egclassic Posted September 14, 2020 Report Share Posted September 14, 2020 I have decided to start up my tub again after a 2-3 year break. Last time, I fought balancing the water. I'd get TA within range, but the Ph would skyrocket. Got tired of chasing TA and Ph up and down ALL the time. This time I have tested my tap water and it is TA=80, but Ph is 8.5+. I know I want to add borates again and I think that was part of my issue. I used Borax but this time plan on using just Boric Acid as mentioned in other posts here. I am also going the Bromine route. So, question is, with the parameters of my tap water in mind on a fresh refill, where do I start? Should I first add acid (dry or Muratic) to lower Ph, then add baking soda to raise TA back and aerate? What is the ideal TA? I know Ph should be 7.4-7.6? Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted September 15, 2020 Report Share Posted September 15, 2020 There are a few bromine routes. Are you using tablets? What shock? 80 alk is fine. Really, anything over 50 is acceptable, if not ideal. Ph is ok 7.2 - 7.8. The lower the alk, the higher the ph for balanced water. What is your calcium hardness? Aeration raises ph by gassing off CO2 in the water. If your ph is already high you should avoid aeration. @waterbear, anything to add? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kogden Posted September 15, 2020 Report Share Posted September 15, 2020 There are tools available to help with the calculations. LSI - https://www.pentair.com/en/knowledge-base/pool-spa-equipment/pentair-pool-calculators/saturation-index-calculator.html Pool Math will also help with the amount of chemicals to add to adjust to desired levels. https://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egclassic Posted September 15, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2020 10 hours ago, RDspaguy said: There are a few bromine routes. Are you using tablets? What shock? 80 alk is fine. Really, anything over 50 is acceptable, if not ideal. Ph is ok 7.2 - 7.8. The lower the alk, the higher the ph for balanced water. What is your calcium hardness? Aeration raises ph by gassing off CO2 in the water. If your ph is already high you should avoid aeration. @waterbear, anything to add? Using Bromine tabs in floater and shock with bleach. Not sure about CH yet but our tap water is considered hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egclassic Posted September 15, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2020 Calcium hardness is 160 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDspaguy Posted September 16, 2020 Report Share Posted September 16, 2020 With ch of 160, alk of 50, and ph of 7.8 you have balanced water. Can you hit those numbers? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egclassic Posted September 20, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2020 On 9/16/2020 at 12:54 AM, RDspaguy said: With ch of 160, alk of 50, and ph of 7.8 you have balanced water. Can you hit those numbers? I think so. My TA is now around 40ish and Ph is 7.6. I have not been home for about 3 days and tested water today. At 1st, the Ph was a tad low (7.0-7.1) opened the air control valves and ran jets for 15 minutes, brought the Ph right up to 7.6. I found out that one of my air control valves was not sealing off, bad gasket, and I just replaced it a couple days ago. That was probably part of the reason for the PH drift. I'll check everything again in a day or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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