First time pool owner with K-2006 test results

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T

treefrog*

0
May 5, 2016
12
Huntingtown/MD
Hello everyone,

I just found this site a couple days ago while trying to figure out how to care for my pool. On the advice of this forum, I ordered the Taylor K-2006 kit and just got the test done today. Here are the results of the test.

PH 7.4
CyA is non existent, the black dot never disappeared
CH 340
TA 120
FC 2 ppm
CC 5 ppm

Im not sure where to go from here, so any help would be well received.

I had been using just some test strips that the previous owner left here, It looked like there was no FC so I added shock on 3 separate occasions and put in a chlorine puck floater. still not noticing a FC rise, I dumped in a jug of Clorox. There were some brown spots on the bottom of the pool that I falsely identified as rust spotting, it was actually organic stains from the trees. To correct it I wrongly used a metal remover and backwashed the filter according to the instructions. I added back 12 quarts of DE filter material that was left by the previous owner. Now, Im here to learn how to do it correctly. I'm glad I found this site as soon as I did.
 
Glad you have that kit. So let's get started. You have a very elevated CC which tells me you may have an algae problem/cloudy water. Does that seem right? If so, this would be your course of action (SLAM - via link below):
- Add stabilizer right away. Use the sock-soaking method we talk about here often. If you're not sure how, just ask. Start with a CYA target of 30 ppm
- Maybe add just a little acid to lower the pH a little more closer to 7.2 before starting the SLAM
- Keep the FC at 12 ppm and maintain it for the entire duration of the SLAM; follow everything you see on the SLAM page.

Don't put anything else in the water other than the stabilizer (CYA), muriatic acid (pH) and regular liquid bleach (FC). If I missed anything or misinterpreted the condition of your water please let me know.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh, and remove any chlorine tabs/pucks!
 
There is not an algae problem and the water does not seem cloudy to me, I can see the bottom easily. The previous owner did leave two partial bottles of algae remover though so it has been a problem in the past. Here are some pics of the current condition.

IMG_4413.jpgIMG_4410.jpg
 
The pool does look nice from the pic. Still, your CC level is extremely high. That is a clear indication that a large amount of organic consumption is taking place, even though you can't see it. It's the calm before the storm if you will. A good amount of sunlight and oxidation is required to get that CC lowered. At the same time your test shows no CYA which means any available free chlorine will be lost to the sun in a matter of hours leaving your pool unprotected from sanitation. You mentioned those brown spots as well, so it's possible there may be a correlation. You should also look at the ingredient on those algaecides to see if they contain any copper which is a whole other discussions (metals) - and possible staining.

In short, refer to the TFP Pools School for more information, and especially keep the Chlorine/CYA Chart (links below) handy with your test kit. When the FC and CYA are out of balance, algae will certainly be present, even beyond what the naked eye can see. Let me know if you have any more questions. Have a nice weekend.
 
Unfortunately I could not locate an ammonia test before I started adding CYA. I began to slam the pool yesterday evening. I added two socks full of CYA to the skimmer basket and will test the levels in a week. To get the chlorine up, I found a deal on liquid pool chlorinator from walmart for 2.50 a jug at 10% chlorine. I added 6 jugs of 128 oz. two at a time. after all that was in, I tested chlorine levels and came up with 8ppm FC and 7ppm CC. I know I am going to have to get a bunch more because I didn't hit my 12ppm goal. However, I tested this morning and came up with 2ppm FC and 13ppm CC. My question, is what is causing the CC to increase? And, how many jugs of chlorine should I pick up on the way home tonight?
 
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How many can you car hold? I would shoot for 10 or so. You are in a battle with what ever is trying to take hold in your pool. It is AWESOME you start this battle before it showed it's face! You are lucky!

The high CC is the shots fired and hitting their targets! The sun will help get rid of them.

Keep the FC up to SLAM level as much as you can. The more your FC is at SLAM level the faster you will be done.

Kim:cat:
 
Looks like you might have caught this in the nick of time, with the water being the way it looks. But those CC levels are crazy high! Ammonia or whatever it is will continue to eat up a lot of chlorine but it will get better, SLAM away. If possible you'll need to babysit the process fairly closely to keep the FC at SLAM level. I'm about to start the slam process and got the same deal on liquid at walmart. I bought 12.
Absolutely gorgeous pool area, by the way!

- - - Updated - - -

Oh I forgot to mention - two apps that are a must-have for me. On my iPhone I use the "Pool Calc" app and the "Pool Checks" app. Pool calc is just like the online Pool Math calculator. Pool checks is a calendar where you can enter in test results to help you keep track of what you've done.
 
Ok, good. I just came home with 10 more jugs and can get more today if needed. I want to get this done before the rollback ends at walmart. Im just glad that the raise in CC was not an indicator of something else wrong. We have not had any sun here in MD for a while and I don't know when it will come back so I hope this can work even in the overcast days we are having now.
 

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I think I am doing an accurate job on the test. sometimes after the pink seems to go clear it goes back to pink and i add another drop to get it clear. other than that I don't think the test is too difficult. I think it is starting to work, I added 4 more jugs which makes 10 today and 16 all together. the pool bottom looks cleaner and the water is more sparkly. I just tested after about 30min after adding the last 4 jugs. Im going to go get some more chlorine and try and reach FC 12 before dark.

FC 8.0
CC 14.0
 
You can do an ammonia test without an actual ammonia test kit. Ammonia consumes bleach very quickly and results in high CC, so the way to test using just bleach is to add enough bleach to reach your target level, then test 10 minutes later, if your FC has dropped more than 50% from your target level and you have high CC, you have Ammonia. Adding CYA at this point is self defeating as the bacteria which created the ammonia in the first place is still not dead and is going to convert your CYA to more ammonia, requiring more bleach to neutralize the ammonia until you can sustain the bleach level long enough to kill the bacteria so it doesn't eat your new CYA...
 
treefrog, I definitely agree with the concerns for ammonia as noted by some other posters since we first started on this thread on Apr 6th. Definitely pursue that as mentioned above and/or as follows:
Treatment for Ammonia:
1. Begin a SLAM and dose FC up to SLAM level. If your CYA test is showing as zero (perhaps already converted to ammonia), use a SLAM/Shock FC of 10. Do not add additional CYA at this point.
2. Retest FC at 10-minute intervals.
a. If FC loss is greater than 50%, add FC to bring back up to SLAM level and continue retesting FC @ 10-minute intervals.
b. IF FC loss is 50% or less, add FC to bring back up to SLAM level. Go to Step 3.
3. If CYA is below 30 ppm, add enough CYA to bring level up to 30 ppm.
4. Continue SLAM as directed in the SLAM article until the SLAM Criteria of Done are met. Test as directed in the SLAM article - no longer need to test FC at 10 minute increments at this point.
 

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