New Member / New Pool Owner / Many Questions

Jump to latest Follow Reply
D

ddigz

0
Jun 15, 2016
63
Southington, CT
So I bought a home with a pool this past January and am a first time pool owner. I opened my pool on 5/15 and it looked all right, just some debris in the bottom. I read a few websites, and added what it seemed I should add to the pool, and bought some Clorox Test Strips that you use with an app on your phone. These test strips are apparently useless. After going through the following, I decided to take matters into my own hands and get onto a forum and handle everything more professionally myself.

The chemicals I added around the time of opening are:

1 quart of Arch Chemical Metal Control
2 pouches of Pool Essentials - Shock
Some pH Up leftover from old owner
1 tablet of chlorine in the floater
2lb of Clorox Chlorine Stabilizer

After memorial day I took my water to Leslie Pool to be tested since it was a little foggy, and I no longer had any faith in the Clorox Strips. Here are the results of that test from 6/10

FAC - 0
TAC - 0
CH - 150
CYA - 30
TA - 120
pH - 7.6
Copper - 0
Iron - 0
TDS - 200
Pho - 150

The guy at the pool store had be purchase an 8lb tub of Hardness Plus to raise my CH, told me to add 1 pouch of shock directly to the pool, and 3 caps of the Perfect Weekly stuff I had at home leftover from the old owner. I did all of this and my pool is looking good, minus the leaves.

I guess my initial question is how am I looking on numbers? Should I trust those numbers, and should my levels be all right now?

I did read the initial Pool School stuff, and am now seeing I should be adjusting and monitoring my chlorine daily. I have not been, but the pool appears very clear today. Right now there are 2 tablets floating in the floater thing.

What test kit do you recommend? And is there a spot on here that recommends chemicals to adjust these numbers? I'm assuming you all know how to do this without shoveling unnecessary money at these pool supply stores for their fancy shmancy brands.

I have a heater, and am not sure how to run this thing efficiently. My pool temp was around 89 on Sunday, and was great for the weekend. I started running it Friday morning to attain a good temp for weekend swimming. I then changed back to my timer on Sunday night (have been running pump/heater for 5 hours a day), and today my pool is in the low 70s. I have no cover for the pool, and it gets about 5 hours of direct sun a day. It seems as thought the water heats up well, but after a day or so it loses the temp. Any tips on heating?

Also, there are many trees around my pool and it get a decent amount of leaves in the pool. The vacuum I inherited from the previous owner seems to produce minimal suction. I noticed that there is a chip missing from the round piece that covers the skimmer basket, and wonder if that is where I'm losing power. The vacuum looks cheap, and I'm thinking I may want to just replace it. Any suggestions on a vacuum for a pool this size to deal with debris I get in the pool?

Any other general tips? I am brand new to this all, so I basically no nothing.

I appreciate any help anyone can give me. Thanks for your time.
 
Welcome to pool ownership. Being more professional means NOT trusting the pool $tore. They have one goal, extract cash from your pocket. Re-read Pool School. Buy the TF-100 or Taylor K-2006 test kit. Then only add only what YOU understand that your pool needs. Pool Math will let you calculate out exactly what you need.
 
As mentioned, study Poolschool (top right) and get a test kit because strips are inaccurate. Only trust your own tests. When I started I printed most things and highlighted certain areas. After a bit you'll find it is simple. The kits below last quite awhile except for one or 2 items that are easily refilled.

TFTestkits.net
 
ddigz, hello and welcome to TFP! :wave: I also recommend the TF-100 (with "Speed Stir"). A great value that will perform all the tests you need at home without stepping in the pool store again. Most of your vital links can be found below in my signature. Bookmark them and refer to them often as they will serve you well. You're in a great place for pool care. A little reading and basic understanding of what chemicals are used and why ... along with the TF-100 ...... and you'll wonder why you waited so long. Nice to have you with us.
 
Thanks guys. I ordered myself one the TF-100 kits. Apparently good old bleach is the way to go. I am reading that this something that I am to be adding daily. Any chance you could give me a rough idea of how much bleach I'd be adding to maintain good levels? I'm just wondering if I am going to be lugging home a dozen gallons of bleach a week to maintain optimal levels, or if it's something that you add a cup or so at a time.

I ran pool math to bring my pool from 0 to 4ppm, and it's about 3/4 gallon. Not sure how long that lasts.
 
When your pool is algae free and TFP clear, you might us about 1/4 gallon each day - ballpark depending upon hours of sunlight and swimmers. On a quiet day (full sun) my 18K pool needs about 1/2 gallon of 8.25% bleach each evening. I try to keep my daily FC consumption to about 2.5 ppm and never more than 4. Hope that helps.
 
I did my first test with my TF100 yesterday. Here are my results.

FC - 1.5
pH - 7.5
TA - 170
CH - 300
CYA - 20
CC - 2
TC - 3.5

Seems all right to me no?

I also grabbed some bleach and added some as per pool math. I just tested again and it's back to 1.5 Adding more now.
 
CC at 2 is a sign of something brewing. I would raise FC up to 8 or so to burn it off and do Overnight Chlorine Loss Test tonight to check it.

After you pass the OCLT, if your pool is in full sun raise CYA to 40, or mostly sunny maybe 30.

- - - Updated - - -

CC at 2 is a sign of something brewing. I would raise FC up to 8 or so to burn it off and do Overnight Chlorine Loss Test tonight to check it. Everything else looks fine. Keep an eye on PH, it might tend to rise with slightly elevated TA. Lowering PH over time as needed will also slowly lower TA.

After you pass the OCLT, if your pool is in full sun raise CYA to 40, or mostly sunny maybe 30.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
So I added 50oz of 8.25% bleach into the pool after the last test.

I just did another test and don't understand what's going on.

FC - 1
CC - 3.5

Am I doing something wrong? Also, my bottle of R-0871 is very difficult to get drops out of. wondering if the tip is bad.
 
There was an issue with bottle tips not that long ago. The 871 shouldn't be difficult to add.

If your current testing is close/correct, something is eating your FC quickly. Test and add very often at first, 15 minutes in between is not unreasonable. It should start holding quickly.
 
When the FC and CC are flip-flopped like that, it means you have an aggressive bacteria situation going on there. Best thing to do is increase FC with bleach to about "10", then check and adjust FC every 10 minutes until you get that FC to hold for about 10-15 minutes. Once the FC starts to hold better, then go ahead an add a little more stabilizer to increase your CYA to a minimum of 30. But stay aggressive and consistent with that FC testing.

As for the tip, you may want to call TFTestkit directly. If your tip was defective, they send you a new one ASAP.
 
Would you suggest I use liquid stabilizer?

I have some in the pool from yesterday, but read it'll take a week to full dissolve and register on testing.

I currently have Clorox Pool and Spa Chlorine Stabilizer.

I'm going to go add a bunch of bleach now, and run out to get more to keep it up.

So I can reliably test the chlorine level ~15 minutes after adding bleach?
 
That's a bit outdated. Once it's dissolved (you can help it along by squeezing) it should show up in the next day or so.

e: Yes, it may not be fully mixed but if you have something eating it quickly it won't matter.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply