Hello all!
This is my first season owning a pool, and I have fallen victim to pool store shenanigans over the past couple of months. I'm happy I found this forum, and am excited to learn how to effectively care for my pool!
Now a general question.. I have ordered a Taylor K-2006 kit from Amazon, but it won't be here until Friday. I work long hours and will be unable to do anything to the pool between 6:40AM and 10:30PM on Friday. I also work the weekend, but I will get home around 7:20PM on Saturday and Sunday. I have used a PoolTime ClearPoolExpert test strip to approximate some values posted below:
TH ~250
TC ~3-3.5
FC ~3-3.5
pH ~ 6.9 - 7.2
TA ~ 120
CYA ~50-100
I'm skeptical of the CYA reading.. I suspect it is high because I have been using stabilized chlorine powder and trichlor tabs in the skimmer (with pump running 24/7) for a few days. Additionally, recent water tests at the pool store have had it as high as 160. I have done a 1/2 drain and refill since then though. I believe I'm also having problems with Mustard Algae.
My question is this: What should I do until my new test kit gets here? I don't know if I should stop using the tablets (with the water flowing over them I go through at least 2 tabs per day), if I should just aggressively add some bleach each day until Saturday evening when I can test it and maybe perform a SLAM on Sunday evening when I get home?
Any help is greatly appreciated. Here is a picture of what I believe is Mustard Algae.. in which case I have a feeling I'm going to have to add a ton of bleach to maintain a mustard kill FC level..
This is my first season owning a pool, and I have fallen victim to pool store shenanigans over the past couple of months. I'm happy I found this forum, and am excited to learn how to effectively care for my pool!
Now a general question.. I have ordered a Taylor K-2006 kit from Amazon, but it won't be here until Friday. I work long hours and will be unable to do anything to the pool between 6:40AM and 10:30PM on Friday. I also work the weekend, but I will get home around 7:20PM on Saturday and Sunday. I have used a PoolTime ClearPoolExpert test strip to approximate some values posted below:
TH ~250
TC ~3-3.5
FC ~3-3.5
pH ~ 6.9 - 7.2
TA ~ 120
CYA ~50-100
I'm skeptical of the CYA reading.. I suspect it is high because I have been using stabilized chlorine powder and trichlor tabs in the skimmer (with pump running 24/7) for a few days. Additionally, recent water tests at the pool store have had it as high as 160. I have done a 1/2 drain and refill since then though. I believe I'm also having problems with Mustard Algae.
My question is this: What should I do until my new test kit gets here? I don't know if I should stop using the tablets (with the water flowing over them I go through at least 2 tabs per day), if I should just aggressively add some bleach each day until Saturday evening when I can test it and maybe perform a SLAM on Sunday evening when I get home?
Any help is greatly appreciated. Here is a picture of what I believe is Mustard Algae.. in which case I have a feeling I'm going to have to add a ton of bleach to maintain a mustard kill FC level..