1st Timer...

dustijane · May 16, 2014

I have been scouring this website for the past week. I have purchased the Taylor 2006 test kit, watched youtube videos, and feel close to understanding (but not quite there).

I have am 8,500 above ground pool. We set it up last Sunday, filled it. I added a half a bag of HTH SaltCare Start up kit...the main ingredient is the Muriatic Acid and the package said it would stabilize it. I also added 200 lbs of pool salt. I ran the pump for 24 hours as suggested.

24 hours later I tested the water and got:
CYA=30 (very hard to read this test when I had to fill the container up all the way and still couldn't tell if the black dot disappeared.
PH=7.4
TA=80
FC=0 (I hadn’t added any chlorine at this point, just stabilizer and salt).

At this point (I had just started reading this forum and all the pool rules lol) I added a half a bag of SHOCK. Okay, from reading yesterday and today I know that wasn’t the best choice. I should have used bleach? I was thinking that the shock combined with running the salt machine/chlorine gen would boost my FC to where it should be.

Two hours later, my FC was 3.4. I ran the salt machine for 6 hours.
The next day, the FC was only 1.0.

Last night I ran the salt machine for TWO 6-hour cycles. I tested all levels today and came up with: (the water is very clear)
FC= 0.4
CYA=30 or even lower, again the black dot just dissapeared when it was full
PH=7.6
TA=70
CH=60-7- (But I do have vinyl)

So from what I have read at the Pool School, My problem must be not having the correct CYA? Do I need to SLAM? The SLAM seems like a few days process, is the pool closed to swimming during that time? I need the CYA to be between 70 & 80, correct? And I think I will buy the liquid just so it will read faster. Do I have to buy the acid at a pool store?
OR
Can I just adjust the CYA with the liquid acid, then run the salt machine? will it ever catch up?

Thanks everyone, I am trying so hard but I was never great in Science =)

Casey · May 16, 2014

Welcome to TFP. :wave:

MA does nothing to add to CYA. Muriatic acid lowers the pH.

You need to get your CYA (You can use HTH Stabilizer/Conditioner from WalMart's pool section) up to atleast 60 and not past 80 ppm CYA to run your SWG. You should not be running it with such a low CYA.

Keep reading Pool School and using Pool Math to make chlorine adjustments until you get the CYA up. As far as SLAM'ing the pool, is it green? What are your CC's reading?

pwrstrk · May 16, 2014

Welcome to TFP !
Yes increase your CYA level to 70-80. The low CYA is not protecting your FC from the sun and that's probably why your FC is very low.
I would get some bleach in there ASAP to prevent an algae outbreak. Get your FC level up to 2-4ppm and don't let it fall below 2. Use Pool Math to figure out how much bleach to add.
Take a look at the article in pool school regarding your SWG. ?

Divin Dave · May 16, 2014

Hi dustijane,
Would it be possible for you to test for CC and post the results here? CC is very important to know in order to determine if a SLAM is required or not.

Richard320 · May 16, 2014

Welcome!

All is not lost!
Is this the stuff you added?

The MSDS says it's just 80% trichlor. Half a bag of 80% trichlor equates to 1.6 lbs trichlor which would only add 13 ppm CYA to your pool. Even if the "shock" you added was dichlor, and you added half of a standard one pound bag, you only added another 4 ppm. You just need to add more CYA somehow. I seriously doubt your water has turned green and your pool walls are slimy this fast. If you plug 8500 gallons into Poolmath and then scroll down to the bottom where it says Effects of Adding Chemicals, you'll see what adding the rest of that "shock" (if it's dichlor, it could be Cal-hypo, read the label) will do to the numbers. For that matter, you could chlorinate with that startup stuff, too. Just don't overdo it and add it all at once, because it will do nasty things to the pH. You can take a deep breath. You haven't done anything irreparable.

PS: If you buy the liquid CYA and add it, it will only take half an hour or so to mix, especially if you brush, too. Then, assuming there's some FC in the pool, it's safe to swim.

dustijane · May 17, 2014

Richard320 said:
Welcome! All is not lost!
Is this the stuff you added?

