Opened by ourselves for the first time. What do you think?

[kmgt]

We opened our pool by ourselves for the first time this year (instead of the pool store doing it ) And last year, after a new liner and refill, I started using bleach to chlorinate (was using a frog, CYA was out of control).

Long story short, I wanted to give you a run down and get your opinion on our levels so here's the stats...

Ohio, 27' round AGP, sand filter, bleach for chlorine, Testing with Taylor K2006.

Latest test results
FC 3
PH 7.4
TA 130
CYA 30ish.

Crystal clear water after an initial clear up. Is CYA ok? It might be slightly below that. I did the test inside the house because it was getting late. I'll do another tomorrow outside like I'm supposed to.

And I do have one question. We have well water and it reacts horribly with chlorine and turns an ugly brown/green for a few days every time we have to add some water. Is there anything we can do to help that? Hopefully we won't have to add too much more water.

 

[Richard320]

We opened our pool by ourselves for the first time this year (instead of the pool store doing it ) And last year, after a new liner and refill, I started using bleach to chlorinate (was using a frog, CYA was out of control).

Long story short, I wanted to give you a run down and get your opinion on our levels so here's the stats...

Ohio, 27' round AGP, sand filter, bleach for chlorine, Testing with Taylor K2006.

Latest test results
FC 3
PH 7.4
TA 130
CYA 30ish.

Crystal clear water after an initial clear up. Is CYA ok? It might be slightly below that. I did the test inside the house because it was getting late. I'll do another tomorrow outside like I'm supposed to.

And I do have one question. We have well water and it reacts horribly with chlorine and turns an ugly brown/green for a few days every time we have to add some water. Is there anything we can do to help that? Hopefully we won't have to add too much more water.

If it turns brown and cloudy, that's a good thing! It's called precipitation, and it means you can filter it out and backwash the iron away! People have lined the skimmer baskets with paper towels or pillow stuffing, anything to catch that crud. Here's a recent thread where someone did just that. Check out the picture in post 23. You might be able to get the precipitate out with the filter if you add a little DE.

For long term, you could use sequestrants. Metal problems

 

[kmgt]

Thanks! I've been using a skimmer sock (well, a woman's knee high ) and that seemed to help a lot.

Do my levels look good to you?

 

[Richard320]

Thanks! I've been using a skimmer sock (well, a woman's knee high ) and that seemed to help a lot.

Do my levels look good to you?

For the moment. You'll probably be wanting to raise CYA so you don't lose so much FC to the sun, aqnd then the FC minimum needs to come up accordingly. And you'll need to feed the pool chlorine daily. Expect the pH to rise with that TA. Just lower pH to 7.2 when it gets to 7.8 and the TA will come down automatically.

The real key is: What does it look like? Nobody but us care about your levels. The rest of the world cares about super clear, sparkling water that doesn't dry the skin or burn the eyes or smell.

 

[pwrstrk]

Do the CYA test again outside on a sunny day and see what you come up with. You want that level to be in the 30-50 range. I keep mine at 40 and I get a good 10-11 hrs of full sun.
Your PH is good and your FC is in range if your CYA level is 30. 2 would be the bare min for that CYA level. ?

 

[Divin Dave]

HI kmgt,
you CYA is just on the low side at 30. After you test it again outside (like you're supposed to ) then if its still 30, you might want to bump it up to 40 or 50, if you are not using a swg.
for reference, here is link for you to recommended levels.
http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/134-recommended-levels