New to me Pool and brand new to pool ownership

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I'm probably not going to get any further with the clarity. Had a rain storm earlier and I had to leave so I'm sure the FC level will be down before I can get back to it. Here is what it looked like just before the storm rolled in. uploadfromtaptalk1470447574244.jpg

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kimkats said:
Now THAT is clear! It looks like a jewel! The other pic did not show the sparkle I was looking for.

Let us know what your "tests" with the vit. c and chlorine tablet show.

:kim:
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Will do. I was totally impressed last night when the jet lights I bought lit up the whole pool. Not sure if you've seen them but they are a 7 led light that replaces the existing jet and uses water flow to power the light. Not something I was expecting to be super bright but 2 of them light my entire pool now.
I will test the water this evening and probably all for more advice as I now work on those stains and getting to a routine chlorine add and hopefully a semi balanced PH level. Thanks again for the help in getting to where I am with it.

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You are going to LOVE these links I have for you! These are what I share with new pool owners. It is a LOT of info. so take it a bite at a time. It will all make sense as you use it.

Print these out:
Pool School - Basic Pool Care Schedule

Pool School - Recommended Levels

Bookmark these:
Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals

http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html

Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

Make sure to ask any and all questions you might have no matter how small! We have all been where you are at one point.

:kim:
 
My numbers now:

FC - 7
CC - <0.5
TA - 100
CYA - 30
PH - 7.4
CH - 150
Temp is 82

Should I bother with trying to adjust the CH and CYA up at all or are they ok where they are. I know the pool math is telling me that I should be shooting for a target CH of 250-350 so didn't know if being that much lower is an issue. I'm thinking based on everything I've read that the test is good other then the CH and CYA numbers being just a little lower then the targets.
 
If your CSI isn't too low you can leave CH where it is. CSI needs to be above -0.6 to avoid etching the plaster. PoolMath will give you the CSI number.
 
Jet lights? What is this witchcraft you speak of? Seriously though, I would love to see a picture if you don't mind. My lighting system was completely trashed when we took ownership of the place and I haven't had the time or money to repair/replace it yet, those sound like a good short term remedy for me. Great looking pool and nice job getting it cleared up by the way!!
 
Mike5265 said:
Jet lights? What is this witchcraft you speak of? Seriously though, I would love to see a picture if you don't mind. My lighting system was completely trashed when we took ownership of the place and I haven't had the time or money to repair/replace it yet, those sound like a good short term remedy for me. Great looking pool and nice job getting it cleared up by the way!!
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Thanks Mike. I'll get back with you on a pic but I found them at Leslie's and then checked amazon. Leslie's gets 39.95 each and for 60 on amazon we got two and a pack of color change covers so you can do blue, red, green, or clear. They do diminish the jet speed a little because it has a small fan that the flow goes through to power the light. I haven't experienced any issues though with them yet and with how clear the water is they do light the pool up nicely at night. I don't care for a fully lit pool anyway but love the blue ambience color these give off. I guess the only real downside I'm seeing is that you have to run the pump for them to work so to compensate for that I just kicked my timer back a little and then do a manual override when I want to use them.

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Here are some pics in the dark tonight with the pump running. One is blue the other is red. The red one doesn't hardly put out any light at all.
97455c5e999f3621ffcdd2a86b48e302.jpg

This first pic is from the shallow end to the deep end. The blue light is in the deep end.
7a378df16e258ffd14af0a35976ec3e1.jpg

The second pic is from the deep end looking down. The pic doesn't really do it justice but I can see the bottom of the pool. uploadfromtaptalk1470790466007.jpg
The last pic was with the camera flash to give some perspective on the other two. I'm thinking if I add another one to my third jet and either use the clear or the blue covers then I will get a descent amount of light for less then $100. Still cheaper then getting the pool light fixed for now.

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Mike5265 said:
I appreciate the pictures and info!! I've looked around at some on line, but it's hard to judge from advertising photos. Thank you again!

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No problem. I understand. The ad photos make it look a lot brighter then they really are. I wouldn't suggest them to everyone but if you need an inexpensive way to have some light for night swimming and don't want to spend the money on having a light replaced them I would suggest them.

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Follow up question now that the pool is clear. How much chlorine should I be adding daily?
This has probably been covered on here somewhere and I know I just needed to add what's needed to keep it at the level necessary. I'm really just curious if I'm adding more daily then I really should have to?
Current numbers as of 7pm tonight:
CYA - 30
PH - 7.8
FC - 4
CC - <0.5
TA - 100
CH - 175
I did add a cup of acid. The PH level has been slowly rising since I finished the slam. This is the third time adding acid since Sunday.
I waited almost 2 hours and added 4 cups of chlorine. (I'm using 10% liquid chlorine from Leslie's)
So currently I'm using about a cup of acid every 36-48 hours to maintain pH around 7.4 and about 2-3 cups of chlorine per day to maintain FC at 7.
As the TA comes down from the acid will my pH changes become slower?

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Quick pool math for your cya to chlorine ratio and pool size says to go from 2ppm (bottom end of your target fc range) to 4ppm ( top end) you would use 23oz of 8.5% bleach. I think it'd be best to get into a regular testing routine and track what your pool likes on a daily basis to keep you in that target range. I'm no expert by any means, and I'm sure one of the more knowledgeable folk will drop a line your way, but that is what I have in mind for maintaining my own pool. As long as you stay under the 12ppm range for fc (shock level for your cya of 30) the only thing you'll hurt is your wallet. Drop back a few posts and look through some of the links kimkats threw out, they'll really help make sense of things for you.
 
Mike5265 said:
Quick pool math for your cya to chlorine ratio and pool size says to go from 2ppm (bottom end of your target fc range) to 4ppm ( top end) you would use 23oz of 8.5% bleach. I think it'd be best to get into a regular testing routine and track what your pool likes on a daily basis to keep you in that target range. I'm no expert by any means, and I'm sure one of the more knowledgeable folk will drop a line your way, but that is what I have in mind for maintaining my own pool. As long as you stay under the 12ppm range for fc (shock level for your cya of 30) the only thing you'll hurt is your wallet. Drop back a few posts and look through some of the links kimkats threw out, they'll really help make sense of things for you.
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Ok so now I might follow up with what am I doing wrong with pool math? I got a goal of 2-6 on the FC and mostly because I don't ever want to risk not having a clear pool again I've been trying to maintain around 7 which is still below shock level of 12. Don't get me wrong I wasn't really complaining about 2 cups of bleach a day. At that rate and for what I'm paying it's costing less then $2/week for the bleach.

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Keep a log of your tests. Make a note of weather as well. Doing this will help you see your pool's pattern.

PH rise..........lets work on you TA to find the sweet spot for your pool. Each pool is very different. Some pools like a TA of 70, some like it at 50.

Pool School - Lower Total Alkalinity

Your last TA was 100. Lets us the above link to push it back to 80. It will take a little while but is cheap and easy to do.

Once it sets at 80 keep a close eye on the PH. If it settles down to only needing to be push down every once in a while you will know it likes 80. If the PH pushes up within 2 or 3 days work on getting the TA down to 70 and see what your pools says.

Don't forget that HEAVY rain, cannon balls, splashing children, jets, waterfalls, etc will make the PH go up no matter what your TA is at.

:kim:
 
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