First Test! .... what next?

[ship of fools]

Ok .... after a couple of years of knowing i should go BBB i bit the bullet and bought a kit.

Here are my test results ... i am in upstate NY ... pool is 63 degrees ... i opened a day or two ago, added water to get to the right level and a gallon and a half of bleach last night.

The cheesy test strips looked good this morning.

Followed the directions and got the following results

daily test showed chlorine between 1 and 2 and PH at 7.2

TF100 results

CL=1.5
CC = .5
TCC = 2
TA = 110
CH - 325 (vinyl)
CYA - i couldnt get a reading / tube was full


so if i look at the calculator i see where i can put my results... what exaclty do i use as the goal?? .... how do i look overall ... what should i add tonight??

i promise i'll figure this stuff out

 

[duraleigh]

Yeah, it'll get easy soon. If you still have time tonight, put a small jug of clorox in the pool so you'll have some FC tomorrow.

Tomorrow, go to HD,Lowe's or Walmart or Pool store and get powdered CYA (cyanuric acid or stabilizer) Using the pool calculator, figure enough to get your pool to 40ppm and buy it.

Place it in a sock tied in front of one of your returns and it will slowly dissolve...may take a while.

Then tomorrow evening, test your FC again (do it with the daily test as it will probably be close to zero) and add enough CLorox to get you to 5ppm......pump running.

That's pretty much it. Your numbers are looking pretty good and I see no real need to adjust anything else right now. You will have to add Clorox daily or every other day as you will probably lose about 2ppm each day.

 

[ship of fools]

Yeah, it'll get easy soon. If you still have time tonight, put a small jug of clorox in the pool so you'll have some FC tomorrow.

Tomorrow, go to HD,Lowe's or Walmart or Pool store and get powdered CYA (cyanuric acid or stabilizer) Using the pool calculator, figure enough to get your pool to 40ppm and buy it.

Place it in a sock tied in front of one of your returns and it will slowly dissolve...may take a while.

Then tomorrow evening, test your FC again (do it with the daily test as it will probably be close to zero) and add enough CLorox to get you to 5ppm......pump running.

That's pretty much it. Your numbers are looking pretty good and I see no real need to adjust anything else right now. You will have to add Clorox daily or every other day as you will probably lose about 2ppm each day.

ok .... i was able to add chlorine last night

looking online at wally world it appears that the cyanuric acid they sell is part of the stabilizer ..... is that the correct stuff?? i am almost positive i have stabilizer left over from last year... would that be acceptable to use??

 

[Butterfly]

ok .... i was able to add chlorine last night

looking online at wally world it appears that the cyanuric acid they sell is part of the stabilizer ..... is that the correct stuff?? i am almost positive i have stabilizer left over from last year... would that be acceptable to use??

Yes, Wallyworld sells CYA, a/k/a conditioner or stabilizer. Just read the ingredients. It should be at least 96% cyanuric acid. And yes, you can use your leftover CYA.

Ok .... after a couple of years of knowing i should go BBB i bit the bullet and bought a kit.

You are now in control of your pool.

 

[ship of fools]

If i am reading the pool calculator correctly i need to add 112 oz by weight of stabilizer.

The leftover stuff is 100% CYA so i assume i can use that ......

If my math is correct that is roughly 1/4 of a pound??

I had a 4 lb jar from last year that is about 3/4 full so i only need to use roughly 1/12th of the jar??

 

[duraleigh]

If i am reading the pool calculator correctly i need to add 112 oz by weight of stabilizer.

The leftover stuff is 100% CYA so i assume i can use that ......

If my math is correct that is roughly 1/4 of a pound??

1 lb = 16 oz.

 

[ship of fools]

If i am reading the pool calculator correctly i need to add 112 oz by weight of stabilizer.

The leftover stuff is 100% CYA so i assume i can use that ......

If my math is correct that is roughly 1/4 of a pound??

1 lb = 16 oz.

duh .... been a while since i studied weights and measurements

so 7 pounds total?? i assume it is ok to mix brands??

 

[duraleigh]

so 7 pounds total?? i assume it is ok to mix brands??

Yep!

 

[ship of fools]

OK ..... i added 7 lbs of cya yesterday and then got home too late to do much but i added half of a 182 oz bottle of bleach.

Here are my test results now - i included the 1st test in parentheses

PH = 6.8 (7.2)
CL = 6 (1.5)
CC= 0 (.5)
TC = 6 (2)
TA = 115 (110)
CH = 300 (325)
CYA = 38 (0?? could see dot with tube full)

the only place i see to get PH is with the simple daily test??

the water is not quite crystal clear... i can see the main drain very clearly but it seems like it may be a touch cloudy

so far so good with the test kit .... seems easy enough

if i am reading the pool calculator correctly i need to add

134 oz washing soda or 267 oz borax (i have the mule team borax)
1/2 lb cya

sound right? .... any suggestions / alterations??

thanks!

