Balancing from scratch - need to know order of chemicals

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LisaDLu

Well-known member
Nov 14, 2014
149
Palm Desert, CA
Getting a reverse osmosis filtering for my pool water tomorrow (CH over 1000 now so it was time). After it's completed I will test and see how much of everything I need to start adding back in but I need to know in what order to adjust levels.

Please let me know if I start with TA first, then FC, pool salt, etc..... I also need to know how much time I need to leave between additives.

I have a SWG but am assuming I will need to use household bleach to begin with to get my FC up faster, I've never used bleach but I'm assuming it's just plain, ordinary, unscented stuff from the grocery store? Thanks all!
 
LisaDLu said:
Getting a reverse osmosis filtering for my pool water tomorrow (CH over 1000 now so it was time). After it's completed I will test and see how much of everything I need to start adding back in but I need to know in what order to adjust levels.

Please let me know if I start with TA first, then FC, pool salt, etc..... I also need to know how much time I need to leave between additives.
Get your sock filled with granular CYA and ready to put in the water as soon as your treatment is done. You can hang it off a stick over a return or put it in your skimmer and make sure to run the pump until it is all dissolved. Squeese it now and then to speed things up. Or conversely if you've won the lottery recently and have bucks to spare you can buy liquid CYA.

Test your water to see your levels: FC, CC, TA, CH.. don't bother with CYA as it won't be there yet. Then add as much liquid plain bleach as Pool Math tells you to match the amount of CYA you've aimed for. [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]. Until your SWG is back up and running, and maintaining your FC level, just keep using bleach daily to meet your needs.

Keeping the SWG off, go ahead and start adding the appropriate amount of salt. Let it get brushed up and dissolved for 24 hours before you test it to see if its on target. You can start the SWG up when it is.

15 minutes or so between adding chemicals is all that is necessary- gives you time to brush the pool to help mix everything up between doses, right?

Test your water to determine what you need to add based on this: Pool School - Recommended Levels

I have a SWG but am assuming I will need to use household bleach to begin with to get my FC up faster, I've never used bleach but I'm assuming it's just plain, ordinary, unscented stuff from the grocery store? Thanks all!
Click to expand...

If you need further help just let us know :)
 
There is no definitive order in which things should be adjusted ... it depends on the test results.

You know the CYA is going to be low, so that will need to be added.
You are going to want to add FC right away (use plain bleach).
Pool salt can be last since you can maintain the FC with bleach while balancing everything else with the SWG off.
 
Reverse Osmosis complete. Took my CH from over 1000 to 200. Nice!

Need a little more clarification to make sure I have this correct. Per testing I need to bring up FC, TA, CYA, and salt.

I already have conditioner in a sock in the skimmer to bring up CYA (the amount per Pool Math) and will check the levels in a few days to see if I need more. My SWG is OFF.

When do I start bringing up my TA, adding the salt and turn the SWG back on?
 
Those numbers are from the RO companys digital tester but mine are very similar:
From my Taylor 2006 -
FC - 0
PH - 7.4
TA - 50
CYA - below 20
Salt - not sure because SWG turned off
CH - 225

So I've added household bleach to the pool, have my conditioner in the sock. I will test FC again later today. Instead of adding more bleach can I use the 1" trichlor tablets in a floater to keep my FC stable? I have a whole bunch of them I never use because of my SWG. If FC stays stable can I go ahead and add the salt tomorrow and after salt dissolved turn on the SWG? I don't want to rush the process but I want to get the salt back in and the SWG turned on. Thanks!!
 

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I would get the CYA to at least 30ppm quickly (I think you are doing this).
And run an OCLT with the FC at least 10ppm to see if you need to SLAM before balancing for the SWG. After that, you could use the tablet if you want to slowly bring the CYA up.

I would only increase the TA up to about 60ppm since keep it lower should slow the pH rise that occurs due to the SWG.
 
Wow, it needs a lot of bleach! I put in 128 oz this morning and just put I another 121 oz. (FC is measuring at 1 now). Still have some conditioner being dissolved I the sock. I'm assuming I will be throwing in at least a few jugs of bleach a day while the CYA is rising? Is that correct? Thanks!
 
jblizzle said:
Correct, that is why the CYA needs to get up quickly.
Click to expand...

It's about 5pm. My FC is at 5 and my CYA is about 40. I just added more bleach to bring the FC up to about 10.

I am going to do the OCLT test tonight. I will measure it at 8:30pm and again in the morning. Since I just added more bleach will leaving it 3.5 hours be enough so I can test at 8:30pm?

If I lose no more than 1 ppm between my 8:30pm and the next morning reading I am safe to assume no algae and to start adding my pool salt? Let the pool salt dissolve for 24 hours then turn my SWG back on, correct? Thank you all.
 
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