new 24' above ground

[rme]

Just want to let you all know how very helpful this site has been in getting started. Hubby found your site a few months back when we were just thinking about getting a pool and deciding if we wanted to go saltwater or chlorine. After lots of reading (Pool School, ABC's of Pool Water, etc) and rereading, I would appreciate any feedback/advice anyone can provide in regards to being on the right track...

Finally filled our 24' round /52" high AG pool (Wil-Bar St. Thomas, 1.5 hp Hayward Pro-Series w/ Power Flo Matrix pump) and were able start filter today. I estimated volume using pool calculator at 13.5K and rounded up to 14,000. Pool came with a Pentair (Rainbow Lifeguard) 78DPD test kit which tests for FC, CC, pH, TA. It did not test for CYA so we bought test strips (aqua chem) to get us started. Plan to order the TF-100 from your site. Pool kit also came with hypochlorite packages which I opted not to use...

We did our 1st water test using the above mentioned kit and test strips. Since we filled w/ well water FC/CC/CYA were non-existant, pH level was 6.8 (possibly lower), TA very low.

This afternoon I placed a sock full of CYA (granular) in front of the return jet to start building that number up, but because I don't have an accurate way to test CYA yet I don't want to put too much in. Pool calculator recommended 75 oz., I probably used about 16 oz. today and plan on the same for tomorrow. It's my understanding that I can't backwash for about 48 hours as I try to build CYA.

This evening I added 192 oz of 6% liquid bleach and about 4 lbs of baking soda. I purchased Borax to raise the pH level, but decided to see how the baking soda does. Both will raise pH, but if I stabilize the TA I should have better control of pH...correct? Hubby also built a fountain for aeration, but we haven't hooked it up yet.

Am I on the right track at this point? What should I expect over the next few days? As for the Pool Calculator, I love it, but have one question regarding the tempereature section: Does it refer to air temp or water temp?

Thanks again for providing such great resources

 

[zea3]

Hi, welcome to TFP! The pool calculator is referring to water temperature.

 

[Bama Rambler]

You've done good so far. You usually raise the pH first, UNLESS your TA is very low. Then you raise the TA and retest the pH after that's done. You'll want to get your TA up to about 70 or 80 for a manually chlorinated pool.

Your pool contains ~13,000 gallons of water (I have the same size pool).
You added enough baking soda to raise your TA by 22 and your pH by .04.
You raised your FC by about 7 ppm.
You'll have raised your CYA about 20 once you add the second pound. You can backwash of you have to because you placed it in front of a return. If you had added it to the skimmer, then you can't backwash.

Don't hook the fountain up till you need to lower TA (& that doesn't sound like that'll be any time soon).

Over the next few days you will need to add about 2 quarts of bleach each evening.

I would go ahead and add 2 more lbs of CYA, for a total of 4 lbs. That will raise your CYA to about 40 which is a good starting point.

 

[rme]

Thanks to both of you for your responses. The water looks great this morning--I was a tad bit worried after putting all the stuff into it last night I will continue to work on raising the CYA/TA/pH levels over the next few days.

Hubby says he built the fountain more to help w/ water temp (we're in NC, so the idea of swimming in bath water everyday isn't that appealing.) I did read somewhere that it will affect the pH- I'll look into that some more.

 

[rme]

Ok, so I just tested water again. Water is clear. We swam in it today & it felt fine, able to open my eyes under water w/o any stinging or itchiness. Here are test results:

FC: 3.0
CC: no change in color, so I'm assuming change is less than .2 ppm
pH: about 7.0
TA: 60
CYA: tested w/ test strip, reads very low (I've used about 2.5 lbs of cya in a sock since yesterday--it's still diluting)

:?:
So even though my FC reads in the acceptable range I still need to add 2qts of bleach tonight? I was expecting that number to read much lower on the test.

Since my pH is still on the lower end, should i add more borax?
Pool calculator is telling me to add just just under 2 lbs.

