1st test results

[karenkolby]

Pool not yet filled but went ahead and tested some water. Here's picture to be sure I'm interpreting results correctly.

Looks like pH is at least 8.2
Having a real hard time with chlorine .. Looks like 1 or 2 to me.

City water
TF100 test kit

What else should I test ?
How do I know what to buy so I can start adding once pool is full?

 

[karenkolby]

Sorry ... Forgot the picture. Here it is

 

[JamesW]

Test for total alkalinity and calcium hardness. You might need some muriatic acid to lower the pH. You will need some cyanuric acid. And, some bleach for the chlorine.

You could use dichlor, or tabs for the chlorine to lower the pH and to add cyanuric acid.

 

[Richard320]

It would be nice to know TA and CH. Your CYA will be zero, so save the test solution for later.

You will need some acid, and bleach for sure, and some stabilizer. You could try getting all three in one with dichlor, but it's hard to balance three parameters at once. I'd suggest each one individually.

By the by, the CH is just for information; if it's low, it doesn't matter with the vinyl pool. If it's high, it just means you'll need to check it every couple weeks.

Retest the water after the pool is full - it will likely gain some pH via aeration when it's filling.

 

[karenkolby]

Tested chlorine, pH, and TA this morning ... ran out of time to also test CH but will do that tonight ... still getting use to the kit.

Chlorine - 1 or 2 on readout (this one seems the hardest to tell ... does the 1 or 2 mean 1 or 2ppm or am I suppose to convert this number ?)
pH - 8.2
TA - 80 (converted by 8 drops x 10 ... see note below)

Re chlorine reading - is there anything else I can use for now that will confirm I am interpreting the colors correctly ?

Re TA - it was the 8th drop that caused it to turn pink, NOT red. is pink ok or should I have kept adding until it became RED? (At drop 4, I saw pink but once mixed it would go back to light green. It wasn't until the 8th drop was mixed that all of it stayed pink.)

I will definitely test again once pool is full but trying to get the hang of all this and determine if I'm using the pool calculator correctly.

Pool calc says :
FC at 1 going to 6 - Add 152 oz of 6% bleach. 96 oz Jug size .
pH at 8.2 going to 7.5 - Add 20 oz of 31.45% 20 Baume (what's this?) muriatic acid
TA at 80 going to 90 - Add 34oz by weight or 24oz by volume of baking soda.
CYA of 0 going to 40 - Add 78oz by weight or 82oz by volume of stabilizer or add 203oz of liquid stabilizer.
Then there's this notation by the temperature field - "Mustard Algae Shock FC target 12"

Ugh ... brain is on overload and about to shut down ... Any help / input is greatly appreciated.

 

[Richard320]

Tested chlorine, pH, and TA this morning ... ran out of time to also test CH but will do that tonight ... still getting use to the kit.

Chlorine - 1 or 2 on readout (this one seems the hardest to tell ... does the 1 or 2 mean 1 or 2ppm or am I suppose to convert this number ?)
pH - 8.2
TA - 80 (converted by 8 drops x 10 ... see note below)

Re chlorine reading - is there anything else I can use for now that will confirm I am interpreting the colors correctly ?

Re TA - it was the 8th drop that caused it to turn pink, NOT red. is pink ok or should I have kept adding until it became RED? (At drop 4, I saw pink but once mixed it would go back to light green. It wasn't until the 8th drop was mixed that all of it stayed pink.)

I will definitely test again once pool is full but trying to get the hang of all this and determine if I'm using the pool calculator correctly.

Pool calc says :
FC at 1 going to 6 - Add 152 oz of 6% bleach. 96 oz Jug size .
pH at 8.2 going to 7.5 - Add 20 oz of 31.45% 20 Baume (what's this?) muriatic acid
TA at 80 going to 90 - Add 34oz by weight or 24oz by volume of baking soda.
CYA of 0 going to 40 - Add 78oz by weight or 82oz by volume of stabilizer or add 203oz of liquid stabilizer.
Then there's this notation by the temperature field - "Mustard Algae Shock FC target 12"

Ugh ... brain is on overload and about to shut down ... Any help / input is greatly appreciated.

