How often to test

[sspine]

Have added muratic acid to lower TA, when do I retest?

[Watermom]

Usually it is best to let things circulate for at least 4 or 5 hours before retesting.

[waste]

Have added muratic acid to lower TA, when do I retest?

Hi, and welcome to the forum! You've made a great choice in taking a proactive roll in your pool and by comming here to get advice on how to do it, properly ! The 'plug' of acid method for lowering total alkalinity has been debunked by the operator of this site(Ben/ Pooldoc), go to the second thread in the "dealing with alkalinity and calcium" topic (it's stickied)' for the low down on how to really lower alkalinity with acid.

As a general question of 'how long should I wait to retest aftere adding something'; the answer is, 1 turnover. A 'turnover' is the amount of time you need to run the pump to have the gallonage of your pool pass through the filter. There are some great folks who regularly post here that can tell you an ~ exact #, if they know the size of your pool, what pump and filter you have, and a few other details about your plumbing. (for a 'quick and dirty' # - about 4 hrs. with the pump running should give you a good idea of what the change has been )

[sspine]

Thank you for the help last night. I am a newbie converting from Bioguard.
16x36 ig vinyl liner (21,000 g?)
Hayward sand filter
Hayward 2.5 hp pump

I had high TA & CYA so pumped and refilled, added .75 gallon Muratic in 2 doses last night. Current numbers (have added 4 gal Walmart Ultra in past 4 days.

FC 0
TC 0
CC 0
Ph 7.7
TA 175ppm (was 320 before refill and aeration)
CA 250ppm
Cya 58ppm (was 95 before refill and aeration)

I don't know whether to get the clorine going or need to get the TA down more first. We just retired and have been watching this board for sometime now. You are great teachers. I have already learned a lot.

[JohnT]

Your TA is probably not a problem where it is. You need chlorine before things get out of hand. Keep an eye on the pH. The other stuff can be tweaked at your convenience.