Hi,
We had great success last year converting our green swamp into sparkling blue oasis using the advice found on this forum. Our plan is to follow the program right from the start this year. We opened our pool over the weekend, followed the steps for opening, then balanced the water using TA & CH increaser & shocked the pool on Monday. My husband said the process seemed to be a lot easier this year and the water looks pretty good already. This is the point where I need help.

Here are the pool numbers from yesterday afternoon:
FC 0-0.5
TA 120
PH 7.8
CH 250
CYA 20?

I tested the water w/ my K-2005 test kit, except for the CYA because I ran out of the the reagent during the process (though I know it was over 9 because that's where it was at when I ran out). I then took a sample to the pool store and they used a test strip and said to use 25 for the CYA.

Last night I added 33 oz. bleach to bring the FC up to 4 based on the pool calculator, though the FC only came up to 3. This morning I did the test again and it appears we passed the overnight test.

So, now what? Do I bring the FC back up to 4 and just wait for the water to clear? We're running the filter 24x7; the water is "pretty" clear and has a green tinge to it.

Thanks,
Cecilia

You should maintain the FC level a little higher than that until the water clears up, perhaps around 6. I would also lower PH ot 7.5, though that is hardly essential. If the water doesn't start clearing up right away you may need to shock.

You want confirmation of your CYA level. I would order more CYA reagent and do your own test. The test strip result is not reliable enough to depend on long term, but it is good enough that there is no rush. Then CYA should be adjusted to between 40 and 50.

You need to shock.

The three criteria to know when to stop are:

CC is 0.5 or lower;
An overnight FC loss test shows a loss of 1.0 ppm or less;
And the water is clear.

You aren't clear.

http://tftestkits.net will sell you the refills you need. You can also get the FAS-DPD test seperately which will make your K-2005 into a K-2006 test kit.

Once you use the FAS-DPD chlorine test, you'll love it.

Hmmmm...

Based on the advice, I went ahead and shocked the pool again to be on the safe side. So, now what?

Btw, I did buy the FAS-DPD kit last year. It was invaluable last year in getting the pool cleared up.

Open a bottle of POP.

Pool Owner Patience.

Go do something else for a couple hours, and forget the pool. Then recheck FC and see how the water looks. Add enough chlorine to run it back up to shock, give it a good brushing, and leave it alone for another couple hours. A watched pot never boils!! And it won't clear any faster no matter how hard you stare at it. LOL

Got it

Thank you!!!

You mean you brought it up to shock level again to start the shock process, right?

Yep

I need some more advice

Since yesterday, I have been trying to keep the pool at shock level (12ppm) based on a CYA of 25 (see above). Well, today I went over to the pool store to pick some R-0013 reagent and I took along a water sample for them to test the CYA since I always have a tough time reading that test at home. The sample tested at 0 twice. I'm really confused now as to how all the CYA could have been lost over the winter. Any ideas? I also don't understand how the T-2005 test functions if your CYA is at 0.

Tonight we went ahead and added stabilizer to raise the CYA to 40. I read somewhere that it can take up to a week for the stabilizer to be fully desolved and not to test again for a week. So, what do I do in the meantime as far as adding chlorine? Do I use 40 as my CYA value when calculating how much bleach to add? I also read somewhere that you should not raise FC beyond 5 if your CYA is truly 0. Why is that? Apparently, I've done just that several times now since we opened the pool.

Sorry for all the questions but I'm just trying to understand all of this stuff a little better and hoping I didn't mess things up too bad

Cecilia

I would get a second opinion on the cya. Is your cya in a sock or did you just dump it in the pool? If the CYA is truly 0 and you added enough to reach 40 then dose your pool as if you have a CYA of 40.

How did you add the stabilizer?

24 hours after CYA is dissolved, assume the CYA is there and increase the FC level to match.

Wait a week before retesting CYA/stabilizer.

We slowly added granular stabilizer to the siphon box per the directions on the container.