The MSDS says it's just 80% trichlor. Half a bag of 80% trichlor equates to 1.6 lbs trichlor which would only add 13 ppm CYA to your pool. Even if the "shock" you added was dichlor, and you added half of a standard one pound bag, you only added another 4 ppm. You just need to add more CYA somehow. I seriously doubt your water has turned green and your pool walls are slimy this fast. If you plug 8500 gallons into Poolmath and then scroll down to the bottom where it says Effects of Adding Chemicals, you'll see what adding the rest of that "shock" (if it's dichlor, it could be Cal-hypo, read the label) will do to the numbers. For that matter, you could chlorinate with that startup stuff, too. Just don't overdo it and add it all at once, because it will do nasty things to the pH. You can take a deep breath. You haven't done anything irreparable.

PS: If you buy the liquid CYA and add it, it will only take half an hour or so to mix, especially if you brush, too. Then, assuming there's some FC in the pool, it's safe to swim.

Yes! And sorry, I'm getting my acids mixed up. It contained The Cyn Acid =) So that was way too low, I haven't even began to
Understand the different amounts of ingredients in each package.

My pool is still very clear, I only asked about SLAM bc I read on here if the FC is reading zero it needs to be done. I guess I'm not at a zero yet but pretty close from my last reading. My CC was 0.2, it only took One drop to turn it back to the other color. I would much rather add the liquid Cyn acid to increase the CYA and add some bleach.

I did do the pool math and it said to raise my FC to 3 to add 56oz of bleach, and to add 118 oz of stabilizer. Any specific brands of that I should look for? I will add those tomorrow.

As for the SWG, I did read on that too but I may have hit brain overload! It does suggest running it during the day buy I always prefer to run while we are asleep. I feel uncomfortable running it while my kids are In the pool, I worry about it.

Thanks everyone, I have made a commitment to myself to get this pool under control this year =)

Divin Dave · May 17, 2014

Ok distijane,
if your water is clear and your CC < 0.5, you are looking pretty good. The only other test you should consider is the Overnith Chlorine Loss Test *OCLT*.
If you pass that, then SLAM is not necessary. Looks like you may well have gotten lucky with your FC as low as it was. Get some chlorine in there asap though.

It doesnt matter which brand of stuff to use. Chlorine is Chlorine adn CYA is CYA. Most of us use the most econimical that we can find. I know I do! I get my stuff at Walmart.

Richard320 · May 17, 2014

dustijane said:
...
I did do the pool math and it said to raise my FC to 3 to add 56oz of bleach, and to add 118 oz of stabilizer. Any specific brands of that I should look for? I will add those tomorrow.

As for the SWG, I did read on that too but I may have hit brain overload! It does suggest running it during the day buy I always prefer to run while we are asleep. I feel uncomfortable running it while my kids are In the pool, I worry about it.

Thanks everyone, I have made a commitment to myself to get this pool under control this year =)

Brand names mean nothing. When you buy table salt, is Morton's better than Leslie's is better than the store brand? No. It's just salt! Same with pool chemicals. The only thing that matters is the ingredients. For bleach, that means Sodium Hypochlorite. Chlorox is 8.25%, and so are some of the generic store brands. Read the labels - a lot of the cheap stuff is watered down, and you're paying big money for water. "Pool chlorine" or "liquid shock" or whatever they call it is usually 10% or 12.5% Sodium Hypochlorite, but look closely at the packaging. If the boxes are all beaten up and faded and look like they've been sitting around a year, they've deteriorated. You want fresh stuff so it's full strength. If they're playing secret agent about the strength, skip it. They're embarassed to tell you how weak it is.

Since your pool is clear, and you plan to add liquid stabilizer, let pool math tell you how much to take it from where you are to 70, and then undershoot a little. You can always add more later if you missed the target. Let it mix half an hour and then add bleach. Use 7 as your goal when adding the bleach. Remember, for the moment, it's a bleach pool, not a SWG pool. Let that mix half an hour or so and let the kids get in.

Then just monitor the FC and CC and play with that SWG to get just the right setting. I suspect you won't need to SLAM, just let the SWG maintain the FC at 5, and never let it dip below 3. http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/128-chlorine-cya-chart-slam-shock