Playa Flamenca
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Legendary helpful member
Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2018 6:07am
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You haven't given the readings
Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2018 12:26pm
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The readings have the colours compared to the chart on the tub. So free chlorine 1, pH below 6.2 (colour too pale for the chart to show level), total alkalinity close to zero.
Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2018 1:56pm
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I'm surprised at such a low pH, as if our pool water varies, it's always an increase in pH. At such a low value, there's a risk that the acidic water could start attacking the grout between the tiles, and any metal parts in the pump, like the impeller, could be corroded. In addition, any metal salts in the water could start to stain the tile surfaces. Also, such a low pH will render the chlorine ineffective.
You need a tub of granular pH plus (cheapest), or the liquid version (quicker acting). You could work out how much to use but I'm lazy. I just bung some in and redo the measurement after the circulation has been on a while. You need to end up with a pH of about 7.4.
Free chlorine is at it's minimum acceptable level plus, as I said above, the low pH will render this ineffective. Just in case this has allowed the growth of any nasties, I'd be inclined to give it a dose of 'shock' (quick acting) chlorine and run the circulation at least overnight (and don't use the pool even if your blood is full of antifreeze i.e. alcohol!). After that, monitor how the level of free chlorine reduces, then use whatever you normally use to maintain a level between 1 and 3. If you're not using the pool before next year, there's nothing wrong with keeping it at a high level. However, don't keep it high by using 3-in-1, 4-in-1 or 5-in-one tablets, as this will lead to a build up of cyanuric acid.
Ref the TA, I can't really help you. I assume you're using test strips rather than liquid reagents, and I don't know how the strips work re TA. I'd say you need a TA of around 100 parts per million. If I needed to raise the TA, I'd use plain old sodium bicarbonate. This is cheap as chips in a supermarket, so I'd buy it there rather than from a pool shop. You could try adjusting everything at once, but I'd be inclined to correct the pH first before you do the other two.
PS: When I clicked the notification email, it took me straight to your last post, and I've only just scrolled up and seen the photo you added.
Posted: Mon Oct 15, 2018 2:20pm
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Thanks Jim. That's waht we thought too. Communal pool so we have the president giving the maintenance guy a ticking off and he is suposedly correcting the issues. We suspected a problem, was told it was fine but we didn't think so, so we got a cheap kit to test it and we were a bit horrified. You have confirmed everything we thought.
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