They consider Barbie Pink to be red on the TA test.

What test kit are you using? If you have one of the recommended kits, the FAS-DPD test will tell you FC very accurately - either it's tinted or it's clear.

Do NOT target 6 FC until at least half the CYA has dissolved. Aim for 2 or 3 until then.
Baume is an archaic way of testing strength - ignore it
Leave TA alone - 80 is fine
Stabilizer gets put in a sock and is dangled in front of a return to dissolve it. Don't scatter it onto the pool or pour it in a return.

 

[karenkolby]

I'm using the TF100 test kit.
I understand all that you say and will use the FAS-DPD test tonight (at work right now).

My asking about the "baume" was because I don't know what it is ... I thought it was something I needed to buy.

What's my best source for the muriatic acid? (Both Lowes & Home Depot close by; Wally world not so close.)

What's my best source for the stabilizer? Although it might be more expensive, will liquid register / allow people to swim sooner ? (The kids want to swim the day after we fill it ... yeah I know... but they've been waiting for a month)

When you say "put in a sock" ... do you mean a cotton sock or a pantyhose? (forgive my ignorance just trying to get it right the 1st time)

Do I need to be concerned about the "mustard algae" comment ?

 

[Richard320]

I'm using the TF100 test kit.
I understand all that you say and will use the FAS-DPD test tonight (at work right now).

My asking about the "baume" was because I don't know what it is ... I thought it was something I needed to buy. I had to look it up myself, once

What's my best source for the muriatic acid? (Both Lowes & Home Depot close by; Wally world not so close.) Anywhere you can find it. Look at the % and the price, just the same as bleach.

What's my best source for the stabilizer? Although it might be more expensive, will liquid register / allow people to swim sooner ? (The kids want to swim the day after we fill it ... yeah I know... but they've been waiting for a month) Wally World or Lowes, some place like that. Look for 95% or better and no copper compounds listed. The liquid is probably only going to come from a pool store, and it costs more, but it will be fully mixed in in an hour or less

When you say "put in a sock" ... do you mean a cotton sock or a pantyhose? (forgive my ignorance just trying to get it right the 1st time) If you use the granular, pour it in a hole-less orphaned tube sock or a stocking, tie it up and suspend it. Liquid stabilizer just gets poured into the return stream of water.

Do I need to be concerned about the "mustard algae" comment ?

Do you have mustard yellow slimey stuff sticking to the pool walls? If not, no. It's just a different strain of algae that's especially tough to kill.

 

[karenkolby]

Re: 1st test results - REVISED

Ok .. so pool was finished filling yesterday.

FYI - It has rained a total of at least 5 hours since Sat when we started filling the pool.

I have not added any chemicals and tested it this morning. Results are:
FC 1ppm
CC 2
TA 50
CH 40
pH 8.2
CYA 0

I left home this morning with pump & filter running on low and 32 oz of CYA granulars in 2 socks by the return. I'll find out when I get home how far along it is. I have not yet added anything else because I recall reading I need to wait at least 30 minutes between adding chemicals.

It seems every time I enter info into the pool calculator I get different results. Can someone please tell me what I need to add and in what order? Also, is it safe to swim since the FC is only 1ppm?

MANY THANKS!! (I am sooo overwhelmed....)

 

[Richard320]

Considering you likely have less than 20 CYA, 1 PPM FC is okay. Hop in.

The CC is probably the chloramines they put in tap water to prevent pipe corrosion.

You will want to adjust pH, Do that first thing when you get home and by the time you're ready to jump in, it should be dispersed. Whatever isn't, you will disperse by swimming. When you're done, add enough bleach to take it 5ish and give it half an hour to mix before you shut off the pump.

 

[RobbieH]

When you go to Home Depot or Lowe's to get your acid, do not buy the stuff that says "Safer". At my local HD, they've moved the regular stuff out of the paint department into the garden department. You may have to ask for it. You want the 31.45% stuff, not the 15% junk.

 

[karenkolby]

Thanks for the heads up on the acid.

