Please help balance

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S

sri

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Aug 6, 2015
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Dallas, TX
Hi, We had a new pool so we are new to all this. The PB was maintaining the pool for the two months and now are doing it ourselves. Here is my test results from TF-100 kit.
FC= 1ppm
Total Cl = 1 (no combined chlorine)
PH=8.2
TA = 60
CH = 325 ppm
Salt = 3200 (from salt cell); I tested 4600 ppm = not sure if I made a mistake testing
CYA = close to zero (not sure if we got this right but when the jar is close to full filled, the black dot just about disappears. I had got the same (NO) CYA a month ago when the PB was testing it but he said the CYA was 30.)
Temperature of water = 55F

The PB has provided Muriatic Acid and some trichlor.
 
Congrats on the new pool!

TA, CH and salt are fine.

It is very important to keep PH between 7.2 and 7.8, especially in a new pool. It will take about a year for your plaster to fully cure and your PH to settle down. Test it often and add muriatic acid to lower it 7.3-7.5.

The trichlor will keep adding CYA to your pool, stop using it when your CYA gets to 50ppm. More here, Pool School - How to Chlorinate Your Pool

Keep your FC above the minimum level at all times for your CYA, Chlorine CYA Chart, this will keep your pool sanitized and algae free.

Start here in Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry
 
You can probably use a dozen trichlor pucks to get CYA close to where you want to be. They're also acidic, which will help stabilize the pH with the fresh plaster curing.

My suggestion: plug your numbers into poolmath and dose it to get pH to 7.5, and then put a couple pucks in a floater. Right now, the water is cold enough that algae is not a terrible worry, but you do want to keep the FC up just to be safe. The SWG probably isn't generating much if the water is so cold.
 
Thanks to all. Since I already had dichlor from PB, I used it according to the calculator. Not sure how much CYA it would add. When should I test next to see whether my additions worked, in a few days? Do I need to add additional acid for pH as shown below. It seems that the dichlor should lower the pH as well. See attached result from calculator.
(unable to add the image showing the results from the calculator but it shows adding 13 oz muriatic acid)
 
Every 10 ppm Free Chlorine (FC) added by Trichlor also adds 6ppm Cyanuric Acid (CYA).
Every 10 ppm FC added by Dichlor also adds 9 ppm CYA.

Yes, you need to lower the PH. It is very important to keep PH between 7.2 and 7.8, especially in a new pool.
 
A week later,
Free Cl = 6 ppm
CC=none or 1 drop
Calcium H = 300 ppm
Total Alkanity = 60
pH = 7.9-8.
CYA = none (am I measuring it wrong)
Salt = 3400 (salt cell says 3200)
Temperature of water = 64F
According to pool calculator, I need to add Muriatic acid and liquid stabilizer for CYA? Wouldn't Muriatic acid increase the free chlorine as well? If my CYA measurement is wrong, would I mess things up by adding stabilizer.
 
Hello Dallas! Before we go too far, let's re-cap the CYA testing. Here's my little tutorial:
Proper lighting is important for the CYA test. You want to test for CYA outside on a sunny day, but keep the skinny view tube in the shade. Taylor recommends standing in the sun with your back to the sun and the view tube in the shade of your body. Use the mixing bottle to combine/mix the required amounts of pool water and R-0013 reagent, let sit for 30 seconds, then mix again. Then, while holding the skinny tube with the black dot at waist level, begin squirting the mixed solution into the skinny tube. Watch the black dot until it completely disappears. Once it disappears, record the CYA reading. After the first test, you can pour the mixed solution from the skinny view tube back to the mixing bottle, shake, and do the same test a second, third, or fourth time to instill consistency in your technique, become more comfortable with the testing, and validate the CYA reading.
Click to expand...

Also, your pH is high, so try to bring that down right away to about 7.5-7.6. Acid does not increase FC (chlorine). Only bleach or your SWG does that. :) Let us know if you are still having trouble doing the CYA test.

- - - Updated - - -

If the black dot "never" disappears, it means you either have no stabilizer in the water (CYA), or perhaps just added it today. Remember, if you add the granular stabilizer, it takes about a week to show-up on tests. The liquid, although more costly, shows-up in just a few hours or the next day. Be cautious though. We don't want to over-shoot your ideal CYA goal.
 
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