Plaster Etching, staining or BOTH?

[mknauss]

You can slow that pump rpm down if you like. 50% is more than enough.

 

[AmyCJeff]

If I am simultaneously doing the TA reduction/aeration process should I leave it at 75%? (75% is Medium setting on my pump...don't know if that matters)
BTW...check out my testing log My TA is steadily coming down...yay!!!

 

[mknauss]

I doubt it would effect it much. You will be at 100 ppm TA soon (good job!) and then just let things go back to normal.

 

[AmyCJeff]

Gothca! Thanks If it ends up overshooting and getting to 90....would that be OK? Or do I really need to stop at 100?
That is my last question...lol, I promise

 

[mknauss]

I did not say 'stop' at 100. You can just stop concentrating on lowering the TA. You will just change to testing pH every other day or three and adding acid to keep in the 7's.

 

[AmyCJeff]

Ohh...gotcha! You did mentioned that earlier, I just forgot...sorry Thanks for reminding me

 

[AmyCJeff]

Ok I am happy to report that I *think* I am VERY close to getting everything to a point where I can switch to "maintain" mode.

A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who responded along the way, it has been greatly appreciated!!

HUGE HUGE THANK YOU to MKNAUSS for be extremely helpful and patient with all my "newbie" questions and confusion...lol!! I honestly my pool is in a MUCH better place because of you! Thank you!

NEXT STEPS:
- I will test this afternoon at 4:00pm to see where my CYA levels are (hopefully they are at 50). This is 24 hrs after the CYA completely dissolved out of the socks
- I will continue with the aeration process until my TA gets to 100 (only 10 more to go)

I have included pictures of THREE CSI calculations:
- Current (This morning)
- Anticipated (Tomorrow) + FC Recommendations - This is what I intend to maintain via testing and adding chemicals as needed. I will test daily in the afternoon (At some point I can provably switch to every 2-3 days)
- Long Range Goal - I would like to get my levels to a point where I can Maintain a PH of 7.4. Maintaining level of 7.2 seems like it poses challenges because if PH drops even a bit...it drops out of range.


Now, for my next question - Addressing the staining (see pics in first post):
From everything I have read here, if the stains are organic, maintaining proper FC levels should in theory address these. Is that true?
- If I maintained a level of 8 (see FC recommendation), should the stains go away?
- If so, how long to see an impact? 2 days, 2 weeks, 2 months, 2 years?
- OR do you have to maintain a LEVEL higher than recommended (for how long) to see an impact?

- If there is no hope to address the staining....I can live with that ...knowing that I now know how to properly maintain my pool to prevent future staining/other issues.

Thank you again....

 

[mknauss]

You will struggle to 'maintain' a pH of 7.4. I suggest when you test pH (every other day or three in the summer), lower it to 7.2 every time you test. That way you will be controlling the TA rise from the fill water.

If the stains are organic, then maintaining the FC in the upper target range and brushing the pool should reduce them over time. How long, who knows.

Are you running the Ozone? That pushes the pH higher. Just be ware.

 

[AmyCJeff]

In regards to the Ph.....good to know. I will definitely follow that suggestion. Also, completely makes sense to run at 7.2 (vs 7.4) to keep TA in check. By maintaining 7.2, it allows me to add more MA, which will will help with the TA levels.

I will keep the FC at the higher range (8) and see what happens over time. Thank you

Yes...the UV/Ozone system is ON. Unfortunately, I have no way of turning it off. I have the app on my phone (that controls the pool equip). The app allows me to turn it "off"...but then it kicks itself back on. I tried looking at pool equipment to see if I can turn it off manually. But, the best I can tell, there is no way to turn it off. I might reach out to my PB.

 

[mknauss]

I suspect you can remove the wiring from the electrical panel that powers it, but only do what you are comfortable doing. It does not effect pH much. But it does a little.

 

[AmyCJeff]

I am not comfortable doing that...but my husband is maintenance supervisor (+15 yrs experience) for a living...so he would be
I think I am going to leave it alone for now. But, if we find that it is a major struggle to maintain Ph, then I might have him look into it.

 

[AmyCJeff]

Ok....I am struggling to get my TA down that last 10. It has been holding steady at 110 for the last 24 hrs. Despite running the blowers for 12 hrs of those hours and adding 1 gallon of MA over the course of those 24 hrs. Do I just keep doing what I am doing?

You can see by my logs...I am spreading my testing out in hopes of getting a bigger Ph increase before adding MA (and saving my tests). Is there an impact to adding MA twice a day vs 4 times a day over the same 24 hr period (even if the total is the same)?

24 + 24 + 24+ 24
Vs
48 + 0 + 48 + 0

Ok...so I just did my Ph test just for kicks, and I have two weird things going on:
1 - Ph Levels
- This morning at 6:00am Ph = 7.4
- Added 55 ounces of MA to drop to 7.0
- 11:15am tested again. Ph = 7.4
- This means Ph raised .4 in 5 hrs??? I did NOT have the blowers on. Just the pool filter
- This seems like a big jump, considering previous it took all day (with the blowers on to get the kind of movement)

2 - Ph Test
- When I filled the test tube and put the drops in - I looked at the reading = 7.2
- I put the test on the table (in the shade). Then looked at it again in the sun about 3 minutes later and it was reading = 7.4
- It is normal to get a different reading after the test has sat for a few minutes?


Any insight would be greatly appreciated



At this point, I am now going to get on a cycle of testing around 6:30pm every night and maintaining FC = 8, Ph = 7.2
By adding chemicals right before sunset, it will make the most Chlorine...since it burns off during the day. It appears my FC decrease is about 4-5 ppm in 24 hrs. Everything I read here seems to indicate that is normal. I am in Vegas...100 degree temps, and my pool get 100% Sun ALL.DAY.

 

[mknauss]

At this point, I am now going to get on a cycle of testing around 6:30pm every night and maintaining FC = 8, Ph = 7.2

Perfect.

- It is normal to get a different reading after the test has sat for a few minutes?

yes. Especially if your FC is at or near 10 ppm. Determine the pH as quickly as you can after adding the reagent.

 

[AmyCJeff]

Ok good to know about reading the Ph right away. I was worried that my eyes were playing tricks on me or that I have been reading it wrong the whole time

So, based on that concept...my Ph reading was 7.2 at 11:15am (not 7.4) so it rose .2 from 6:00am (5.25 hrs). I do have my filter on, but it was running at 75% (vs 50%) and I have the UV/Ozone thing going on. Would that cause such a quick rise? Based on these boards, it sounds like it should rise about .1 in a 24 hr span.

 

[mknauss]

Very hard to predict pH rise. It is what it is. Just test it every other day or so and adjust.

 

[AmyCJeff]

Ok cool! that is good to know
Since at this point...I am shifting to a "maintenance" mode I will probably have the "Standard" questions that everyone else has. So I don't keep bothering you everyday...lol.... will start reading and posting more questions in threads that specifically relate to my questions. I don't want you think that I am "bailing on you" as you have been tremendously helpful! but just thought I would give you a break....lol