Re lowering the pH - I think I read somewhere that the stabilizer will bring the pH down. I could be wrong (probably am) ... only asking to be SURE I want to add the acid to lower the pH .... ?

Any special handling instructions with handling "acid" ... sounds scary! What's the best way to store this stuff?

Also when adding chemicals, am I right that I always want to do this in front of the return and wait 30 mins in between each chemical?

Geez ... sorry for all the questions!!

 

[karenkolby]

Sorry ... one more - can I use the same measuring cup for the acid that I've been using for my other chemicals (plastic measuring cup) and after dispensing wash it out in the pool water?

 

[RobbieH]

How to handle it, if you are worried I would say wear goggles and gloves, and be careful not to breathe the fumes. For me, I wear my sunglasses, no gloves, and turn my head away from the fumes. I'm a daredevil!

Storing acid - that's the tricky one. Store it outside, cap tightly in place. I have learned the hard way that storing it in your garage is a bad idea.

 

[karenkolby]

Ok. Acid and bleach added. Will test again tomorrow night.

In the meantime,CYA is still in socks dissolving. Do I need to keep pump running 24/7 until its no longer in sock?

 

[Richard320]

Ok. Acid and bleach added. Will test again tomorrow night.

In the meantime,CYA is still in socks dissolving. Do I need to keep pump running 24/7 until its no longer in sock?

Nah. Try to keep it from resting against the wall, if possible. You can always tie it to a float toy or an empty bleach jug and let it bob around.

 

[durandetto]

You don't want the sock to rest on your liner because it is acid and may cause damage. Try squeezing the sock every once in a while to help it along.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[karenkolby]

Test results - going in wrong direction .... ? ! ?

Oh great .... just seeing this now. Socks are tied to side and have been (and still are) resting on the side wall since yesterday morning. Will see if my neighbor can go and move them (I'm at work) .....

Test results this morning are very concerning ....
Yesterday morning results (w/o any chemicals being added at all) were
FC 1
CC 1
pH 8.2
TA 50
CH 40
CYA 0 (none has been added)

So I targeted FC from 1 to 4, pH from 8.2 to 7.7, TA from 50 to 80, and CYA from 0 to 40.
Pool calc called for 66oz of bleach, 9oz muriatic acid, 82oz stabilizer, & 83oz baking soda.
Since I think (?) I need to wait at least 30 mins between adding each one & felt like stabilizer was most important (maybe not?) and I had to leave for work, I started adding 32 oz CYA (in 2 socks) yesterday morning (this is still dissolving).
Last night, I added 9 oz muriatic acid waited 30 minutes and then added 66oz 8.25% chlorine.

I did not add all the stabilizer (started with 1/2 to "creep" it up) and did not add the baking soda b/c it says it will raise my pH (which I thought was already high). But test results this morning show .....

FC 0 (yes a ZERO ... I tested it twice in the quick test & twice in the FAS-DPD tests)
ph 6.8 (so lowered it much more than anticipated .... my 9oz muriatic acid should have only dropped it to around 7.7)
TA 40
CYA 0 (not registering yet)

Putting these readings in pool calc this morning says I should ...
Add 88oz bleach
Add 78oz borax
Add 83oz baking soda

It also is calling for the same 82oz of stabilizer. I am dissolving 32oz now ... Was going to wait to "creep" it up but do I need to go ahead and start dissolving more ... ?

At this point .... what's most important?
Can any of this wait until tonight (around 9pm when I get home) or does something need to be added more urgently?

 

[Richard320]

The CYA will not register for about a week, so just assume whatever you've added is in there. Stop testing and save the reagent.

pH is always priority. Green stuff can be killed off, but etched plaster and rotted heaters are not so easy to fix. Low TA will make the pH adjustment very fickle. You might need to add some baking soda to raise that first, and then deal with pH. Shoot for 80 -- and be sure the poolcalculator didn't slip back to the default 10000 gallons pool volume!

 

[karenkolby]

In the meantime of adding the soda, can I wait 30 mins and add some bleach. Not sure if FC of zero should be concerning me ....