My New Pool....First test Numbers...New to TFP

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Finally got the pool up and everything filled and pump on...
First set of test numbers...

FC - 0
CC - 0
TC - 0
CH - 150
PH - 7.5
TA - 110

Adding about 80-90 oz of 12.5% tonight since I don't have any CYA in there.
I dont have any stabilizer right now. Picking some up tomm.

Anything else I need to add?

Pool is crystal clear!!!!
IMG_2982_zps07d91b54.jpg
 
Re: Pool Store way vs TPF method...

I'm totally new to all this too, but I'm going to echo everyone here. Never take advice from someone who stands to profit from it.

How many of the employees at your local pool store have even a 4 year degree in Chemistry? That's all this is, chemistry. Not trying to say you have to have that kind of knowledge, but once you understand the basics, you don't need the advice of the pool store criminals "experts." :cool:
 
Re: Pool Store way vs TPF method...

kris77 said:
Adding about 80-90 oz of 12.5% tonight since I don't have any CYA in there.
I dont have any stabilizer right now. Picking some up tomm.
Click to expand...

80-90 oz might be a bit high if you have no CYA in there. That will take you up to ~6ppm and recommended range from PoolMath for 0 CYA is 1-3 ppm. It's still below shock level so not a problem for swimming, just wanted to make sure you were deliberately aiming for 6 ppm...
 
kris77 said:
First set of test numbers...

FC - 0
CC - 0
TC - 0
CH - 150
PH - 7.5
TA - 110

Adding about 80-90 oz of 12.5% tonight since I don't have any CYA in there.
I dont have any stabilizer right now. Picking some up tomm.

Anything else I need to add?

Pool is crystal clear!!!!
Click to expand...

OK. How did you get 80-90oz? you have the same pool as me, so it's approx 15200 gallons.
For 0 CYA, your FC level should be min 1 and max 3, so using 12.5% in pool math I get 45oz.

For your CYA, how high did you want to go? For CYA of 30, you need 61oz of stabilizer. I'd add ~40oz of that via the sock method and then test in a week to see where you are.
Then maintain your FC as if CYA is 20. The rest of your numbers all look good.

One thing I'd recommend is 1 hour after adding the chlorine, run a FAS-DPD chlorine test to see what the effect of what you added was. This will start to give you an idea on how much chlorine really affects your FC.

Good luck!
 
rick6668 said:
OK. How did you get 80-90oz? you have the same pool as me, so it's approx 15200 gallons.
For 0 CYA, your FC level should be min 1 and max 3, so using 12.5% in pool math I get 45oz.
Click to expand...

I forgot about having no CYA and used 6 as my target FC in the calculator. It gave me 60 some oz i think. And I had about 75-80 left in the bottle, so i just used the whole thing.

I tested with the strips that came with my pool this morning and had a FC of 4. I'll use my TF100 this evening and see what the actual number is.
Picking up some stabilizer after work and a few more gallons of liquid shock from Ollies. That 15% off sale is nice.

So in my kit there are 2 chlorine tests. One has the powder I mix then put drops in after that. Then I can test for CC after that. The other is in the Taylor 1000 kit with the PH test. Which one is the FAS-DPD test?
And once i get everything balanced out, do I just use the one from the taylor kit most? And then occasionally use the other?
 

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kris77 said:
I forgot about having no CYA and used 6 as my target FC in the calculator. It gave me 60 some oz i think. And I had about 75-80 left in the bottle, so i just used the whole thing.

I tested with the strips that came with my pool this morning and had a FC of 4. I'll use my TF100 this evening and see what the actual number is.
Picking up some stabilizer after work and a few more gallons of liquid shock from Ollies. That 15% off sale is nice.

So in my kit there are 2 chlorine tests. One has the powder I mix then put drops in after that. Then I can test for CC after that. The other is in the Taylor 1000 kit with the PH test. Which one is the FAS-DPD test?
And once i get everything balanced out, do I just use the one from the taylor kit most? And then occasionally use the other?
Click to expand...

Jim is right above and also a good tip to use the 10ml sample, saves on reagents.

Great, once you add the stabilizer via the sock method, start maintaining your FC as if it is in there and wait a week to test the CYA.

Yes, there are 2 kits. The powder and drops is the FAS-DPD which gives a very accurate result of FC up to 50 and also gives you a CC reading. This test is imperative to have to perform a SLAM.
The Taylor 1000 in the blue box is the OTO test. this can measure FC up to 5 and also tests for pH. You are correct that I think most people use the OTO test to check daily once things are balanced and working well.

For me, I still run the FAS-DPD test every time as I like an accurate read and sometimes have a hard time comparing the Yellow values on the OTO. It would probably be good to run both chlorine tests for a while, this will let you confirm what a FAS-DPD test of 4 compares to a OTO test of 4. You can then use the OTO down the line when you are comfortable.

