New pool owner.. Want to go BBB but very very nervous.. Help calm my nerves.. :)

[tbird2340]

Water level is just at the jet so I turned on the pump.. It seemed to sputter around the jet.. Almost like it was full of air or something.. I'm assuming this is normal as the sand filter isn't full of water yet? Or am I wrong? I turned the pump off for now because I wanted to check with you guys..

Thanks

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I also recommend the Android App Pool Pal ... totally the best to track all your progress and it pairs with the BBB/ TFP method.... simply love it all ...

Thanks for the reply.. Bummed as there isn't an iPhone equivalent for that app..

 

[tbird2340]

Initial tests below with the CYA socks soaking:

pH - 7.8
TA 9 drops = 90 ppm
CH 32 drops = 320 ppm

Now what? I've yet to do anything chemical wise except the CYA socks.. Any other tests I need to run?

Thanks!

Oh, and pump/filter seem to be running good now at 16 PSI.

 

[Smykowski]

You should be testing and dosing for FC and pH every day. Everything else changes slowly enough that (absent a large water change) you should only need to run a test every week or so.

 

[tbird2340]

Ok so I gave the pool calc a shot.. If you can tell me if I did it right.. It's saying to add 81oz of 8.25% bleach, 12oz of 31.45% muratic acid (which I don't have), 25oz of baking soda, and 66oz of CYA? I'm guessing I don't need to worry to much about CH because it says to replace 19% of the water! :O

Thanks

 

[rick6668]

Ok so I gave the pool calc a shot.. If you can tell me if I did it right.. It's saying to add 81oz of 8.25% bleach, 12oz of 31.45% muratic acid (which I don't have), 25oz of baking soda, and 66oz of CYA? I'm guessing I don't need to worry to much about CH because it says to replace 19% of the water! :O

Thanks

I see you used 13,500 for gallons for your size pool. I have the same dimensions and use 15,200. You get a better idea what it really is from adding chlorine and testing FC afterward.

Yes, looks like you are using it right, other than setting your goals.
Add the chlorine you got from the calc. Let it mix for an hour and test FC to see if it had the effect you expected.
Set your CYA now and target to what you added it to be. You won't test that again for a week.
For pH, yup this is a little high, your target of 7.5 looks good, get some muratic acid. Add what Pool Math suggests. (Pool store or Lowes/Home Depot etc. Check the strength on this before adding, it can vary)
For TA, don't worry about this for now. Set your now and target to what value you found (90). This is something that will change with pH and you can adjust later.
For CH you have a vinyl pool, so this is not as important. You do NOT want to add any calcium, a vinyl pool doesn't need it and too much can cause scaling. Looks like your fill water is plenty high enough. For now set the now and target to 320 and don't adjust, (Ssomeone else with CH experience can chime in if they have specific advice.)

Other than that, looks good. Swim and enjoy your pool.

 

[Abigail K]

We have switched to using PoolMath instead of pool calc as pool calc had been abandoned by its owner until recently.

You need to dose with chlorine immediately as your FC is 0 - this is not surprising with 0 CYA.
Adjusting TA (adding baking soda) is the last thing to do, do not adjust it just to hit a number.
Your current CH is manageable.
You definitely need to purchase muriatic acid as pH tends to rise when the pool is used.

Also, can you confirm your pool size? Your signature indicates 14,090gal but the screenshot indicates 13.5 k gal.

 

[Wwiggins]

Be extremely careful with liquid muriatic acid. I was shocked at how dangerous that stuff seems. I had no idea something you poured into a pool could be that potent. I got a slight sniff while adding to my pool and it's something I hope to never repeat. I'm definitely buying dry muriatic acid next time.

 

[Abigail K]

The use of dry acid isn't generally recommended because it adds sulphates which build up over time.
Always stay upwind when adding muriatic acid.

Muriatic acid is always a liquid, dry acid is sodium bisuphate.

 

[tbird2340]

Thanks guys.. I'll go buy some muriatic acid this morning and add it. Do we have to wait a certain amount of time after adding that before swimming? Can it be added with the solar cover on?

Honestly, I don't know how many gallons my pools is.. It's a 24' round by 54".. I found one site say those were 14K gallons and then another "calculator" say it was 13,500. What should I use?

Lastly, I added my CYA yesterday and it's all dissolved.. Is it ready to test yet?

Thanks much!!

 

[rick6668]

Thanks guys.. I'll go buy some muriatic acid this morning and add it. Do we have to wait a certain amount of time after adding that before swimming? Can it be added with the solar cover on?