Will the TF100 kit give me actual #s for the CYa and CC tests? The kit I'm using (Pentair 78 DPD) reads up to 3.0 for FC and for the CC it has me drop a second tablet and note any color change then subtract the difference. Right now there's no change, so I think that's good. It means no bacteria to break down?? For CYA test I only have the test strips. All other tests seem to be in the same ballpark between the strips and kit. I'd like to order the TF100 kit, but am wondering if what I currently have will get ne through the rest of this season (Raleigh area NC)?

Thanks for the help-- I really want to make sure I'm using test results and pool calculator properly.

 

[supertune]

Hi rme,
Yes, the TF-100 kit will test CYA and CC.
Yes I would get the PH up a little more, 7.0 is a little too low.
I would like to see it closer to 7.5
My pool loves it there, super stable now that I have my TA at 80.
My pool store couldn't get my CYA test even close!
Strips for CYA are useless...
The TF-100 kit was the ONLY way for me to get the knowledge to help me learn what I needed to know about my pool water to make it behave!
Order the kit as soon as you can! If you don't, the day you have a big mess on your hands you'll have even bigger regrets.

This TF-100 test kit will allow you to take total control over your pool water and with proper testing equipment, your advice from here (us) will be much better because we have lots of experienced people that have been in your shoes before and can give much better advice.

Here's how my pool looks doing this the TFP way! (always perfect!)

Chuck

 

[Bama Rambler]

Don't believe the strips especially for CYA. Your pH will probably come up on it's own but being at 7.0 and having a TA of 60 I'd bump it a little bit with borax. Of course I'm not familiar with the test kit you're using os I don't know how much faith to put in the numbers.

Yes, the TF-100 will give you numbers for all the tests it performs.

 

[rme]

Chuck/Dave J.

Thanks for your advice

I orderd the kit today and since it ships from Raleigh/Durham area I should have it by Monday. Until them I'm going to leave CYA alone (I've used just about 3lbs of stabilizer so far). Will probably hold off on any further changes to pH until I get new kit. I did add 2 cups of Borax this morning, afternoon test results follow...
FC: 3.
CC: didn't test
pH: 7.2
TA: 60
CYA: low

Chlorine levels don't seem to be dropping below 3 during the day, providing I'm getting a fairly accurate reading. Weather hasn't been super hot, but with CYA being low, I was expecting a drop, but since my kit only reads up to 3.0, I don't actually know what my levels are at night when I chlorinate :grrrr: I've continued to put 2 qts in each night as per Dave's initial response.

Filter ran on low for first two days. Tonight is first time we'll run it overnight and turn it off in the am. DH figured the pump moves about 40 GPM, so we need to run filter about 6 hours minimally. I also like to turn filter on when pool is in use to skim the surface and pick up particles while water is moving.

Water has been clear and sparkling since we filled & started filter on Wednesday, so we'll see if we can keep the momentum going :!:

 

[rme]

Yay! Test kit arrrived Saturday...(Thanks Dave S. for such speedy service) had a house full of company so didn't really get to "experiment" w/ TF-100 too much. On the bright side, the pool got a good work out

Here are my morning results (I added 64 oz. of bleach last night):

FC: 7
CC: .5
pH: 7.3
TA: 60
CYA: 20ish

So I plan to add more Borax, another lb. of stabilizer, and about 64 oz. of bleach tonight (plan to do an evening test and put the results through pool calculator to get accurate amounts) but just wanted to run my thinking past you all and see if I'm on the right path. I haven't tested CH since we have a vinyl liner, is this something I should do regularly?

Any insight is appreciated

 

[Bama Rambler]

Sounds like you have a good plan.

I'd probably test the CH once a season just to make sure it's not too high. Do you know what your fill water CH is?

 

[rme]

I'd probably test the CH once a season just to make sure it's not too high. Do you know what your fill water CH is?

I tested the CH and it's 40. We filled with well water so I'm assuming the present calcium is from that since we haven't added anything to increase CH. I checked back with Pool School to look up recommended CH levels for vinyl pools. It appears that I shouldn't be concerned with the low reading.

Thanks again for all your help :-D The water looks and feels great so far. The info I've found here at TFP has been awesome. I'll be sure to check back in with any future problems--hoping not to any though

 

[Bama Rambler]

Low CH isn't a problem for a vinyl pool.