Well I tested again...
Here are my readings at 11:15 on 6/10
FC - 1
Bromine - 2
pH - 7.2
TA - 120
CH - 0
CYA - 0
Added 221oz Bleach

I am not gonna post a picture this time since it looks exactly the same...LOL... the shark is still in the bottom of the pool sucking up some dirt (from the tree near by). The water is clear and pretty.

How long will it take for it to keep the chlorine level up... it seems like it is dropping quickly still...

It is very very cloudy with light rain... today so I will probably retest again around 4 or 5 and then again before bed and see what is going on with it. It does look like I should have my test kit (I hope I can figure out how to use it) on the 12th so I will be able to get some good readings then.

Thanks Russ for the tip... I took the stairs out and cleaned then today... they looked clean already but heck while they were out I cleaned it even more...LOL The sand in the bottom of my stairs is 10 gallon ziplock bags of sand, put into a Large ziplock bag put into a XXL ziplock bag... LOL overkill I think but I dont want to leak any sand. I did scrub the bag and there didnt seem to be anything on that bag either... but did it anyhow...LOL Thanks for the tip though. Congratulations on getting your conversion done.... I hope mine is almost done...LOL... just gotta get that chlorine to stay up... water is beautiful though.

Thanks
Susan

It is the overnight loss that is interesting. You should expect to lose FC fairly quickly during the day. Measure the FC level this evening and again first thing in the morning and that will tell us how far along you are.

YEAHHHH for the new forum....

Well my chlorine held pretty good overnight... by my AquCheck test strips. 10+

I got my TF-100 kit this afternoon and here is what my test results are...
1:00pm on 6/12
FC = 4.5
CC = .5
TC = 5
pH = 7.2
CH = 150
CYA = 0
TA = 250

So it looks pretty good by my untrained eyes...LOL... my TA is high I think though

What should my goals be for each of those tests??
What should I be doing next??
Thanks
Susan

Hi...Isn't the kit fun? Who'da thought we'd all be a bunch of testing nerds.....LOL

Keep an eye on your PH, if it drifts above 7.6 because of the high TA, you'll need to add muratic acid to lower it. That will lower the TA too but not enough. Later when everything else is stable you can aerate to lower the TA.

Keep an eye on the .5 CC you should probably bring it back up to shock level tonight and see how it is in the morning....

I would think you gotta be pretty close to done...but I'm learning with you, by osmosis...hehehe

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that tomorrow you can replace the cartridge and add the CYA.

Hopefully someone else will be along to confirm....

Thanks....

I cant wait to test tonight and get my chlorine level up high again tonight and see it up high tomorrow morning too... LOL

I am also thinking that I will need to add the CYA tomorrow ... and do something about the high TA levels.

Thanks for sticking by me...
Susan

6:45pmon 6/12
FC = 0
CC = 1
TC = 1
pH = 7.2
CH = 150
CYA = 0
TA = 260
Adding 221oz of bleach

So should I check again this evening to see what the chlorine is??? if it holds tonight do I change the filter and add CYA??

Thanks
Susan

7:45pmon 6/12
FC = 14.5
CC = 1
TC = 15.5
Added 8oz bleach.... I will test again at 8:45 and make sure I am at 15...and then leave it till the am and hope it all holds.

Susan

OK here is my results...
6/13 @ 6:45am
FC - 11.5
CC - 1
TC - 12.5
pH - 7.5
CYA - 0
TA - 200

Well my TA is lower... not really sure how, and my pH is a bit higher... it has been sprinking so I guess that could be airation... LOL
My FC went down from 14.5 (high as I could get it last night) to 11.5... so I guess I am not done...DARN. It looks like it is going to rain today and tomorrow... how will I keep the Chlorine level high with rain???
My CC is only 1 but that could be from the filter, right? My water has been sparkley for a few days now... nothing floating or setteling on the bottom... I do need to clean the filter, as I didnt get a chance to do it yesterday.

What is my next step???

Susan

A 3 ppm drop is significant overnight. I doubt the sprinkling would have lowered the TA that much without you seeing an increase in the PH at the same time....

I would hope you should be able to get some CYA in there by now, and replace your filter. You want the chlorine to be able to fight the fight during the day too and without stabilizer that's gonna be difficult.

Guys? How about it, can she replace her filter now and add CYA?

No, you need to wait till FC holds overnight. A 3 ppm drop overnight is close, but not quite there yet. If you change the filter media too soon you risk some lingering baquacil damaging the new filter.

