need help with testing

[SeaBass]

I think I tested wrong the first couple of times.

After posting and getting such quick responses yesterday, I was off to get started adding the recommended amounts of bleach etc. I added some baking soda and then got nervous as the water turned a little bit cloudy. I kept thinking that there was just something not quite right with my test results, and if I was wrong I'd really screw up the water. So I grabbed some water (that I was testing with before the baking soda addition) to take to the pool store just to see what they came up with. They were not really willing to give out the numbers other than "chlorine", so after some straining I gathered these from their computer screen.

FC .6
TC 1.4
TA 17
CYA 150

I tested again throughout the day and think I have it right except for the CYA (having trouble there).

My results (consistent throughout the day 4-5 hours apart)

PH 7.2
FC 0
CC 0
TA 100

And now my questions.

1. I see no color at all doing the chlorine test, so can you proceed further with that?

2. How do you perform the CYA test? I'm reading the instructions...but it's not happening for me. The tube was filled to the top and I still saw the black dot. What am I doing wrong here? I know I must have missed something somewhere.

3. If the pool store was correct, does a 10lb bag of baking soda raise the TA to 100? I'm pretty sure I got that test right, and it has held the same results all yesterday afternoon through today.

4. On the TA test, my 9th drop produced the big color change to a dark reddish purple but the 10th made it completely red. Should my final answer be 90 or 100?

5. Since the pH has come up, should I start adding bleach?

6. Why did the water turn cloudy?

We have brushed, vacuumed, and are running the filter 24/7.

I apologize for the lengthy post.

 

[duraleigh]

Hey, Seabass,

I'm gonna' skip a couple of your questions because they are not critical to your pool but two things certainly are.....

1. You have no chlorine in your pool. Clorox is the suggested vehicle but you need to get chlorine in there right away. Use Jason's calc in my sig and get your chlorine up to 3-4ppm

2. You have no CYA in your pool. Without it, the chlorine you're going to put in will be quickly consumed by tomorrow's sunlight. Using jason's calc, purchase and apply enough CYA to your pool to get to 40ppm.

More to follow but those two items need to be a real priority...........before you worry about anything else.

How does your water look?

 

[JasonLion]

1. I see no color at all doing the chlorine test, so can you proceed further with that?
2. How do you perform the CYA test? I'm reading the instructions...but it's not happening for me. The tube was filled to the top and I still saw the black dot. What am I doing wrong here? I know I must have missed something somewhere.
3. If the pool store was correct, does a 10lb bag of baking soda raise the TA to 100? I'm pretty sure I got that test right, and it has held the same results all yesterday afternoon through today.
4. On the TA test, my 9th drop produced the big color change to a dark reddish purple but the 10th made it completely red. Should my final answer be 90 or 100?
5. Since the pH has come up, should I start adding bleach?
6. Why did the water turn cloudy?

1) If you get no color change, ie clear water, on the OTO chlorine test (drops turn the sample yellow compared to a color standard) then there is no chlorine. If you get no color change with the FAS-DPD test then there is some ambiguity, try another scoop of R-0870, and if that doesn't do it try the OTO test.

2) You are doing it right, there simply isn't any CYA in the water so you level is zero.

3) 10 lbs of baking soda should raise TA by 30 in 23,000 gallons.

4) Once the color starts to change, if an additional drop causes a further change then you count it. If the additional drop produces no further change then you ignore it.

5) Yes add bleach. Add bleach every evening.

6) Not sure, there are lots of possibilities. As long as it cleared up since then don't worry about it.


Also, don't trust pool store testing over your own. In another day or two you will be testing better than they are.

 

[SeaBass]

Duraleigh and Jasonlion,

Thanks for the responses.

My water was clear until I added the baking soda. It then turned slightly cloudy and has remained that way.

I added 1 jug of bleach (182 oz.)

I can't imagine that there is absolutely no CYA in the water. How does the pool store test show 150 and mine 0. Wouldn't they want me to be at zero also? We have used pucks over the winter, so where did it go? Just curious about how this works...and still a little unsure about my testing skills... even though you all say to trust my testing over theirs.
Nonetheless, can't do anything about that tonight unless I put more pucks in the skimmer, and I want to see what the test results say in the morning. I'm liking my new test kit!

