Testing the waters

[CHAOSMom]

I'm back! I posted a while back for the first time when we first purchased the pool and I was all paranoid about the installers. Everything worked out great and the pool is finally up and running. Now, to get the chemicals all figured out...

We put 8 40lb. bags of salt in the pool and currently have a level of 3400, which I believe is dead on, correct? Today I dug out the test strips they sent me. They are "Pool Check 4+". They test Total Alkalinity, Free Chlorine, pH, and Cyanuric Acid. The first 3 appear to be in the "ok" range, but the Cyanuric Acid matches the "0" range. I have a 7 lb. container of Salt Water Stabilizer (active ingredient: Cyanuric Acid). The label says the ideal range is 60-80 ppm, and for a 10,000 gallon pool, I should add 3.5 lbs. of this stuff.

Issue #1: On The Pool Factory website, there is conflicting information on how many gallons my pool actually is. In the advertisement area for the pool, it says 10,500 gallons, but in the how to area, where they have a chart of how much salt to add for size pool w/gallons, it says 12,500 gallons. (We followed the 12,500 gallon guidelines when adding the salt).

So, if we go by 12,500 gallons, and a starting Cyanuric Acid level of 0, should I add about 4.5 lbs.?

*Disclaimer: I am not a math wiz, or a techie, so please keep it simple! THANKS!!

 

[rynd96]

First thing everyone her will tell you is to throw the test strips out. Get a good test kit, Taylor K2006 or the kit from TFTestkit. Use the pool calculator here:

The Pool Calculator

It will tell you exactly how much to add of everything.

Based on your volume of water, it says add 117oz by weight of stabilizer, which is over 7lbs, but you should run the numbers yourself just to be sure.

You should also go to "Pool School" at the top of the page and read it all. It will help you understand what you are doing and why.

Poolpal is a good app for android. It uses Pool Calculator calculations and is nice to have when your out near the pool doing tests. It also keeps track of your tests so you can look back on them if needed.

Good Luck

 

[Patrick_B]

Hey There! Welcome to the forum,

Pool Math is your friend, and you can be the opposite of a math or tech wizard but still get perfect results from it. If your salt dose worked at 12500, I would say go with that. I have no idea about the discrepancy, sorry. 3400 PPM Sounds right, but multi parameter strips can be very unreliable. Single analyze strips for salt only are usually ok. I strongly suggest seeing the ABCs in pool school, and getting a proper kit to test and control your pool. I prefer the TF100 for the best value, but there is a test kit comparison in Pool School as well.

 

[CHAOSMom]

Thanks Rynd96 & Patrick! I've read through a lot in Pool School before, but I'm off to read again...never was a good student, lol.