What should i fix first?

[gg10]

I installed the new T-15 cell last week and added salt. Since salt cell was not working so I was maintaining cl by adding it manually that why my cl is still high. I have been trying to control pH but not under control still. When I am touch the pool water I can feel it is very harsh and my hand becomes very dry and feels burning when my hand dries. So here are the readings

Cl 3 - 6
pH 8.2
Alk 120
Hardness 300
CYA 100 ppm
Salt 3100

I changed pool generator % to 30% and spa to 10% until the cl generation becomes stable.
Now please tell me what should I try to bring down first and how? I am planning to open the pool next weekend.

 

[Richard320]

pH. Definately pH. That's waaaaay alkaline. Very drying.

 

[gg10]

So that would be 32oz of muratic acid for 16k gallons of water? I thought it would be CYA since somewhere I read trying to control pH when CYA is high will not work?

 

[jblizzle]

CYA and pH are not really related as you describe. You should lower the pH and then likely replace water to lower the CYA.

 

[gg10]

Alright, I am starting to reduce pH now. Will check in the morning and report back.

 

[gg10]

Hi,
pH is now 7.5 to 7.8. What should lower next and how? I am new to pool ownership that's why I ask how since I am learning about chemicals.

 

[pwrstrk]

I would lower cya next. That means water replacement.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk.

 

[duraleigh]

I am new to pool ownership that's why I ask how since I am learning about chemicals.

You should always start in our Pool School. read "The ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry". It'll give you a great start and then the answers we give you will be more meaningful.

 

[gg10]

Any idea how much water replacement would lower to desired ppm? And also how do I replace water? Will opening the main drain valve and then turning the return to not go to pool...?

I read all the pool school stuff and I completely believe and trust you guys. And what you say makes sense to me :lol:

 

[duraleigh]

It's a direct reduction. If you remove 1/3 of your water, you CYA will drop by 1/3.

 

[gg10]

So I am guessing if I reduce 50% of water, it will also reduce salt, alk cl, pH etc by the same ratio? And then I will have to start raising each one one by one?

 

[Richard320]

So I am guessing if I reduce 50% of water, it will also reduce salt, alk cl, pH etc by the same ratio? And then I will have to start raising each one one by one?

Not exactly...your fill water will have zero CYA, but it will have some pH reading, and probably some TA and CH. In hard water areas it will have lots. If it's tap water, there will be a trace of FC and possibly CC.

Test the tap water and see.

 

[gg10]

Here are tap water readings. I am confused with the pH reading

Cl 1-2
pH 8.00 or higher
Alk 30
Hardness 120

How can pH be so high? I tested 3 times from different taps. There is one thing I am confused abt now. I was taking the water sample to nearby Leslie for past two months and in fact on 27th April their pH reading was also high buy their CYA reading was 80. Since then I had to fill the pool once since it got very low due to so much heat we got in N Dallas and then 2 days after that last week we got severe thunderstorms which filled the water so much that it's overflowing thru the overflow vents.
So now I am thinking is CYA really high or I made a mistake? Now I am out of CYA test agent.
What do you guys think is going on here?

 

[jblizzle]

Everything sounds normal. Pool store CYA testing is not reliable. You need to buy more reagent to test CYA yourself ... thus why we recommend the TF100.

 

[gg10]

I will look into TF100 but for now can I ignore CYA and try to stabilize alkalinity and hardness?

 

[jblizzle]

No. TA and CH are the least important to worry about. And pointless if you have to replace water.

You need a good CYA number so you know the correct FC levels up get and keep the pool clear.

 

[gg10]

Ok, I will order the test kit online and test again.

 

[JohnN]

What test kit do you currently have? If you have the K-2006 (although it doesn't sound like it, based on your chlorine numbers) you can just purchase a refill for the CYA reagent.

 

[gg10]

I am using the HTH 6 way test kit. Have you used that?

 

[JohnN]

Yes, I used that before I got my K-2006. It's a decent test kit, just lacking the good chlorine test. Since you are out of CYA reagent and don't have the good chlorine test, you should probably get a new one. I'm not sure who makes the reagents for the HTH kit, but I have a suspicion it may be Taylor. The reason I say this is because I know for a fact that all of the hardware has Taylor part numbers. Anyway, you should get a good kit. The TF-1000 is a better value, but the K-2006 also works.