New Fill

[Everett_88]

Our pool is finished! Pic attached for fun!

We mixed the salt in today and ran everything for pool school but it’s still very cold and I had the builder winterize until we’re ready to open in.

There are no chemicals at all in the pool, fresh city water fill and salt is all.

Should I add anything at this point or just let it sit until we open?

Thanks

 

[ajw22]

You should add 30ppm of dry stabilizer/CYA and 5-6 ppm of liquid chlorine to ensure algae does not take hold in the water.

Also check your pH and TA and keep your pH in the 7’s.

Just Filled Your Pool with Water? Here's What To Do Next - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Everett_88]

You should add 30ppm of dry stabilizer/CYA and 5-6 ppm of liquid chlorine to ensure algae does not take hold in the water.

Also check your pH and TA and keep your pH in the 7’s.

Just Filled Your Pool with Water? Here's What To Do Next - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Thanks! Is this okay to add even though my pump is not running?

What brand of stabilizer do you recommend?

 

[ajw22]

Thanks! Is this okay to add even though my pump is not running?

There was no reason to add salt but there were reasons to add other things before you winterized the pump.

You have a test kit?

You check the water chemistry before you shutdown the pool?

What brand of stabilizer do you recommend?

Any brand that is 100% CYA is fine. You can buy Puritech at Amazon.

You need the pump running to dissolve dry stabilizer.

Liquid chlorine you can add and stir in with your pool brush. But without CYA do not add more then 3ppm of chlorine.

You download PoolMath ?

 

[Everett_88]

There was no reason to add salt but there were reasons to add other things before you winterized the pump.

You have a test kit?

You check the water chemistry before you shutdown the pool?



Any brand that is 100% CYA is fine. You can buy Puritech at Amazon.

You need the pump running to dissolve dry stabilizer.

Liquid chlorine you can add and stir in with your pool brush. But without CYA do not add more then 3ppm of chlorine.

You download PoolMath ?

I have downloaded poolmath and have a TF-PRO salt but have not used either yet.

They have to come back today to finish shutting down, all we did yesterday was blow the return lines and air lock the main drains. Took a few minutes. I’ll ask him if we can leave pump running over the weekend and he come back next week to completely winterize. That’ll give me time to grab chemicals.

I assume 100% stabilizer can be bought locally so I’ll check as Amazon is quite a few days out.

Thanks for the info!

 

[Everett_88]

This stuff okay? 100% pure CYA is what I want, right?

Wasn’t cheap, but I’ll buy online in bigger bag next time.

 

[ajw22]

This stuff okay? 100% pure CYA is what I want, right?

Wasn’t cheap, but I’ll buy online in bigger bag next time.

Yes.

 

[Newdude]

Anything good says 100% CYA on the ingredients.

 

[Everett_88]

I grabbed bleach yesterday and paid attention to the label where it showed 7.5%. This is all Menards had in my area.

However, now that I am home, i see a "shield" that says "With Fabric Protection"

Below is the link of what I bought. I don't think this is good to use because of that code word after I re-read the Liquid Chlorine Wiki... can someone weigh in?

Solutions Concentrated Bleach - 81 oz.

Solutions Concentrated Bleach cleans, deodorizes, whitens and brightens your laundry.

www.menards.com

 

[ajw22]

You want to use bleach without any additives in pools. Fabric protection is polymers which cause foaming in the water.

This site used to encourage the use of household bleach in pools. However manufacturers have been adding additives to almost all bleach used for laundry. You may be able to find bleach that is pure chlorine aimed at the surface cleaning and disinfectant market. Bleach in the laundry aisle is likely to have additives.

That is why we now refer to using liquid chlorine and not bleach. Liquid chlorine is found in different aisles and stores then bleach, usually in 10% or 12% strengths.

 

[Everett_88]

Good info; thank you

 

[Everett_88]

I added CYA this past weekend and tested with my TF-Pro Salt and found my results to be what I expected - 30ppm

I added 77oz of liquid chlorine (10%) per the dosage in Pool Math as I was looking for 4.5ppm FC. I tested my fill water prior to adding anything and found it was maybe .5ppm FC so I started with 77oz knowing I could add more easier than I could remove.

To my surprise, my results after adding 77oz LC did not change at all. Zero FC change.

I added the LC today around noon, in front of a return jet. Pump was running 30gpm and ran for 4hrs after I dosed with LC. I tested 6 hrs after adding.

I bought the LC from Lowe’s. Every single pool store in Wichita, KS is out of LC and only had powder. LC won’t be in for “a few months” they tell me.

Is there a chance I got expired (?) LC?

What am I missing?

EDIT: my bottles say “23339” as a date code… so early Dec 2023? So these are just shy of 3 months old? Right?

Liquid Chlorine https://www.lowes.com/pd/Pool-Essentials-1-Gallon-Liquid-Pool-Chlorine/5001527059

 

[Newdude]

It could be multiple things.

Test 20 mins after dosing to verify you hit/missed the target.

3 month old bleach is better now than in August. At least you know for a fact it didn't sit in the 100 degree blazing sun behind the store for a week before they moved it to the shelf. So see how far off it is after dosing. Then we'll go from there.

