New Gunite/Plaster Salt H2O Pool..Low pH & Total Alkalinity..Black Plaster..by Kris
I added a gallon of muratic acid yesterday because the pH was above 8.5. Now pH and alkalinity are low but I cant brush it still. It was doing this right when they installed the pool and they put acid in it and the white stuff would roll right off. Do I need more acid? What do you think? Thank you for your time. Thanks for the question Kris Normally with new pools or newly plastered pools you're going to have some residual plaster coming off until it fully cures. The pool water might become cloudy and/or dull, but not to worry. This will go away with normal filtration. I think what your pool might be going through could be either high salt or calcium hardness, or a combination of both. I would suggest getting a Myron salt meter from TMI Salt Pure. This is the one I use at the YMCA pool and it's very accurate. A little on the spendy side, but it's worth it. TMI can walk you through on how to use it. They're very knowledgeable and helpful. Don't simply rely on the computer reading or the salt cell chlorinator. You need to have that calibrated correctly with a manual reading. Salt Water Swimming Pools..Chlorinator..Maintenance Guide Next, be sure to keep your swimming pool calcium hardness between 150 - 250ppm. This is especially true with concrete/gunite salt pools. To high calcium and the salt chlorinator cell might calcify up, too little calcium and you'll get pitting on the gunite. Calcium Hardness..Cloudy Pool Water..Test I suggest getting a Taylor FAS-DPD K-2006 test pool water kit. It's the best on the market. Pool Water Testing Kit..Balance..Chemistry You can get a nice wire swimming pool brush and pool test kit from Amazon. The brush might help with loosening up the white build-up on the gunite surface. Swimming Pool Supplies You said the pH and alkalinity was low. You can add sodium bicarb. to raise the total alkalinity using the technique found here: Pool Alkalinity..Adjust Pool Chemistry..Pool Water Balance If the pH isn't too low, say below 7.0 - 7.2, I personally wouldn't worry about raising it. Through aeration, splashing around, etc...the pH will rise on it's own through the burning off of the CO2. If it's lower than that, you can raise it be using this page: Swimming Pool pH Levels..Lowering..Raising Hope this helps and let me know how it turns out for you All the best Robert |
