First Attempt

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Thanks Jezza, good to know.

My plan is to do the OCLT test overnight tonight so I figure I'll add the chlorine last thing, say around 8:00pm, give it an hour or so to circulate with just the pump, no SWG and then test around 10:00pm and then again around 6:00am tomorrow morning.

I haven't added CYA yet, but I definitely need it. Should I do that this afternoon before the OCLT test tonight or wait until tomorrow?
 
Whether you add the CYA or not won't impact your OCLT result. So it's up to you just that your CYA is low so the sooner you get it in the less chlorine you will lose to sunlight. If you do need to SLAM you would probably like it to be at 50 anyway.
 
I would wait on the CYA just in case you do need to SLAM.

Pool School - Recommended Levels

Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart

I hope these links help.

I am also going to point you to this area............you are learning so much I think you might outpace our ability to answer you fast enough. Look to the left hand side of the home page. See where is says pool school then Table of Contents? THAT is the mother load of links and info.

PLEASE feel free to ask any and all questions you might have! We LOVE to help!

I would also encourage you to support this site. There is a "Become a TFP supporter" button on the home page. THANKS!

Kim
 
That's what I figured. I definitely need it so unless its going to harm the OCLT then I don't see any point in waiting. In fact its probably fairer for the OCLT to have CYA at a reasonable level anyway.

OK, here's my cunning plan:
1) I'll toss the CYA in this afternoon when I get home - (700g according to PoolMath to get me near 50)
2) Then amp up the liquid chlorine around 8:00pm - (approx 5l according to PoolMath to get me near 12)
3) FC test around 10:00pm
4) FC test around 6:00am
5) 6:05 - coffee
6) 6:10 - beer
 
I really, really, really suggest that you wait on the CYA addition. If you have to slam, you don't want it raised!! Wait and see what your OCLT shows tonight. Did I mention really?

Like the celebratory (I hope!) beer!

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Replace step 1) with: Turn off the SWG. Do not add CYA.
 
Put your CYA in a sock and hang it in front of a return. Don't just throw it in or put it in your skimmer loose. You can put it in a sock in your skimmer if you want to but I like the sock in front of a return method best.

What is up with #6??????? beer for breakfast! LOL

Kim
 
See - this is why it pays to post plans here and invite comment :)

Thanks Marian and Kim - good call.
"No" to the CYA it is !!! - we'll keep that puppy for post SLAMing

I had planned to turn SWG off, just failed to mention it in my cunning plan !

I'm also thinking I might swap steps 5) and 6) around and maybe even abandon step 5) altogether. Beer and coffee is a much more difficult chemistry to get right - and there's no kit to help figure it out :)
 
Oh yeah - beer for breakfast won't work - I'm out of beer - what was I thinking :-(

When I've added Stabiliser in the past I've got it in powdered form and the instructions on the pack are to mix it in a bucket of pool water and distribute that way.
I thought the sock over the return method was for the solid "bricks" of Stabiliser.
Am I getting the wrong stuff? It's what the pool shop sold me before I discovered TFP (the pool shop that I will almost never need to go back to now!!)
 
Since I don't use 100% CYA (I'm a DiChlor gal.....) I can't tell you the difference between powdered and granular CYA.

Since I DO use alcohol in abundance, (see PARTY post), I would suggest changing 6) to 6:05 PM! Mixing liquids has proven to be not such a good idea!

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Leave the pump ON! Keep it on tomorrow too. I often suggest passing 2 OCLT's in a row to be sure.

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Out of beer????? Oh my.
 

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There is no way I waiting until 6:05pm for a beer - are you sure you're a party gal? lol !!!!

OK, next silly question - When doing the Chlorine test (for OCLT) should I continue to use the economical 10ml sample size or is this a good time to bite the bullet and go for the added accuracy and jump up to the larger size?

2 tests in a row? OK, I see the sense in that.
What I haven't yet done is explained to the minister for home affairs that I need to set the alarm for silly o'clock tomorrow morning - just so I can test the pool. I reckon I can sell that once - two days in a row might be a tough challenge, but then again since she's the one busting my chops to get "her" pool all sparkling in time for Christmas day it may not be too bad - for her !
 
Yes Marian, water seems fine at this point.

I'm now home and planning to do some controlled testing over the next few hours, purely as a learning exercise.