If you're hitting your target and losing FC quickly then it's probably algae. A 30 CYA should hold FC this time of year. The test for algae is to Overnight Chlorine Loss Test.

 

[Everett_88]

It could be multiple things.

Test 20 mins after dosing to verify you hit/missed the target.

3 month old bleach is better now than in August. At least you know for a fact it didn't sit in the 100 degree blazing sun behind the store for a week before they moved it to the shelf. So see how far off it is after dosing. Then we'll go from there.

If you're hitting your target and losing FC quickly then it's probably algae. A 30 CYA should hold FC this time of year. The test for algae is to Overnight Chlorine Loss Test.

So add another 77oz, test in 20mins, report back here. Got it.

Waters been filled for a week and we’ve been 30 deg weather so hoping no algae

 

[Everett_88]

So add another 77oz, test in 20mins, report back here. Got it.

Waters been filled for a week and we’ve been 30 deg weather so hoping no algae

Done.

Added 77oz and test 20 mins after. Showing 5.5ppm using the Chlorine Drop Test.

Now what? Check in AM and see if I lose it?

 

[Everett_88]

Done.

Added 77oz and test 20 mins after. Showing 5.5ppm using the Chlorine Drop Test.

Now what? Check in AM and see if I lose it?

I read the OCLT instructions and think I’m on track to follow. At 9pm, well after sun was down, I recorded 5.5 FC using drop method. When I get up and before the sun comes up, I’ll test again with drop test.

Thanks!

 

[Newdude]

Nice job figuring it out after I went to bed.

So you're bleach is strong enough but you lost a questionable amount of FC recently.

You just proved the bleach is hitting the target, or reasonably close enough.

Now the 2 choices are is the pool losing FC around the clock (algae..... do the OCLT to remove the sun from the eqaution), or is it only losing FC in the sun (bump the CYA).

The CYA has been mixing for a while so I like the reading, and while that *should* be enough while it's so cold out, it's also a real subjective test and maybe it's still under 30.

It's likely not algae with brand new 30 degree water like you said, but without testing, all any of us can do is guess. So we test and *know*.

Daily loss for you should be under 1ppm a day right now, and you lost 6 (?) so something is definitely up.

 

[Everett_88]

Nice job figuring it out after I went to bed.

So you're bleach is strong enough but you lost a questionable amount of FC recently.

You just proved the bleach is hitting the target, or reasonably close enough.

Now the 2 choices are is the pool losing FC around the clock (algae..... do the OCLT to remove the sun from the eqaution), or is it only losing FC in the sun (bump the CYA).

The CYA has been mixing for a while so I like the reading, and while that *should* be enough while it's so cold out, it's also a real subjective test and maybe it's still under 30.

It's likely not algae with brand new 30 degree water like you said, but without testing, all any of us can do is guess. So we test and *know*.

Daily loss for you should be under 1ppm a day right now, and you lost 6 (?) so something is definitely up.

Tested at 545AM and had 5ppm.

I’m new, so just to be clear, I used 11 drops last night (5.5ppm) and 10 drops (5ppm) this morning.

So it held FC as expected overnight which I understand means nothing concerning with algae.

I need to update my signature, but I do have an auto-cover and it was closed all the time, still is.

Should I just monitor FC morning and night for a few days and see what I see?

At what threshold should I add more FC? Below 3ppm?

 

[Newdude]

So it held FC as expected overnight which I understand means nothing concerning with algae.

Correct. A one drop loss overnight is either user error, allowable test variance, or normal pool operation with a little organic matter blowing in the pool.

I need to update my signature, but I do have an auto-cover and it was closed all the time, still is.

Ok that's huge. You should have next to no loss when covered in the off/extended season. The CYA level shouldn't have mattered with 30 degree weather and the cover.

But you lost FC unexpectedly so keep tabs on it. Maybe just one or two of the chlorine jugs were bad and now you have good ones.

At what threshold should I add more FC? Below 3ppm?

Anticipate making it to tomorrow while remaining free and clear above minimum. For now, run a 6+ and treat 4 like its minimum for some wiggle room. Once you prove it's stable right now, you may only lose .5 a day and 2 above minimum is a 4 day supply. In August, 4 ppm might barely be a 1 day supply.

 

[Everett_88]

Correct. A one drop loss overnight is either user error, allowable test variance, or normal pool operation with a little organic matter blowing in the pool.

Ok that's huge. You should have next to no loss when covered in the off/extended season. The CYA level shouldn't have mattered with 30 degree weather and the cover.

But you lost FC unexpectedly so keep tabs on it. Maybe just one or two of the chlorine jugs were bad and now you have good ones.

Anticipate making it to tomorrow while remaining free and clear above minimum. For now, run a 6+ and treat 4 like its minimum for some wiggle room. Once you prove it's stable right now, you may only lose .5 a day and 2 above minimum is a 4 day supply. In August, 4 ppm might barely be a 1 day supply.

View attachment 554921

Got it!

I’ll check again this evening and see what I have.

Happy to hear your comment about the cover as i was hoping I would have minimal attention requirements related to the the chemical levels once it’s closed for the year.

Hoping the 1 drop variance is user error and I actually lost nothing overnight. That seems more reasonable.

I did switch to a new jug in my second pour, so we shall see.

I’ll update here…. Stay tuned!