Pool newbie, just got my first TF-100 results, please help with a plan of action!

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zapados

Well-known member
Aug 13, 2016
73
Merrimack, NH
Hello TFP! I'm a pool newbie. I just got my first results from a TF-100 kit. Please help me decide on a plan of action to get things straightened out.

2016-08-19 (Friday)
FC: 0.5
CC: 0.0
TC: 0.5
CH: 125 PPM
TA: 0
CYA: 100

What do I do first?

Thank you for your help! This seems like a great forum and great community. :)
 
Just a quick thought - I don't think TA can be 0; where is your pH and finally, if you're hitting CYA @ 100, it's likely higher, maybe much higher. There is a method for checking for higher CYA levels - sorry, I don't recall - someone else will chime in, I'm sure.

pH is really important - run it and the TA per instructions with the kit.

How's the water look??
 
viking68 said:
Just a quick thought - I don't think TA can be 0; where is your pH and finally, if you're hitting CYA @ 100, it's likely higher, maybe much higher. There is a method for checking for higher CYA levels - sorry, I don't recall - someone else will chime in, I'm sure.

pH is really important - run it and the TA per instructions with the kit.

How's the water look??
Click to expand...

TA was zero because it was red immediately - drops made no color difference!

I did not run the OTO or pH tests...I will do that and get results posted ASAP!

The water looks fine. Not cloudy. Some debris in it...bugs/leaf particles. No/little algae...I did notice some green spots forming on the bottom in a shadier side of the pool, but was able to scrub them off and that was ~1 week ago. Haven't noticed them since.
 
Sounds like the PH has crashed. Do you chlorinate with trichlor pucks? That is probably the culprit. With TA at 0 your pH is somewhere around 4.5. Washing soda will raise PH and TA. Use PoolMath to calculate the dose. Don't add it all at once, go maybe a third at a time until the PH shows on the test. More here, Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals
 
You lower the CYA by draining half your water and refilling. Do NOT underestimate the need to get your pH up....it should be a priority.

Raise your TA first until you at least get a reading, even if it's only 20-30.

Then raise pH to 7.5 and repeat TA test.
 
Update...so I decide to do a drain on the pool to try to reduce the CYA levels. I drained probably 40% of the pool and refilled.

These are my new numbers:

2016-08-23 (Tuesday)
FC: 0.0
CC: 0.0
TC: 0.0
CH: 125 PPM
TA: 0
CYA: 90
OTO: < lowest
pH: < lowest

My CYA did not go down as much as I hoped! My prior readings had the CYA higher than 100, but still, I expected it to go down further. Maybe I'm doing the black dot test wrong?

Anyways, I switched focus to the pH and put in 3/4 gallon of soda ash just now, so we'll see how that hits the TA and pH. PoolMath says I should have put in ~2 gallons to hit TA of 100, but I ran out and need to pick some more up tomorrow.

When should I start adding bleach to get my FC back up? Should I try to get the pH straightened out first?
 

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zapados said:
Update...so I decide to do a drain on the pool to try to reduce the CYA levels. I drained probably 40% of the pool and refilled.

These are my new numbers:

2016-08-23 (Tuesday)
FC: 0.0
CC: 0.0
TC: 0.0
CH: 125 PPM
TA: 0
CYA: 90
OTO: < lowest
pH: < lowest

My CYA did not go down as much as I hoped! My prior readings had the CYA higher than 100, but still, I expected it to go down further. Maybe I'm doing the black dot test wrong?

Anyways, I switched focus to the pH and put in 3/4 gallon of soda ash just now, so we'll see how that hits the TA and pH. PoolMath says I should have put in ~2 gallons to hit TA of 100, but I ran out and need to pick some more up tomorrow.

When should I start adding bleach to get my FC back up? Should I try to get the pH straightened out first?
Click to expand...
Don't worry about raising TA any more, let's see where your pH is first.

While the CYA test is difficult at first, I'm sure that it was much higher than 100ppm to start with. Did you do the extended test before you drained?

As mentioned, get chlorine in that pool.
 
Last edited:
Yes my first results where pre-drain (first post). And it was over under the 100 line, but the test says go to the closest line. It was probably way over.

OK I'll add chlorine tonight right after testing pH and TA again. I'll probably re-test the CYA and add chlorine based on that value.
 
So I tossed in 55 oz of washing soda and 121 oz of bleach last night. Today I got my first TA reading that wasn't 0 -- cool!

2016-08-25 (Thursday)
FC: 5.5
CC: 0.5
TC: 6.0

TA: 40
pH: still under lowest, bet it's 6.0.

Based on those results, I tossed in another 55 oz of washing soda and ~32 oz of bleach.

Question: it seems like my TA is going higher than my pH. Once my TA hits the 100 - 120 range, how do I get JUST my pH up?
 
Last night I added a box of Borax, and this is what I'm at now:

2016-08-30 (Tuesday)
FC: 10.0
CC: 0.5
TC: 10.5
CH: 125 PPM
TA: 130
CYA: 80
OTO: 5.0
pH: 6.8

My pH finally registers, but the Borax seems to have moved the TA more than I wanted (the TA was 110 before I added the Borax).

Is there any way to raise the pH without changing the TA? I thought Borax was the ticket, but it messed with my TA more than I thought!

Thank you for your help. I'm getting close to having this down! :)
 
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