One thing I'll mention that I read on here is to pick up a plastic squirt bottle like this http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-Dispense-Bottle/14964974
I fill this up and bring it inside and then use it to run all my tests. It's also easier to fill each same to the correct lines with the squirt bottle.

Let us know what yout FC was last night via the FAS-DPD.
 
Hiya Kris:wave:

Looks like I'm only 20 min up I-79 from you. As a matter of facts I work in Clarksburg. Just letting you know that the advice you receive here will be golden. I found this forum after having my pool for 2 years on the baquacil system (Hated It). They helped me convert my pool back to chlorine and I have been in love with it ever since. It is so easy to maintain. I usually only have to balance at the beginning of the season and then add chlorine nightly and my water stays crystal clear. Well theres a little more to it than that, you have to brush it regularly, I brush every Sat. on my day off and vacuum up any crud that happens to get in. The only expense I encounter is if I have to adjust my ph and alkalinity at the beginning of the season. I normally don't have to that much, it doesn't seem to fluctuate very much at all and the cost of my bleach. I usually only use about 1/2 jug of Equate brand bleach a night, sometimes less depending on the weather and swim load.

So just stick with what they tell you and you'll enjoy that pool for many years!
 
Small world. I'm in FMT about once a week for work.

I'm really hoping this way of maintaining a pool is easy and cheap!!! I read all the success stories and see all the awesome looking pools on here...And that gives me hope. My wife thinks i'm crazy when I tell her I'm going to try to maintain the pool with bleach. She has agreed to let me try it for a few weeks and see how the pool looks and feels. Her parents use the pucks and shock the pool with the powder once every 2 weeks. They use clarifier and algaecide. We were at their house last weekend and their pool looked great. Super clear. They seem to be having success with the pool store way, but i'm sure they are spending TONS of money. They drain a little less than half the water each year for winter.

I'll test again when I get home. Going to add some CYA this evening and hopefully it will prevent all my FC from leaving during the day.

I'm on a mission and i'm going to stick with it. I hope to never have to SLAM....I cant imagine the look on my wifes face if I have to dump 20 gallons of bleach in the pool....lol
 
The good thing about this method is I don't have to drain about half my pool every winter. I take it to right below the skimmer only draining 4-5 inches at top, I'd say, and plug it up. I use a winter cover that lets the water, snow and ice melt and drain through. Viola, I didn't even have to add water upon opening this spring. No aglae had formed during the winter. I find it better the later you close and the earlier you open makes it easier to clean and balance. Just balanced, slammed for a day, used nowhere near 20 gallons...lol... brushed, vacuumed and let the water warm up before jumping in.
 
I have a question. The pool store gave me some start up chemicals with my pool. 2 bags of shock and a bucket of pucks are some of the ones I have now. Can I use the bag of shock to add FC and CYA instead of buying stabilizer? I hate to waste the chemicals.

Or should i just get some stabilizer and use the sock and be done with it?
 
Save the pucks for when you go on vacation.

You can use the bags of shock to add FC and CYA, just make sure you are keeping track of how much FC and CYA you are adding, use pool math to determine how much FC and CYA you are adding, look at the bottom section called "Effects of adding chemicals": http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html

CYA takes a week to register on the CYA test, so once added assume it is there. Adding CYA via stabilizer/conditioner/sock method, takes longer to dissolve.
 
FC dropped from 4 the night before to 0 when I got home yesterday. The sun is killing me with no CYA in there!!! Added some 12.5%.

Added about 2lbs of CYA yesterday evening via the sock method. When I went to bed, my FC was 3 (6 drops). When I woke up, FC was 2.5 (5 drops). CC was .5 this morning as well. After 5 drops it barely and I mean barely turned pink. One drop took care of it no problem.

I know I need to add more CYA. I didnt want to add too much right away at first. Pool Math said to add 5lbs to reach CYA 40.

Pool is in the sun from about 8-9am till 5-6pm.

Pool is sparkling clear though and I think once i get all my numbers dialed in, this will be super easy to maintain. I'll just have to add 40oz a night or close to that of bleach.
 
I don't use a solar cover, so that I cant tell you about. I lose abut 2-3 ppm's of chlorine a day in full sun. Sounds about normal to me. Did you dose up again last night? It is way too low. I use about 1/2 gallon a night,keeping my chlorine at the higher end of the range. That puts me at roughly 3.5 gallons a week. So what's that $11.00 or $12.00 a week, I think. I normally use Equate brand bleach. That's NOTHING compared to the money you'd spend on buying "shock" and stuff to clear your pool from the pool store if you should happen to get an algae bloom.

My cya level is at 45-ish, so I dose for 50 at night. I usually aim for 7 or 8, that way the next night, if I happen to lose 3, I'm still at 4-5 and haven't fallen below the minimum level.

You might want to do the OCLT (overnight chlorine loss test) to see how much you lost during the night, that will tell you if yo have organics consuming your chlorine. With my new fill I kept it at shock level for a day or two (it is still safe to swim), did my OCLT to make sure it passed and was good to go from there.
 

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