Don't worry about the FC during the day. Just bring it back up to 15 tonight, several times tonight if you can.

O.K. Sallyone I feel your disappointment....

Yep I am dissapointed...LOL... but I dont want to rush perfection...
I will kick up the chlorine tonight... I am not working tonight so I should be able to hit it high alot so it will stay up... LOL

My pH did go up a bit (not much) and my TA went down... what would cause that??

Thanks
Susan

PH will read higher at high FC levels. Party bleach raises PH, which then goes down again as the FC gets used up. Partly the test reads a little higher than actual when FC is in the 10 to 20 range, more error when FC is higher. If the FC level gets high enough, PH will read extremely high regardless of where it actually is.

The TA change is most likely a small testing error of some kind. I wouldn't worry about it.

OK it is bright and early on a Saturday Morning and my chlorine held...YEAHHHHH

Here are my results from yesterday...6/13
6PM 9:45PM 10:45PM
FC- 0 10.5 17.5
CC- .5 1 1
TC- .5 11.5 18.5

Here are my results from this morning... 6/14 @ 6am
FC - 16
CC - .5
TC - 16.5
pH - 7.5-7.8
CYA - 0
TA - 240

It rained last night too, so I know that is an issue with chlorine... but my chlorine held (minus 1.5) over night... so I think I am done with the conversion right???

So today can I add my CYA and change my filter?

My pH is high, but you all stated that pH can be higher with a higher chlorine level, so I am not going to worry about that yet.... since it has been testing 7.2 when the chlorine level was lower.

My TA is high, you stated that was probably from a testing error... mmmmm... I have done the test several times and still come out with around the same reading... so what do you do to lower TA?

I am not sure if the Pool Gods are around on Saturday morning, I sure hope so... since we would LOVE to swim in the pool as soon as the levels allow us to.

Thanks for everything you all have done and the support I have gotten thru this conversion, it made it so much easier.

Susan

Susan, I'm so glad to hear it!

Yes, I'd say you can change your filter now and add the CYA. With no CYA in there that number will drop rather quickly and I'd think you'll be swimming by this afternoon. Be sure to keep your chlorine at 1-3 ppm tonight before bed...

Lowering TA is a process of aeration. You use muratic acid to lower your PH to 7.0 and then you aerate the water with bubbles....it lowers your TA over time and raises your PH again....you retest after about 4 hours and then if you see a rise in PH you repeat the acid process. You keep retesting both until they are acceptable.

Hi TA is a problem for people with spas in their pool or another source of aeration. My TA is 120 and have not had any problems. There have been a number of threads on here on the subject, you can read about them by doing a search on lowering TA. There was a recent thread and one of the pool gurus said to only lower TA if you are having a problem....unfortunately I think it may have been one of those posts that vanished in the transition....

Anyway, rambling now....

Congrats, enjoy!!!

Thanks for replying FrustratedPoolMom

I am so excited that my pool is stable.. yeahhhhh

I know my pH is prob high due to the high FC.

If i can lower TA with airation i might just put the fountain in the pool...that will work then too... also I read that if you point the return up so the water breaks the surface that might work too.

So my chlorine level needs to be 1-3ppm everyday... that is cool... much better than 15...LOL

Thanks alot, as soon as I am done working I will be out there fixing my pool up.

Susan

1-3 until you get CYA established. Shoot for 30-50 range for that and then look at the CYA/Chlorine chart to see your targets.....

Happy Swimming!!!

Go ahead and change the filter media, but keep FC around 15 for a couple of days until you are sure CC is 0.5 or lower for two days runnig.

yeah!!!!

Well about noon time I changed the filter, and cleaned out the pump and filter housing really really good. I also put about 1/2 (1.5 pounds) of Stabilizer in my pool to start raising my CYA. The calculator said to add 2 pounds 8oz to get it up to 40 and 1 pound 14oz to get it up to 30... so being that I know we are suppose to start slow with CYA since you cant do anything but drain the water to lower it... I only put 1.5 pounds in. I thought I read somewhere to test for it in a week, since it takes a while for it to get all mixed in good, is that right?

The family wants to swim right now... SUPRISE... so I just tested my pH and my chlorine and this is what I came up with.
FC - 6
CC - .5
TC - 6.5
pH - 7.2

So I know the pH looks good now (isnt 7.2 my goal place to be?) but I think my chlorine is still to high to swim...isnt that correct... I dont want red eyes or anything. What is the optimum level I want to get my chlorine at to be perfect to swim? Is 6.5 too high to swim now??

Thanks
Susan