New pool owner here

[AndyD]

So I guess the next step would be to test the water coming out of my hose to see what the TA levels are. If they are high there's not much I can do, but if it's low I might as well lower the TA of my pool. My PH did go up .3 in one day but that was after a heavy rain. Not sure if that matters or not. What would be a normal ppm per day/week change in PH in the perfect world? Thanks

[Watermom]

Yes, test the TA of your fill water. As far as what would be normal change in pH in a day ---- pH, for the most part, should be pretty stable if your TA is adjusted appropriately. (Unless you have a new plaster pool or a SWCG, both of which will see pH rise.)

[aylad]

Just to add to what Watermom said, if you had a really heavy rain, that could have aerated the water enough to bring the pH up a little bit. The TA in my pool is 110, and my pH rarely moves from 7.8, unless I do something (like add acid) to move it. In most cases, though, it's right back to 7.8 within a day or two, because that's the pH of my fill water. I tried to fight it for the first couple of years, but then I realized I was just wasting time and acid!

Janet

[AndyD]

So I finally checked the TA of my fill water and it is over 300. Knowing that, is it worth trying to lower the TA or leave it where it is? It is still hovering @200. My PH does fluctuate somewhat, so will that cause any problems? Thanks

[Watermom]

How much is your pH fluctuating and how often are you having to add water to the pool?

[AndyD]

I checked the PH yesterday afternoon-7.4. At 10:30 today its 7.5. So not that much change today. I guess I will have to check it daily and see how much change there is. Actually since I filled the pool originally about 3 weeks ago I havent added any water, but its getting to the point where in a few days I will have to if it doesnt rain. I am still in the process of adding CYA at this piont and I am almost there, so could that be contributing to my problem of high TA? Also I was wandering around on the internet and stumbled across this filter contraption that would go on the end of the hose for my fill water, and supposedly it would filter out metals in the water. Has anyone ever tried one of these? or know of anyone that did? and if so what were the results. I would be happy to shell out the $40 or so to get one if it works, but I am a little bit skeptical. Thanks

[aylad]

There are several posts in the Metals forum by people who have made homemade filters and run their fill water through to filter out the metals. The theory is that if you run the water past a high chlorine source right before it hits the filter, it will cause the metals to drop out on to the filter. The ones who have posted about it in this forum all have had varying levels of success with it. Might use the Google search link in Watermom's sig to search the forum for metal filters...