And, we have a safety cover for our pool so it does stay covered a lot.

Duraleigh, can you answer the other questions just for my peace of mind? I'm particular like that....and value the opinions here.

At what point do you just sit back, enjoy and not worry so much about the water?

 

[JasonLion]

The CYA test you have can show CYA levels that are as high as 20 as if they were zero. So you could have added a little CYA with the tablets and still read zero. The only CYA test that I know of that can read up to 150 is a test strip. Test strips are often wildly inaccurate when reading CYA levels. In general there are amazing inconsistencies in pool store testing. One way to tell if your CYA level is high or low is by how much chlorine you lose over the course of a sunny day. With CYA near zero you will lose over 75% of your FC over a sunny day. With CYA over 100 you will only lose perhaps 10% of your FC over a day. Though neither of these apply if the pool is covered.

 

[SeaBass]

I added bleach last night.
The pump ran all night and we kept the cover open.

The water is clear, I wouldn't quite give it a "sparkling" rating, but it's cleared up.

My test results so far this morning are:

pH 7.5
FC 2.5
CC .5

I thought the addition of bleach would make the pH go down? But heck, as of right now we can swim right?

I almost feel like that can't be right...

 

[JasonLion]

Bleach does not make the PH go down. In the short run bleach makes the PH go up, but then it goes back down again as the chlorine gets used up. In the long run bleach leaves the PH where it started.

You are fine to swim.

 

[Guest]

Cloudy water after adding baking soda?
Test and post your calcium hardness.
Vinyl pool owners should NOT ignore the calcium hardness test. While you don't need the level of calcium as fiberglass or plaster pool owners do you stll need to know what yours is because it can and will interact with other water balance parameters.
Adding baking soda too quickly when the calcium hardness is high can and will cause a pool to cloud.

 

[SeaBass]

Waterbear,

I just tested and got

CH 340
TA 90 (didn't post that above)

What does that calcium level mean and what DOES it affect in a vinyl pool? What is the range, and can you have too much?

And, where does it come from? (not BBB right?)

 

[JasonLion]

If calcium levels are too high you can get calcium scaling. That isn't so bad on the vinyl, where the calcium can easily be removed, but if it gets serious it can really mess up the pump and heater. Low calcium is fine with vinyl, but high calcium is still a problem.

Your calcium level is a little high, nothing serious. A small dose of acid will probably clear up the cloudiness, assuming it is actually caused by calcium.

Calcium is in some powdered shock products that contain cal-hypo. It can also be in your fill water.

Everything is simplest if you keep calcium at 300 or lower in a vinyl pool. There are ways to compensate for high calcium levels, keep PH on the low side and lower TA a little, but it is better if you can lower the CH level.

 

[SeaBass]

Since I will be using BBB from now on, over time will the CH go down on its own?

What would a "small dose" of acid be?

Thanks for everything.

 

[JohnT]

CH, like CYA, only goes down if water is splashed out or pumped out during backwashing. It depends on the CH of your fill water how quickly it might go down (or up).

 

[SeaBass]

As of 8:00 tonight my FC is back at zero.

This is what happened last night. I added a jug of bleach, brought it up to 3, and now it is back at zero. I just added another jug of bleach (182? oz).

what do I need to do??

 

[duraleigh]

1. You have no chlorine in your pool. Clorox is the suggested vehicle but you need to get chlorine in there right away. Use Jason's calc in my sig and get your chlorine up to 3-4ppm

2. You have no CYA in your pool. Without it, the chlorine you're going to put in will be quickly consumed by tomorrow's sunlight. Using jason's calc, purchase and apply enough CYA to your pool to get to 40ppm.

It looks like you did #1 but forgot #2....get 40ppm CYA in your pool and your FC will not dissipate so rapidly. You'll still need to add it but not as much.

 

[Guest]

Listen to Duraliegh. He is right on the money! Also, the next time you need to add baking soda predissolve it a littles at a time and add it slowly to the pool to prevent the clouding (which is just calcium carbonate precipitating from the reaction of the baking soda and the calcium in the water. THIS is why even vinyl pool owners need to TEST for calcium hardness.