Honestly, I don't know how many gallons my pools is.. It's a 24' round by 54".. I found one site say those were 14K gallons and then another "calculator" say it was 13,500. What should I use?

Lastly, I added my CYA yesterday and it's all dissolved.. Is it ready to test yet?

Thanks much!!

See here for more info on the acid. I'd wait an hour and make sure it is thoroughly mixed. Maybe use the brush on a pole and stir the bottom as well. (Be sure to read my link on pH, some important details on the acid.) I believe you can add it with the cover on, but I'd pull it back some, that stuff is strong.

You'll get a better idea on your pool size when you add chlorine and re-test in a hour to see the effects.


Do not test for CYA yet, even though it is dissolved it can take a week to show up on the test.

 

[tbird2340]

Added the 12oz of muriatic acid.. OMG.. Wore a mask (only because of what I read on here, thank God) and still caught a whiff! Man I hope I don't have to touch that stuff often!!

Also, what do people generally add this with? I poured it into a glass measuring cup but now I'm afraid to ever use it again for regular use (food etc).

 

[tbird2340]

Just tested my water after adding 84oz of bleach (last night) and 12oz of mariatic acid this morning..

pH - 7.0
TA 7 drops = 70 ppm
FC = 1



Thoughts?

 

[Richard320]

Added the 12oz of muriatic acid.. OMG.. Wore a mask (only because of what I read on here, thank God) and still caught a whiff! Man I hope I don't have to touch that stuff often!!

Also, what do people generally add this with? I poured it into a glass measuring cup but now I'm afraid to ever use it again for regular use (food etc).

Just wash it out. It'll be fine. Might even make the cup sparkle! Muriatic acid is great for cleaning limescale off shower tiles and toilet bowls, too. Check out the active ingredients on a lot of those lime-away cleaners at the grocery store.

Stomach acid is also largely HCl, did you know that?

I use a dedicated plastic measuring cup for acid. No glass around the pool, period.

 

[tbird2340]

Thanks Rich..

What about my results above? Looks like that acid I put in dropped my pH by .8!! So it's at 7 instead of what the calc told me would take it to 7.6.

 

[rick6668]

Thanks Rich..

What about my results above? Looks like that acid I put in dropped my pH by .8!! So it's at 7 instead of what the calc told me would take it to 7.6.

Yeah, ph looks like it dropped. I wouldn't adjust it yet. Wait and see, you didn't add enough acid to make it drop that much.

Your FC is low, add some more now to bring it to 6 and retest.

 

[tbird2340]

So take FC to 6 instead of the goal of 4?

It's at 1 (or it was when I tested it around 1pm).. To go to 6 it says to add 106oz.. Go with that?

 

[golfinglenn]

Yes, I checked pool math and 106 oz. is what you want if it's 8.25%. Just make sure your chlorine % in pool calculator is the same as it says on the bottle.

6ppm is your upper goal, and don't want to drop below 3ppm. So that is why when you test you try to keep it at the upper limit so over time it will drift down. You will find that each sunny day you might lose x amount of ppm, so you will be able to expect how much to add. I throw in the same amount of bleach each day and test every 3 or 4 days to confirm my suspicions. You will learn your pool in no time and it will all be second nature.

 

[chem geek]

Added the 12oz of muriatic acid.. OMG.. Wore a mask (only because of what I read on here, thank God) and still caught a whiff! Man I hope I don't have to touch that stuff often!!

Also, what do people generally add this with? I poured it into a glass measuring cup but now I'm afraid to ever use it again for regular use (food etc).

You can buy the half-strength Muriatic Acid (15-16% Hydrochloric Acid) that will not fume nearly as much. Just make sure you get it for about half the price instead of the same price (some stores charge the same price for both so it costs you twice as much for the same effect!).

I use a plastic cup for dosing. There's nothing wrong using a glass cup and simply rinsing it will remove the acid, but I usually keep glass away from the pool to be safe. A full rinse (fill and empty cup with water) done 7 times is the standard done in chemistry labs, but for your purposes you don't need to be even that thorough.

 

[tbird2340]

Latest numbers:

FC = 7
pH = 7.2
TA = 60

At this point should I be adding the baking soda and borax? Adding that acid really dropped my pH down more than I thought it said it would..

 

[tbird2340]

If I could get some help.. I'm needing to know what I should do chemical wise for the night.

Thanks much!