First Timer - New to BBB, On the right path?

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rwswamp

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Apr 22, 2009
10
Hello
Bourbon capital of the world in Kentucky - 20 x 50 IG Vinyl - I believe 41,250 gallons
Water temp is @ 50 degrees. Re-filled entire pool this year, water is very clear and pool is 98% clean. I did get a Taylor test kit & here is what I got:

FC - 5.0
TC - 10.0
CC - 5.0
PH - 7.2 - (Was 7.8 & added MA per test kit)
TA - 70
CH - 0
CYA - 0

I know I need CYA - will do after last clean-up & backwash
Baking Soda to raise TA up to 80?

Are CC levels accounted for in what little debris is left in the pool?
FC okay for now?

Appreciate any help
I am looking forward to sticking it to the "pool man" for a change.
RW
 
Hi and welcome :wave:

When you say you have a Taylor test kit, is it the 2005 or the 2006? (Does it have the FAS-DPD chlorine test in it?)

Very often tap water has CC in it....you'll need to shock your pool to get rid of it. Have you read the articles in Pool School? FC of 5 would normally be high for a CYA of zero (see the chart) but since you have CC and no CYA that will dissappear quickly.

Yes, Baking Soda will raise the TA, but that is not anything you need to worry about right now. Focus on FC and CYA. You need CYA or you will lose all your FC to sunlight. The good news is sunlight will also help break down the CCs. You want the CC to be .5 or less. To oxidize the CC you need chlorine, and lots of it. You want to shock your pool to 10 until you get CYA in there, then you dose according to the CYA chart.

You'll also need a bit of CH in there, 50-100 is fine for vinyl.

So off to Pool School if you haven't already visited. Feel free to ask any other questions that don't get answered by the articles there.

Hope this helps :goodjob:
 
Oh, I forgot

Please add your pool/equipment specs to your signature. Go to User Control Panel (top left) and then Profile, and then Edit Signature. It can be up to five lines of text, use my sig as an example or there are suggestions in Pool School's "Read this Before you Post". :wink:
 
I am looking forward to sticking it to the "pool man" for a change.
Click to expand...
:lol: :lol:

Hey, welcome to the forum.

1. That CC measurement is too much. You'll need to keep adding chlorine until that gets down to .5ppm

2. Calculate enough CYA to get to around 30-40ppm and adjust from there....it'll probably take quite a bit for that big pool. I'd start with 12 lbs since it normally comes in 4 lb containers.

3. While your CYA is dissolving into the pool (it'll take a couple of days or more to dissolve completely), I'd try to keep my FC around 4-6ppm all the time.....you'll have to add daily, I'm sure.

4. Raise TA as a secondary project. Make CYA and keeping FC up your priority.

5. Bourbon capital of the world? Is that an invitation for a pool party at your house? :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Nice work getting your pool in order. Still a little left to do but you're very close.
 
I wonder if you possibly misinterpreted the FC and TC results. If your levels are really FC 5 and TC 10 that is fairly bad, but it is easy to get mixed up the first time you do the test, so possibly the actual results are something else?

I suspect you have the DPD chlorine test: drops turn the water various shades of red, which are then compared to a color chart. If so, when used normally it reads FC from 0 to 5 and TC from 0 to 5. Used normally you can't get a TC reading of 10. Of course it is possible to use dilution, half pool water and half chlorine free water, and then both scales go from 0 to 10, but I wouldn't expect a novice to do that. When using the DPD test, CC = TC - FC.

Could you confirm your FC and TC readings and tell us which test kit your have?
 
For Starters: Bourbon Capital of the World - Bardstown, Ky
All the players - Beam, Heaven Hill, etc. Maker's right down the road.

Yes - 2006 kit & I did do the dilution down to 1/3 sample & 2/3's tap - so I believe it to be correct. The plan was to get the solar cover off & recent storm debris, vaccum what the aqua bot missed, clean it as best I can, backwash filter & add cya right away. 5-7 days to show up correct? 50-60 today, 80's by weekend.

Since I am so new - ofcourse anyone is welcome at any time - talk about a farm party - trust me, I'm kinda out there - wondering if anyone can hear my music from the ipod and outdoor speakers. Thanks to all - appreciation is all you will get from me!
 
rwswamp said:
For Starters: Bourbon Capital of the World - Bardstown, Ky
All the players - Beam, Heaven Hill, etc. Maker's right down the road.

