New to pools

[bill1109]

Hello all, new to all of this, have read pool school so I jumped in with both feet after one week of using pool store.
Have been using BBB for alittle over 2 weeks now. Water is crystal clear.

FC - 7 (Chlorine loss daily= 3.5 ppm)
CC - 0
PH - 7.4
TA - 100
CH - not tested
CYA- 31 working to 40

I test fc an cc every morning as I work afternoon shift. Three questions I have are, (1)is it normal for ph to move up and down .2-.4 with out adjusting?
(2) is it ok to test fc and cc every day, and every thing else once aweek. (3) What, if anything am I missing?
Thank you for all the great advise I have already received from ya"ll. Bill

 

[triptyx]

How are you adding chlorine?

I don't think it's normal for pH to go down all on its own, unless you're using pucks (adding stabilizer might take it down a little too come to think of it).

I test FC every day, and CC once a week. The only time I test for CC outside of that weekly window is if I suspect I might have let my FC dip too low for too long and I want to make a quick "gut check" to see if anything might be growing (an OCLT does this better).

Looks like you're doing pretty well otherwise. That TA will likely drag your pH up over time, adding muriatic acid to bring the pH back down to "normal" when needed will naturally take care of that.

 

[bill1109]

8.25% wal-mart bleach, poured slowly in front of return. Average about 1 qt a day. Bill

 

[triptyx]

Awesome, I wasn't sure if you had a SWG or were using...shudder....solid chlorine.

Has the pump been running for at least half an hour or so prior to your testing in the morning?

 

[JesseSchmidt]

If you are working on lowering your CYA, every pound of dry CYA will lower your pH by 0.26 according to PoolMath. pH naturally rises with aeration (return jets pointed at the surface, swimming and splashing).

 

[bill1109]

No, have been dipping bottle about elbow deep for sample. Turn on pump and head to coffee pot and test kit.
JesseSchmidt-I'm trying to raise my cya as per pool math rec. Bill

 

[JesseSchmidt]

Right, so by adding CYA, your pH will go down some. And by swimming or if you have returns pointed at the surface, pH will rise. As long as it's staying between 7.2 and 7.8, you're fine! If it goes outside that range, you'll just have to adjust it back.

- - - Updated - - -

In other words, you fluctuations up and down are fine right now. If after you finish adjusting CYA, you are still seeing pH lowering, we'll address it then. pH will naturally rise until you get the TA to the spot your pool likes, then it will level off and stay pretty steady.

 

[triptyx]

No, have been dipping bottle about elbow deep for sample. Turn on pump and head to coffee pot and test kit.
JesseSchmidt-I'm trying to raise my cya as per pool math rec. Bill

Ahh, that could be part of the problem. If the pump has been off all night, the water isn't adequately mixed to get a uniform reading. Try turning on the pump, do some morning stuff, then go outside and get your sample to test. See if that makes things a little more uniform.

 

[bill1109]

Triptyx, does it matter what time I check, as long as I check the same time daily? I will have my wife turn the pump on at 6:30 when she leaves. I can check about
7:30 -8:00 when I get moving.

JesseSchmidt, my TA has stayed at about 100 for over a week. Ph stays between 7.2 and 7.8 Has gone to 8 or better with high fc level in the beginning. Thanks Bill

 

[triptyx]

In my opinion, it's good to check about the same time each day. This allows you to slip into a rhythm of what your pool needs, when, and how much. Since you're basically making sure the chlorine is staying above minimums, letting more than 24 hours pass between additions without accounting for that extra time could cause you to fall too low.

Is your pump on/off manual only? I'm used to at least having a basic dial timer on mine, which makes it easier to have the pump running for a while before I'm ready to test.

 

[bill1109]

No timer, flip the switch on , and off. Pool math 3 to 7 for fc. I try to keep to 8 ppm just in case. I have a leaf net that I will throw over it when high winds come from the west. Lots of trees around pool. Will it be a problem to run pump when wife turns it on until I get up and remove ? About an hour or so.