Helping a friend open ihs pool - lots to adjust

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steveg_nh

steveg_nh

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Oct 7, 2013
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Southern NH
Hi All,

I have my pool pretty well balanced, and I was talking to a friend that is opening his Friday. He didn't believe me at first, when I told him how easy it was, and how little I spent getting it ready. He's already sold on the TFP method. I'm going to help him out. His pool is an above ground pool, 15x24', with a 4' depth. Pool Math says about 9300 gallons.

I tested with my TF100 and got the following today:

pH: 6.5
FC: 0
CC: 0
CYA: <20
TA: 20
CH: 70
Water looks pretty clear (peaked under cover)

He has a cartridge type filter. So Pool Maths I should add the following:

70 oz of 8.25% bleach for FC
30 oz of washing soda or soda ash for PH
131 oz of baking soda for TA
50 oz of stabilzer for CYA

Since I need to raise ph and TA, i figured I should use soda ash. Yes? But how do I know how much it will affect TA, so I reduce the baking soda addition? Or can I just retest an hr or so after for TA, and go from there? I figure I should adjust in this order:

ph
FC
TA
Stabilizer

Also, he said last year he used tablets, that lasted about a week each. He never tested FC last year! Ouch. We'll get him sorted out this year. But I think his best bet is to get CYA stable, and then sanitize with bleach vs pucks or anything like that. Would you agree with that?

Thanks
 
Scroll down to Effects of Adding Chemicals in Poolmath and plug in your numbers. It will tell you how much the Soda Ash will raise TA. How much any common chemical will affect the water, actually. It's pretty helpful.

I'd deal with pH first, then get some Chlorine in there. In between the additions, you can be fumbling around with setting up the CYA in a sock.
 
So that little tool is pretty neat! You do have to pay attention when using pool math, as an adjustment in one area, affects another, so you need to consider the relationship as you use it. But I love it. So this is where I landed:

values.jpg

I figure I'll dissolve the washing soda, add it, wait about 30 min while pump is running, then add the bleach, wait 30 min, then test ph and fc again. then, dissolve the baking soda, add it, and set up the sock for the CYA add.

Good plan?
 
Unless I'm misunderstanding though, since I want to bring his TA up too, I washing soda will have a better affect on TA though, requiring less baking soda to be added. Probably 6 in 1, 1/2 dozen in the other.

- - - Updated - - -

The crazy part too, for him, is that all of the above, plus a gallon of muriatic acid just to have on hand, is about $40 of stuff. Way less than he paid last year...
 
Soda ash and A&H Washing Soda Detergent Booster are the same thing right? If not, if I don't want to add Borates to the pool, would Washing Soda be a better option? Plus I get a higher impact on TA with Washing Soda than Borax. As I understand it, though, Borax will impact TA at about 50% the rate of soda ash (if I'm remembering correctly). Not a big deal, just add more baking soda.

Adding borates to the pool isn't planned, but certainly doesn't hurt anything if the rates aren't high. They do have a dog though. So if Borax is better, or Washing Soda is better, etc, could I suggest that a note be called out in Pool School, in recommended chemicals and water chemistry, as there is no distinction between one or the other. Might be good to mention the tradeoffs of using soda ash vs Borax vs washing soda. Just a thought. :)

I'll run pool math again and see what it says if using Borax.

Here's the new plan...

values2.jpg
 

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One more question. Since FC is 0, should we SLAM anyway? I read the article on slamming and it said to. My pool started off with 0 too though, and it's fine. No CCs, clear water and passes OCLT. If he passes those tests should we not bother?

Thank you.
 
You probably don't need to go through the SLAM process but the longer you wait to add chlorine the higher the risk. I would raise FC to 10 and do an OCLT if it were my pool, just to be sure. Algae is invisible when it first starts growing, better to nip it in the bud.
 
I was just at the grocery store and they had am Arm and Hammer baking soda that said it was super concentrated and to use 33% less. Is that something different than just regular baking soda that I should avoid? Pool math didn't give an option for concentration.
 
So I took a look this morning. It was laundry detergent! Good thing I double checked. It said on the front "Baking soda activated" so I think it threw me. i admit I was rushing though, and had I been buying it at that point, I would have read it carefully. I found the regular old Pure Baking Soda, as is mentioned in pool school, in the baking aisle. Any reason why store brand isn't ok over A&H? The only ingredient listed was Sodium Bicarbonate USP. 61oz was $1.99. :)
 
I've found this at my local Walmart many times, it's pretty good deal at

$2.05 for 4lbs!

Hospitality-Pure-Baking-Soda-64-oz

0007192335782_215X215.jpg
 

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