 

[ping]

That much borax will be fine, but leave the CYA alone for now. CYA can take up to a week to fully register on the test. You might consider bringing the FC up to 15 to shock the water since it is not clear. Also, make sure you pass the OCLT, overnight chlorine loss test found in pool school.

 

[ship of fools]

Today's update

here are my readings from a 730 PM test with yesterday 9 AM test in parentheses

i added 76 oz of borax last night versus the 267 recommended

simple test
CL = 5+- 5+-
PH = 6.9 - shade darker than 6.8 (6.8)

FC = 5 (6)
CC = .5 (0)
TC = 5.5 (6)
TA = 105 (115)
CH = 290 (300)
CYA = 41/42 (38)

If i understand things correctly i am looking pretty good with the exception of the need to raise my ph ..... the calculator says to add 202 oz borax so i am thinking about 2 boxes which would be 152 oz

sound good??

why would my cc go up?

is a drop of 1 on my TC readings ok for a 24 + hour period?? ...it was cloudy and i had the cover on all day

the pool looks pretty darn clear right now

 

[Butterfly]

Yes, use borax and get the pH up ASAP.

Have you done an OCLT?

ETA: CC increased? Pool cover on pool?

 

[ship of fools]

Yes, use borax and get the pH up ASAP.

Have you done an OCLT?

ETA: CC increased? Pool cover on pool?

i have not done the oclt - but if i tested at 9 am yesterday and had fc of 5 and then had fc of 5 today without adding chlorine isn't that essentially the same test??

the pool cover was on the pool .... would that cause the cc to increase??

 

[Butterfly]

Yes, the pool cover prevents CC from being nuked by the sun.

 

[ship of fools]

today's update .... i think i am getting close to good numbers??

i added borax each of last two days .. stabilizer the day before

today (yesterday)
simple cl 5 (5)
ph 7.8 (6.9)

fc 3.5 (5) why is this different than simple test reading??
cc 0 (.5)
tc 3.5 6
ta 110 (105)
ch 240 (290)
cya 31 (41/42)

calculator says to add some bleach (1/2 jug or so) plus muriatic acid to lower ph .... i assume i should skip muriatic acid and do the bleach

is that much chlorine loss normal? .... cover off ... decent amount of sun today

why would cya drop so much?

what is causing ch to drop?? ... i know its ok at this level and maybe even a good drop ... we had rain last night

thanks .... testing is now a peice of cake ... i am going to test my neighbors who had crazy readings from his pool store test

 

[ship of fools]

do i need a little more cya?

 

[Butterfly]

Your CYA is in the recommended range. If you seem to lose too much FC daily, you should consider raising the CYA a little.

 

[ship of fools]

any chance someone could address this??

butterfly was kind enough to answer my cya question but i would really appreciate someone addressing this post

thanks

today's update .... i think i am getting close to good numbers??

i added borax each of last two days .. stabilizer the day before

today (yesterday)
simple cl 5 (5)
ph 7.8 (6.9)

fc 3.5 (5) why is this different than simple test reading??
cc 0 (.5)
tc 3.5 6
ta 110 (105)
ch 240 (290)
cya 31 (41/42)

calculator says to add some bleach (1/2 jug or so) plus muriatic acid to lower ph .... i assume i should skip muriatic acid and do the bleach

is that much chlorine loss normal? .... cover off ... decent amount of sun today

why would cya drop so much?

what is causing ch to drop?? ... i know its ok at this level and maybe even a good drop ... we had rain last night

thanks .... testing is now a peice of cake ... i am going to test my neighbors who had crazy readings from his pool store test

 

[Bama Rambler]

First off, the OTO test is good for a 'go/no go' test for chlorine but not very good for getting an accurate reading. The FAS-DPD test is the best to use when you want to know what the FC & CC really is.

What is the pH you're targeting in the Pool Calc? It's lower than 7.8 or the Calc wouldn't suggest you add acid. Don't worry about it right now.

Actually 1.5 ppm per day is less than normal. About the best most people can get is 2 ppm per day loss.

The CYA difference is a testing discrepancy. Don't worry about it, it's within the accuracy of the test.

CH is the same, a testing discrepancy.

 

[ship of fools]

First off, the OTO test is good for a 'go/no go' test for chlorine but not very good for getting an accurate reading. The FAS-DPD test is the best to use when you want to know what the FC & CC really is.

What is the pH you're targeting in the Pool Calc? It's lower than 7.8 or the Calc wouldn't suggest you add acid. Don't worry about it right now.

Actually 1.5 ppm per day is less than normal. About the best most people can get is 2 ppm per day loss.

The CYA difference is a testing discrepancy. Don't worry about it, it's within the accuracy of the test.

CH is the same, a testing discrepancy.

thanks

so overall would you say i am in pretty good shape now??

at this point in time am i ok to do the daily test and then add chlorine as needed and borax if needed then once a week do the whole gamut??

or should i do the better chlorine test daily?

i am pretty comfortable with everything so far and the pool is sparkling and just plain beautiful