New to pool chemistry...

[ted13b]

Hi guys, I've had my pool for a few years, and always had to deal with dead algae on the bottom. I decided to get serious and ordered the Taylor K2006 test kit. It's a 20x40, 4' deep, in ground, vinyl lined pool in the northeast. The water is always clear, but I always have some dead greyish algae to clean from the bottom. I shock weekly with 2 gallons for 12% bleach. Here's what I got for test results:

My ph came out yellow in the est and didn't match any of the samples. the instructions say phenol red turns yellow at 6.8.

FC was 21ppm, I shocked it yesterday.

Combined was .5ppm.

Calcium hardness was 12ppm.

CYA was 50ppm.

Total alkalinity couldn't be measured, it was pink right off the bat, not green as the directions say.

From reading this forum, it sounds like I need borax to raise the ph, but how do I know how much? Also, I'm reading that it's better to add chlorine daily to keep a steady level, but how do I know how much? Thanks in advance guys!

 

[duraleigh]

Check out PoolMath at the top of the page. It will do these (and many other) calculations for you.

 

[JasonLion]

Since you have a K-2006 test kit, you can do a base demand test to see how much borax you need to add. If you go this route, don't add it all at once, do perhaps half the first time, give it an hour to mix in, test again and continue to adjust from there.

Alternatively, you can add borax in batches large enough to raise PH by about 0.7. It will probably take several cycles of that.