--Edit-- Ignore this plan, it got abandoned before it got off the ground :)

Plan looks like this:
Environment: Currently its 3:40 pm, weather has been sunny all day, no rain.
1) FC test at 4:00pm. SWG has run twice for 2 hours each at 60% since yesterday's reading. Not currently on.
2) FC test again just before 6:00pm. Will give an indication of what 2 hours in the sun will do to FC level.
3) FC test again just after 8:00pm (SWG due to come on at 6 and run for 2 hours at 60%). This will show what 2 hours runtime at 60% does.
4) Disconnect SWG and connect pump up directly. Pump on. Leave pump on for 24 hours.
5) Mini SLAM with liquid chlorine in prep for OCLT test tonight.
6) OCLT reading 1 at 10:00pm
7) OCLT reading 2 at 5:45am (sunrise for tomorrow is at 5:55am)
8) Post OCLT results here - participate in vigorous debate over the results.
9) Go to work, not do any work, just lurk around here looking for advice

:)

That's me sorted !!!

Update: 4pm test read FC @ 1.2 so gonna crank up the SWG to 90% - see what reading I get at 8pm after that.
 
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I would shut the SWG off now. You don't want the SWG messing with your OCLT. I wouldn't worry now about what 2 hours in sun will do. Let's not mess with anything that could skew the OCLT. There will be time for learning exercises later.... The most important thing is to pass this OCLT. Then you can play all you want!!!

Important: You need to be sure to test FC about an hour after your last liquid chlorine addition. THAT FC number is the one you use for morning comparison. Do not assume that your addition gets you to your target. Bleach isn't always the strength you think it is. It may be old and weak; it could be fresh and strong. For an OCLT you must verify the actual FC reached. Does that make sense?

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10) drink more beer
 
Yes Marian that makes perfect sense and I've already abandoned that elaborate plan - you're right, plenty of time to play later.
SWG is off, pump is running now and added some chlorine already. I'm using actual liquid chlorine from the pool shop for this because I have some handy. Will try to source bleach in the future, but for now I'm going with this. 125g/L Available Sodium Hypochlorite.

Just dumped 1L in and will measure and dump every hour from now.

1) Go straight to 10)
 
BTW - Just checked the bleach we have in the laundry for - you know - laundry type stuff - its listed as 35g/L Sodium Hypochlorite.
Its just the vanilla "Home Brand" for our supermarket chain (Coles, for the Aussies watching this thread).
What number am I looking for when I go for bleach?
 
Now we need to convert L to Gal???!!! Maybe too much beer....

In the USA, our bleach/liquid chlorine (LQ) usually comes in 8.25, 10, and 12.5%. Also, our jugs are labelled with a processing date like 15325, which would be the 325th day of 2015. So, it's hard to say what you can get down under. Just be sure it's not splash-less or scented. Just plain bleach.

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Maybe Jezza can translate!
 
I've just found a very elaborate post from our resident guru chem geek where he goes though the whole dichlor vs trichlor vs liquid chlorine vs bleach thing. I suspect the answer I need is in there so I'm going through that now. From what I can see here there are 2 numbers on our bleach bottles:
grams per litre (35g/L for the bleach - 125 g/L for the liquid chlorine)
available chlorine (weight by volume) - 3.3% on this bleach bottle - don't know for the liquid chlorine.

I think the answer is in chem geek's post so I'm gonna keep absorbing that, but he's way cleverer than I am !!!

Yes - Jezza, come in Jezza - what do you use over in WA?
Or Hawknz might have a view as well.

Chem Geek's post talks about 12.5% liquid chlorine which matches with the 125 g/L of the chlorine I'm using.
 
Sal just wondering if you actually work or are you on holiday! LOL. Oh and I would go a beer for each step of your plan. No worries on the CYA -30 is a good level if you have to SLAM- hopefully not.

So here is how I work it -125g/L is 12.5% so therefore 35g/L is 3.5% as there is is 1000mls to the litre so 125/1000 as a percentage is 12.5%-hope that makes sense.

I have done the comparisons dollar value wise on the 12.5% liquid chlorine from Bunnings and the Australian household bleach which is around 3-4% depending on which brand you buy. You are in fact better of buying the liquid chlorine plus you don't have to cart/store bottles and bottles of the stuff. I'm sure I also read something from Chem Geek who thought that the Australian bleach at 3-4 % would have too much lye in it which raises pH- but not 100% sure. But Masters sell 20 litre bottles of 12.5% for $26 so that is by far the cheapest.
 

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