New to TFPC, prelim #'s posted.

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J

JohnnyW

0
Jul 19, 2015
15
Vidalia/LA
Ok, so I just recently got a pool. Bought a new house about 6 months ago and have been messing with pool since about March time frame. At first I had no idea and followed the chemical companies suggestions. Pool wasn't bad, but wasn't good either. Seemed like I was always having to add something to counteract something else. It was a never ending circle. Then I found the BBB method on pool solutions and that lead me to here. To me, they are both the same thing with different names. Both are great sites and I have learned a lot about pools in the last few weeks. So heres the issue/deal.

I used a metric **** ton of pucks, "shock" and other chemicals in bottles to try and maintain my water. Well once I learned that was all worthless and I tested my water correctly (to the best of my ability at the time) my test strips (i know, they have been replaced) showed a CYA of about 300. First somewhat real test with an HTH 6-way kit just showed it well over 100. Didn't even reach half way to the 100 mark before dot disappeared. Yeah, it was that bad.

Fast forward to now. I have done several 20-30% water changes in the last 2 weeks. (Water table very high right now and can't risk doing more than that at a time) Here are my test results I have this morning after pool finished refilling overnight. Had pump on for several hours before testing.

First I tested my plain tap water.
FC: 2-3
PH: 7.5
TA: 180
TH: 0
CYA: 0

Next I tested my pool water with a test strip and the HTH 6-way.
Test Strip HTH 6-Way
FC: 5 TC: 5-15ish (turned vived yellow)
PH: 7.5 PH: 7.2
TA: 180 TA: 150
TH: 0-100 TH: ? Couldn't get a reading
CYA: 100 CYA: Out of test liquid stuff

Now, I will say that I do have a Taylor k-2006 ordered and should be delivered tomorrow. So then I can do and actual real test with a good kit. I was glad to see that the test strip actually showed my test color to be a perfect match to the 100 whereas before it was pegged at the 300. So, it may still be high, but it is much better than what it was prior.

So finally to my questions. Since the HTH test kit only test up to 5ppm for TC and I was at that level and the test strip just measured 5pmm FC, should I add come CL now or wait till tonight? Read in the BBB and the TFPC that it is best to add CL at night. But since my FC may be low compared to my CYA, should I go ahead and add some now? Also, I have 2 bags of HTH shock left which is 56% cal-hypo. I was going to just discard them, but since they do add CL and will add some calcium to my pool that apparently I really need, but won't add CYA, is it ok to just add them now to help raise my FC and my TH? Or would it be better to just stick with plain liquid bleach?

Not sure if it matters or not, but for the past 2 weeks, my pool has been so crystal clear it was unbelievable. That was after at least the first 2 20-30% drains. Water temp was 92 before draining yesterday and was only down to 88 this morning after refill. (Water felt much much cooler, but thermometer only showed 3-4 degrees cooler) Since my water has been so nice and clear, I don't want to screw it up by letting CL drop to unacceptable levels. But, I don't want to add unacceptable chemicals (the HTH Shock) if that will contribute to poor water quality.

Any help will be appreciated. I have learned so much already, but know I have a long way to go still.
Johnny
 
Re: New to TFPC, prelim 3's posted.

if you CYA is at least 100, your shock level for chlorine would be at least 39. So you won't hurt the pool by adding some more liquid chlorine tonight. If it's really over 100, you're going to probably need greater water replacement, so there wouldn't be a point of adding a whole lot of chemicals. adding one gallon of 6% bleach is only going to raise your FC by 3 ppm in a 20k pool. You won't get near the upper limit, but at least you might stay above the lower limit of 8 for the night.

If your CYA test tomorrow is 100 or more, do the test again but dilute the pool sample first 50:50 with tap water. Then use that diluted water to do the test, and multiply the final result by 2.
 
Ok, I tested with my new Taylor K-2006 kit.

FC: 8.5
CC: .5
PH: 7.4
TA: 160
CH: 90
CYA: 100
CSI: -0.2

CYA test was done with 50% pool water and 50% bottled water and then multiplied by 2. The CC test is questionable. After testing for FC, I added the drops of ??. It said if it turns red then CC is present and add drops of ?? one at a time until it is clear again. Well, I added the correct number of drops of ?? and it had a very very light pink tinge to the water. One drop of the ?? immediately turned it clear again. So, not sure if that means it is 0 or .5ppm. (I used ?? because I don't remember the numbers of those liquids off the top of my head and I have already put the kit away)

I have used the pool math page to get an estimate of what's next, but wanted to post here as well and get some expert opinions of what you would do next if this was your pool. Pool water is crystal clear and sparkling.

Thanks for the help.
JW
 
and yes, your cc is .5 or below if the tinge disappears after one drop. Your CC reading is not always a parallel track with the amount of contaminants in the pool, as sunlight burns off the CC. Under .5 is "normal day to day operating" if you have swimmers, but you also might have algae, etc. That's why it's only one part of the TFP test.

as skippy said, you have to keep diluting the water in the test (before you mix it with the R-013) until you get an initial reading under 100. Then do the proper multiplication. At this point, we are probably just determining how much water you'll need to replace.
 
BuckeyeChris said:
and yes, your cc is .5 or below if the tinge disappears after one drop. Your CC reading is not always a parallel track with the amount of contaminants in the pool, as sunlight burns off the CC. Under .5 is "normal day to day operating" if you have swimmers, but you also might have algae, etc. That's why it's only one part of the TFP test.

as skippy said, you have to keep diluting the water in the test (before you mix it with the R-013) until you get an initial reading under 100. Then do the proper multiplication. At this point, we are probably just determining how much water you'll need to replace.
Click to expand...


Well, I tested it with my Walmart HTH kit, with diluted water and it showed a CYA of 50. Since I diluted with a 1:1 ratio, I concluded that my CYA was 100. I then used one of the test strips I already had, just to see and it also depicted a CYA of 100. I then tested a third time with the k-2006 kit, with a 1:1 dilution, and again it showed a CYA of 50, which I concluded my CYA was 100. So, that is 3 test all showing a CYA of 100. I am satisfied with those results on CYA. A 4th test with a dilution of 1:2 would most likely show a CYA of ~33, which would still indicate an actual CYA of 100. I understand a CYA of 100 is still high. However, it is much lower than the 300+ CYA I started with prior to all my partial drain and refills, so I am making progress. I will most likely drain some more later to continue to reduce my CYA levels.

My TA level concerns me a bit. It's pretty high. I tested my tap water and it to is high, around 160-170 TA but with a low CH. So I am probably not gonna worry with trying to decrease it until after I do partially drain and refill again to attempt to get CYA lower. Once CYA is in a more acceptable range, then I will attempt to lower TA and raise CH.

Does that sound like the proper plan?
 
Final drain and refill completed over night. Here are my numbers:

FC: 13.4
CC: .2
PH: 7.2
TA: 150
CH: 80
CYA: 80
CSI: -.57

Now I have to work on getting that TA down and the CH up. That's why my PH is 7.2 Gonna try and keep it down around 7-7.2 and airate until I can get the TA down to a more acceptable level. Now, for the CH, I can't find any calcium chloride anywhere in my area. I may be forced to go to a pool store and purchase some CH increaser as it looks like that may be my only option.
 
At Walmart, in the pool supply section, find HTH Super Select Shock Treatment (red and white box/bag). That is Calcium Hypochlorite -56%. Walmart Item #: 551684711. It shows they have it in stock.
Keep an eye on the useage and switch over to plain bleach when you reach your CH goal.

Additonal thought, while using the shock treatment, you will also be chlorinating the pool. Win, Win.....
 

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