Brand new test kit arrived

[Omnipotent]

So my pool is still in building stages, heck I don't even have the permit yet....but in the meantime I got the kit and decided to practice and get familiar with it on our Intex "kiddie" pool which is 1000 gallons...you know the blue inflatable ring type.

FC - .5
CC - .5
CYA - 55
PH - 6.8
TA - 0

TA is the question mark...pretty much did this twice and when I add the R0008 agent which is supposed to turn it green, mine turns red. On the first drop it turns red, I continue to add 5 drops and it stays red. So, do I record this as 0? If I in fact I do, then no worries as the pool calulator tells me to add a ton of Baking Soda to bring it to the target of 100 (I'm guessing that's a good target).

Everything else is covered, so I guess I'm just asking about the TA?

Thanks

 

[jblizzle]

Hmm ... if the TA were 0, the pH would be around 4.5, which may be possible since 6.8 is as low as the test goes.

Am I correct guessing that you are using pucks or dichlor shock to maintain the chlorine (which is much too low BTW)? That would explain the very low pH and TA.

Try testing your tap water for pH, TA and CH and see what you get.

 

[linen]

jbliz beat me...
Yes, your TA is near zero and your ph is likely way below 6.8 (when it reads 6.8 it can be much lower than that). Do you have some baking soda? I would add enough to get to 50 ppm, then retest ph.

 

[Omnipotent]

Yes it was lighter than 6.8 but as you mentioned it didn't go any lower.

So new question? What do I tackle first? PH, TA or CL, or adjust all at once since they are all low and then retest and and see where we go from there?

 

[Omnipotent]

Hmm ... if the TA were 0, the pH would be around 4.5, which may be possible since 6.8 is as low as the test goes.

Am I correct guessing that you are using pucks or dichlor shock to maintain the chlorine (which is much too low BTW)? That would explain the very low pH and TA.

Try testing your tap water for pH, TA and CH and see what you get.

Yes it is (was) a floater with 3in pucks (1).

 

[jblizzle]

You need to stop with the pucks before the CYA gets any higher.

You should use borax to raise the pH first, this will also raise the TA. If you use baking soda to raise the TA first, then when adjusting the pH the TA will get to be too high.

Once you get the pH in the 7s, then test and adjust the TA further if required.

 

[Butterfly]

Edit: Sorry for duplicate info.

If TA is zero, then PH is around 4.5, as Jason said. The best solution is to raise PH with borax. By the time you get the PH into range the TA should be fine. If you raise TA first the TA increase from raising PH will drive TA way too high.

Keep in mind that the Pool Calculator is not very precise for huge PH changes. So use much less than you think you need and do the PH increase in several steps, testing PH after each dose mixes in to see if you have gotten into range yet.

 

[JohnN]

What source is your fill water, and what is its pH and TA? I'm wondering if it would be easier and cheaper to just drain and refill, since it is only 1000 gallons.

 

[Omnipotent]

I will test my water, it's well water so I'm interested as well.

And yes no longer using pucks as it was a temp solution when wife brought the little pool home this year.

 

[Omnipotent]

Water source, well water.

PH ~7.0 darker than 6.8' not quite 7.2
TA - 80

Think I might go the drain and refill route and see where we go from there.

Again this is all a learning curve "playing" with the small pool so when the big pool is in I'm familiar with the test kit and the BBB method to have great water.

Thanks and will be back if I have more questions.

 

[duraleigh]

Double check the reagents you used on the TA test.

 

[PridgNYC]

Small pools are harder to keep in balance than big pools since changes occur much more rapidly with smaller inputs. Pucks should only be used (if at all) for the initial startup to add cya. Once the cya is in there, pure bleach is the way to keep FC up based on your cya levels. Balance TA and pH using borax, baking soda and Muriatic acid. In that small of a pool, using the pucks which affect, pH (lowering it) and TA (lowering it) and CYA (raising it) and FC (raising it) it can be almost impossible to reach a proper balance. That is why TFP advocates using the simplest chemicals possible to adjust the fewest parameters as possible.

 

[Omnipotent]

OK, I'm back after a few days of draining, filling and adding in increments....new tests as of today:

FC - 7
CC - 0, tested twice and still never turned red
TA - 170
PH - 8.2
CYA - 60

No more pucks, only using BBB......I know I need to get PH down using Muriatic Acid, but that is something I need to buy...is there something in the house that might be used for this but not well known? If not, got to go out and get some....

Any other advice on these numbers?

For the record, the little pool still has a greenish tint to the water...to be honest this could be because the bottom is pretty dirty, grass clippings from kids, dead bugs and such. No pool vacuum, and don't think a shop vac is the best idea for sucking up the bottom of the pool, so kids and I are scrubbing it, getting the debris to float around, then skimming it out. Not sure that this is the total "green" culprit, but it has to be one of them.

Also, as mentioned at the top, this little pool is just my playground to get familiar with BBB for when the BIG pool gets installed, so all of this in my opinion is my "training camp" if you will.

Anyway, advice is always appreciated.

 

[linen]

"ph down" products can also be used to lower ph, though we recommend MA first. If this was your "pool in progress" we would encourage you to actively lower TA. See: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/lowering total alkalinity

Those small cart filters that come with those intex style pools are really useless.

 

[ping]

The greenish tint could very well be metals from the well water. Lowering the pH might help with the green tint also. You might want to look into how much metal is in your well water before you fill the big pool.