Also get youself a decent FAS/DPD test kit and dump the strips

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