yet another newbie that needs help quick.

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S

SeaBass

0
LifeTime Supporter
May 26, 2008
20
Texas
Just received my TF-100 and am excited to get on with the show....but worried.

The chlorine level looks as if it is zero...no color.
ph 6.8

TA 0 (it says after adding the 2 drops of 0007 then 5 drops of 0008 the solution will turn green....mine was definitely red)
CYA 0 ? (tube was filled to the top, and I could still see that black dot)

The water in our pool is clear. Is that even possible with results like these?

We have a IG vinyl pool. I believe it is 17 X 36 and 24,000 gallons. (I would love to double check that)
The pump is running 24/7.

I have bleach ready to go, but know I'm going to need more as well as other things. Wondering how much I can add at once, and confused about the shock level etc.

And to add to the confusion...I am a new owner of a Mac and couldn't get the bleach calc to download.

Thanks in advance.
 
How deep is you pool? Based on 5.75 ft. That put you at around 26300gallons based on rectangle??? Is it oval or rect,etc.? This was based on an avg depth of 5.75. Knowing most igs are 3.5-8ft in depth. Was this the first time you used the kit? Just for measure I would try it one more time. If you get the same numbers there is consistency and we can go from there.
 
The pool is grecian shaped and goes from 3 to 8 feet.

I tested once yesterday and again this morning....same results, but it does seem weird to me too.
(does the TA test solution run out the quickest?)

Thanks for your reply.
I might need a little hand-holding on this one.
 
Based on the calculator it says:Based on 26300 gallons
164 oz. of 6% bleach to get to fc-3
32oz. by vol. of borax to get to 7.4
443 oz by volume baking soda to get ta to 90
140oz. stabilizer to get to 40

My suggestion is don't do all of this at once. Get your PH,TA,FC up first then work on the CYA.
Also please read from the pool calculator info about cya.
Per calculator info:
Suggested FC levels
You need to adjust your FC target level based on your current CYA reading. Higher CYA levels bind up more of the FC requiring higher FC levels to get the same disinfecting chlorine level. Many people find that a SWG will work with a slightly lower FC level than other forms of chlorine. The normal FC target is given as a range because different pools require different FC levels. If your water starts looking dull or just slightly cloudy try using a higher FC target.

The target FC level is a minimum. You always want the FC level to be at least as high as the target level. FC is commonly lowest in the evening after sunlight has been reducing it all day. If you are adding chlorine once a day in the evening you need to bring the chlorine up to a higher number than this so that your FC level the next evening is at least the target level. How much higher depends on your CYA level. A CYA of 30 to 50 will generally lose between one half and two thirds of the FC over the course of a sunny day.

Shocking your pool means bringing the FC level up to high levels and holding it there. This will kill anything that might be living in your water and to speed the breakdown of CC. If you have mustard algae you often need to shock at a higher FC level than usual to get rid of the mustard algae. You may also need to move towards the high end of the normal FC range to keep the mustard algae away.

Be careful if your CYA level is really and truly zero. When CYA is really zero you should not bring the FC level above 5 at any time. If you have ever used stabilizer or dichlor or trichlor your CYA level won't really be zero. CYA levels up to 15 or 20 can sometimes test as zero. The suggested FC level feature treats a CYA of zero as if it was really one or two

Any of the pros want to chime in and check out my math?
 
Hey SeaBass and welcome to the forum.

Congrats on the TF 100 test kit! Take a deep breath, we'll get you thru this.

I would shoot for 50 on the TA and 30 on the CYA. You can always add more later, but they are difficult to reduce once added.

Adjust your pH, TA & CYA. I'd add about 2 gallons of plain, unscented 6% bleach and retest.

You can use Jason's Pool Calculator, link in my sig.

Add all your pool and equipment info in your signature when you have time.

Suggested reading: "ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" by duraleigh: http://www.troublefreepool.com/sticky.php?s=4953

"BBB" or, "What are all these pool chemicals?" by Waterbear: http://www.troublefreepool.com/sticky.php?s=94

Post back here with new test #'s and members will be here to help. Again, welcome.
 
Whoozer has made a wonderful start.

I get somewhere around 22,000 to 24,000 gallons (lots of sloped bottom, not so much area that is actually 8 1/2 feet deep).

When PH is low and TA is near zero you want to start with either baking soda or washing soda/soda ash and get the TA up to 30 or 40 before attempting to adjust the PH. Then bring PH up to the low end of the normal range, if it isn't there yet. Then finish adjusting TA. Then make the final adjustment to PH. I would start with 12 lbs of baking soda, give it a couple of hours to mix in and then test both PH and TA again.

Add bleach right now, if you haven't done so already, and again each evening. 164 oz. of 6%, as whoozer suggested, is a great place to start. Once the CYA level starts to come up the FC level won't be zero when it is time to add bleach, so you will need to test the FC level and add an appropriate amount of bleach.
 
Thanks whoozer and jjparrish for the quick replies!

I wanted to be as accurate as possible before I added anything to my signature. The "pool store people" (that replaced our liner last summer) said our pool was 17 X 36. They used the formula 17 X 36 X 5.5 avg depth X 7.48 = 25,177gallons....so that is where I got that info.
Do you round up or down or not at all (seems like a random number)? Is that even correct? Or can I just use your answer?
I trust you guys.

I apologize for jumping around in my posts. Not only are you answering my questions, you are making me think of new ones!
 

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I would go with Jason Lions estimate as I didn't account for slope. Most Ig pools around 36ft start sloping after only 12ft into the pool so it would probably be closer to the 24000 or less mark. Your off to a good start, use Jason Lions next steps to continue :-D
 
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