Yes - 2006 kit & I did do the dilution down to 1/3 sample & 2/3's tap - so I believe it to be correct. The plan was to get the solar cover off & recent storm debris, vaccum what the aqua bot missed, clean it as best I can, backwash filter & add cya right away. 5-7 days to show up correct? 50-60 today, 80's by weekend.

Since I am so new - ofcourse anyone is welcome at any time - talk about a farm party - trust me, I'm kinda out there - wondering if anyone can hear my music from the ipod and outdoor speakers. Thanks to all - appreciation is all you will get from me!
Click to expand...

Okay, I'm confused. When did you refill the pool?

I'm not sure what you mean about dilution, why did you do the dilution?

Yes, the CYA - it's best to wait at least 5 days to retest. But you can safely shock to 10 with no CYA and it won't harm anything, and will help rid the CCs.
 
When doing dilution for the chlorine test, it is critical that you use chlorine free water. Tap water almost always has chlorine in it, which will throw off the results. If there is any doubt about your tap water containing chlorine, simply test the straight tap water and see what the results are

Go ahead and start adding CYA, regardless of the chlorine issue. CYA can take up to a week to fully dissolve, but you should treat the pool as if the CYA has dissolved starting 24 hours after adding it.
 
To Mod: Re-filled entire pool @ 3 weeks ago
Dilution reference was for the FC, TC & CC test

To Jason: Distilled water as the Diluting agent?
Knew tap had chlorine but had nothing else.

Going to get the cya dissolving today after vac & backwash.
Tube sock method dropped in skimmer? What do you think?
Ratchet up FC levels to at least 10?
(5) gallons of 6% bleach will bo the trick?
 

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Distilled water is great for dilution. Alternatively, some home water filters are capable of removing all of the chlorine. If you have a home water filter, test the water before using it and keep in mind that the filter may stop removing all of the chlorine as it ages.

As long as you don't have algae, I would go ahead and pour the CYA slowly directly into the skimmer (over several minutes). Then remember not to backwash/clean the filter for a week.

Don't shock until you figure out what is going on with the FC & TC levels. The levels you posted before are incorrect, and so the advice to shock no longer applies. When we know the correct levels we can reevaluate what needs to be done. If you don't have that all figured out by this evening, then add 2 ppm of chlorine this evening.
 
I guess I don't understand the need to dilute. Does the Taylor instruct that you dilute? Why not straight pool water? If your tap has chlorine in it, and that's what you used, then we don't know your pool's true FC level, or it's true CC level. Thus, test your TAP only to see what's going on there.... but I guess I don't see the need for dilution to begin with? My kit's instructions just say a 10mil sample of pool water.

After you determine what your actual FC and CC levels are, and you need to shock your pool, note the following:

6% usually comes in 3qt jugs. 10-12% can be found in gallons. Be sure you know what size you are working with so you don't overdose on chlorine. Use the Pool Calculator to determine how much you add.
 
Mod
My test kit only goes to a max of 5 for FC, TC
So you can dilute the sample of pool water by half - half pool water, half distilled water - measure the results and multiply by 2.

That's what I did and it is how I got to 10 TC and 5 FC with only a 5.0 max test.

Get it?

I did mess up by using tap water instead of distilled - I knew tap has some chlorine in it but it was all I had. Getting some distilled & doing again.
 
Okay, now I understand... you have a Taylor K-2005. I thought you were using the FAS-DPD test (which is a must-have). It can test up to 50ppm, and much easier to use, no color comparator...you are counting drops.

I really advise you to order this test, it makes everything so simple, especially if you should ever experience an algae bloom and need to shock (and thus test higher than 5).

http://www.tftestkits.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=23

Sorry for any added confusion. :)
 
Thanks for the info - I've saved the link. I at least got a fairly good kit to start with I think.
I am going to get things cleaned up & start my cya today, get the best readings on FC, etc. and go from there.

Thanks again!
 
rw,

I think you will find the tap water contributed to your CC's as well. Test tap water only and then account for those values when you dilute.

That said, it is still very innacurate but I think it will account for some of the CC's.
 
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