Raising pH in Unpressurized Storage

[Rory]

I've seen a couple of posts on pH in the pressurized system, but I was wondering what the recommended method is to raise 670 gallons in an EPDM lined tank from 6.8 or so up to 8.

 

[ohbie1]

In the instructions for cleaning EPDM a lot of suppliers say to use TSP pretty much full strength. They say not to use solvent or petro based chemicals. Based on this info. I used the TSP. It took about 6 lbs. (per 1K. gal.) to go from 6.8 to 8.5, so I figure this is a pretty diluted solution of TSP. I did this in Feb./09. So far so good.

 

[Gooserider]

In the pool world, you can use baking soda, or 20-Mule Team Borax to raise pH...

Gooserider

 

[Rory]

In the pool world, you can use baking soda, or 20-Mule Team Borax to raise pH...

Gooserider

That's what I thought, but I have no idea how much.

 

['bert]

You could try putting your numbers into this calculator..

http://www.thepoolcalculator.com/

 

[Gooserider]

You could try putting your numbers into this calculator..

http://www.thepoolcalculator.com/

Not sure it would work for a boiler, but I can certainly say that is a good tool for swimming pools! I started following the advice of it's companion website Trouble Free Pool and using that calculator since I opened our pool about a week ago - I have NEVER gotten the pool into good condition as quickly, with as few chemicals, and at so little expense as I have this year...

These guys do for pools what Hearth.com does for wood burning...

I would urge anyone that has a pool to look up the website, and break your addiction to the over-priced chemical dependency of the pool store :coolsmile:

Gooserider

 

[flyingcow]

You could try putting your numbers into this calculator..

http://www.thepoolcalculator.com/

Not sure it would work for a boiler, but I can certainly say that is a good tool for swimming pools! I started following the advice of it's companion website Trouble Free Pool and using that calculator since I opened our pool about a week ago - I have NEVER gotten the pool into good condition as quickly, with as few chemicals, and at so little expense as I have this year...

These guys do for pools what Hearth.com does for wood burning...

I would urge anyone that has a pool to look up the website, and break your addiction to the over-priced chemical dependency of the pool store :coolsmile:

Gooserider

Looks like a good site Goose, just what I'm looking for. I've got an inground, still trying to keep it simple on the upkeep. Haven't had the weather to open it up yet, got it running, but got to finish vacuuming. Not warm enough yet.


Back on topic. It would worth his while to send a email to STSS. They might help you with the question. Haven't checked the site, maybe they got a FAQ section.

 

[Rory]

We actually got a pool from the same loan as my Tarm. Kind of a his/hers thing - you can guess which was which. We have a chemical called Alkalinity Up, but it's purpose claims to be related to the buffering capacity, not specifically to raise the pH (which I always thought was another way of saying "raise the alkalinity).

 

[flyingcow]

Baking Soda.

 

[Gooserider]

We actually got a pool from the same loan as my Tarm. Kind of a his/hers thing - you can guess which was which. We have a chemical called Alkalinity Up, but it's purpose claims to be related to the buffering capacity, not specifically to raise the pH (which I always thought was another way of saying "raise the alkalinity).

Well not to get to far off topic, I would suggest reading at least the "Pool School" section on the site I mentioned, they have a really good discussion of the various terms and what they mean... However, there are two different aspects to the acid / alkaline balance of the pool...

First off is the actual pH number which describes the acid / base balance, or how acidic or basic the water is. In theory pure water has a pH of 7.0, and you want to be just a little basic from that, ideally around 7.6, but anything between 7.2 and 7.8 is considered fine. Too much outside that range, and you start risking damage to the pool, and will find the water makes your eyes burn or sting...

The second item is the "TA" or "Total Alkalinity" which relates to the amount of "buffering capacity" in the water - or how easy it is to change the pH - if it is too low, then you will have a great deal of trouble keeping the pH stable, and if it's too high, you will have trouble changing the pH at all... In addition, like most of the other chemical numbers, too far outside the target range will cause the potential for pool damage and / or uncomfortable / unsafe swimming water...

The TFP site essentially teaches you about the water chemistry, and how to test and manage it - a lot involves the use of a fairly expensive and lengthy test kit (Those strips DON'T tell you what you need to know, and pool store testing is unreliable at best, not to mention it's being designed to sell you lots of chemicals... Instead you do your own testing, and instead of using expensive pool-store stuff, much of which is not particularly useful, and some of which actually makes your pool WORSE and increases your chemical needs (and most of which is over-priced) you learn how to use readily available, lower cost chemicals in such a way that the pool stays in good shape with minimal effort and expense...

Gooserider