First Test!

[jotting]

So my kit finally arrived - Yay!!! Below are the results from my first test on the pool. The water is clear and sparkly and blue. I checked the inline chlorinator and there is nothing in it - so that is empty now. Nothing has been put into the pool since Wednesday of last week (so 9 days now).

Test results:
2.6 ppm FC
No CC present
7.6 Ph
70 ppm TA
85 ppm Cyanuric Acid (I'm sure I didn't spell that correctly)

So... what's next?

 

[zea3]

Did you test your CH?

 

[PSW]

CYA of 85 is pretty high (unless you have a SWCG, then is just a LITTLE high). Unfortunately, the only way to lower CYA is by replacing some of the water. I would assume that inline chlorinator (and the pucks that went in it) is the culprit for high CYA.

At that CYA level, you should have a minimum of 6 FC (and a target of 9-10). You should first focus on getting proper FC levels (don't use pucks!), as you don't want to get an algae bloom.

 

[Butterfly]

Wow, with CYA (cyanuric acid) level of 85, the maintenance FC needs to be between 7 and 12, and never below 7.

So, you need to add chlorine now.

It would probably be best to go ahead and do a little drain/refill to get your CYA down to about 50ppm. This will make managing your pool much easier.

Also, as zea asked, what is the CH level? Important # for a plaster pool.

 

[jotting]

kk I will go add chlorine in the morning first thing. can I retest tomorrow evening or do I need to wait longer? i want to repeat the cya because i am not sure i did it properly after reading the instructions. also, i didn't do the ch test but will do it when I detest. Thank you for the feedback!

 

[jotting]

Okay so I repeated the CYA and it's still just above 80. My calcium Hardness is 540. So I did the pool calculator and did some reading and I really need to drain some of the pool water before doing anything else right?

 

[duraleigh]

and I really need to drain some of the pool water before doing anything else right?

Probably. What is the CH of your fill water?

 

[jotting]

Okay so I did a partial water change yesterday... I'm gunna guess based on how long I ran new water in while pumping water out that it was about a 15-17% water change? Added two cups of bleach after I finished the water change yesterday afternoon. Let everything run and cycle for 3 more hours yesterday and then 9 full hours today. Redid my tests and here's what I've got:

6.0 FC
No CC
7.6 Ph
90 TA
490 CH
55 Cya
87 degrees F water temp.
Pool is still clear and blue and sparkly. Some of the stains from the previous algae bloom last month are starting to lighten up on the sidewalls of the pool (I'm assuming this is a good thing).

The CH on my fill water is 190. I can change more water out if I need to to bring the CH down more....

 

[duraleigh]

The CH on my fill water is 190. I can change more water out if I need to to bring the CH down more

Rather thab drain/refill again, I suggest you just keep a close eye on your pH and keep it between 7.2 and 7.5. That will keep you from calcium scale.

 

[jotting]

Will do then!