help with numbers please

[nfusion770]

So we finally got our pool in. I have shocked it for 4 days and the water has gone from a cloudy root beer brown to crystal clear (rusty water oxidized by chlorine that my sand filter appears to have handled). I added about 100 pounds of salt less than is recommended tonight and got in the pool for the first time to spread it around. I plan to start the SWG tomorrow.

Here are my most current numbers:

cl- looked like 5 by color but the detailed test indicated 3
ph 7.8
ta 340
cya maybe a little less than 20 as I never completely lost the dot.
CH has gone from 320 to 130 which is kind of strange.

It has been in the 90s here for about a week.

Anyway, I have read mixed things regarding high TA- as long as I dont have problems do I really care about that?
Once the SWG gets going it should handle most of my chlorine needs unless I encounter problems, right?
Is my CYA too low?

Thanks for any input- I am trying to translate forum info into my first pool.

 

[linen]

I added about 100 pounds of salt less than is recommended tonight and got in the pool for the first time to spread it around. I plan to start the SWG tomorrow.

Have you looked at our Water balance for swgs? We recommend shooting for 200-400 ppm over the what the manual says.

cl- looked like 5 by color but the detailed test indicated 3

Detailed test is the FAS-DPD test? If it is, trust it.

cya maybe a little less than 20 as I never completely lost the dot.

The above link recommends 70-80 for swgs.

CH has gone from 320 to 130 which is kind of strange.

This is strange unless you did a drain/refill with very low CH water. Since you have a vinyl liner, and neither number is really high, I would not worry about it for now.

Anyway, I have read mixed things regarding high TA- as long as I dont have problems do I really care about that?

Yours is really high, so I would lower it other wise you most likely will need to lower ph constantly. The swg will only make your ph rise worse.

Once the SWG gets going it should handle most of my chlorine needs unless I encounter problems, right?

Use bleach/liquid chlorine to get up to your normal swg FC range then let the swg take it from there.

Is my CYA too low?

Yes, most likely your swg will not be able to keep up to the chlorine lost to the sun unless you raise it.

 

[nfusion770]

Thank you. Where has that SWG guide been all my life. I think I read it about a month ago but lost track somehow.

Yes chlorine was measured with the FAS DPD test. I just added bleach per pool calculator instruction. I also orderd some CYA and it should be here Saturday. I guess I better to work on the TA.

As long as everything is stable and at safe levels it is alright to swim in it while I figure it out isnt it? After all chemicals have circulated of course.

 

[linen]

As long as everything is stable and at safe levels it is alright to swim in it while I figure it out isnt it?

That made me laugh :lol: ...thanks :-D

I know there was a serious question hidden amongst that humor though...I see no reason to not swim, if you can see the bottom, your FC is below your shock value, and ph is between 7.2-7.8 then we would say it is safe to swim. In addition, my preference is to have CC <0.5 ppm, since having it higher can sometimes cause skin and eye irritation.

 

[nfusion770]

As long as everything is stable and at safe levels it is alright to swim in it while I figure it out isnt it?

That made me laugh :lol: ...thanks :-D

I know there was a serious question hidden amongst that humor though...I see no reason to not swim, if you can see the bottom, your FC is below your shock value, and ph is between 7.2-7.8 then we would say it is safe to swim. In addition, my preference is to have CC <0.5 ppm, since having it higher can sometimes cause skin and eye irritation.

I am glad you found humor in it- most of this stuff gives me a headache :-D. Less and less so now that I have actual water to experiment on. I grew up with lake water- weird that treating pool water makes me more nervous than green algae on the shoreline.

 

[linen]

I grew up with lake water- weird that treating pool water makes me more nervous than green algae on the shoreline.

Me too, lakes are my preferred pools...most of them I would rather swim in then many pools I have seen. Lakes have natural filtering, and massive volumes...pools on the other hand do not, so pool sanitation is much more critical, especially when considering person to person transfer of bacteria and viruses.