Order of operations to balance new pool water

[gbod]

Greetings Trouble Free Poolers-

First post here. I am a new pool owner (just finished and filled 3 weeks ago), and I am glad I found this site! My pool builder gave me a Taylor K-2005 kit, and I also added a Taylor K-1515 to add the FAS-DPD test, so I am good to go! I have already benefited from this site by finding the adding DE to the pool filter how-to, which worked great to clear up the last tinge of discoloration from the start-up fill water of my new pool!

Latest test results:
FC: 4
CC: 0.5 (barely, probably slightly lower if I did the 0.2 ppm test)
pH: 7.4 (just added some acid last night, it is tending to creep up over time)
TA: 230
CH: 190-200
CYA: <30 (test doesn't really measure less than 30 very well)

Now, a few questions:

I am going to work on acid/aeration to lower TA this weekend. (I am in the process of building a DIY aeration rig to use with an air compressor). But, I also need to raise my CH. Should I raise CH first, then lower TA? Or lower TA, then raise CH?

Also my fill water has TA of 190 and CH of 140. Does anyone know if something like this filter or anything similar would lower the TA going in for my water replenishment going forward?

Also, my pool builder gave me a bucket of dichlor granules and trichlor tabs to start. Since the pool has been covered most of the time (the weather hasn't really been great for swimming yet), my FC levels have remained fairly consistent in spite of the low CYA. I was hoping I could just raise the CYA by going through the dichlor and trichlor tabs, and then switching to bleach when the CYA got up a little bit. Or do you recommend biting the bullet and buying some CYA to start to help out with the balance?

Thanks in advance!

-Greg

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!

Nice that you are starting with a good kit!

Your CH may still climb from the plaster and there is no hurry on the TA.

As long as you understand what the tablets and Dichlor are adding to your pool, there you can certainly use them. The Dichlor will raise the CYA pretty quick.

 

[JasonLion]

There is no filter that will lower TA other than a reverse osmosis filter.

Given your fill water CH level, you might not want to raise CH right now. CH is going to go up due to your fill water, and later in the season you will appreciate having started at a lower CH level. If you do that, you don't want to lower TA below 120 until CH goes up.

If you do decide to raise CH, don't do so until TA is 150 or lower.

 

[gbod]

Thanks for the replies. Using the calculator, I see now that the current TA and CH levels are keeping the CSI fairly close to zero. I'll keep an eye on them for the time being and see where they are in a month or two.