just want to be sure i am doing the right thing

Jump to latest Follow Reply
N

New and confused

0
Jun 2, 2014
80
Elburn, IL
Hi everyone - I just want to say I love this sight. I have been on it for a week now and people are great. I have been asking a lot of questions and responding right away. It has really helped my anxiety about all of this. I think I was posting on the wrong part of this sight. Since I am a new pool owner (one week new), I just popped in my questions anywhere. But, after reading different parts of this sight, I think this is where I need to start. Anyway.... my water is very clear, but I am having problems adjusting my ph and chlorine consumption. My ph is 8.2 and my chlorine is 1 as of 530 tonight. This morning my ph was 8.2 and my chlorine 5. It was on and off sunny today. I have a 1 lb sock of stabilizer hanging by my return and pool math says to add 2Q of bleach and 3c of muriatic acid.

My questions are: how often should I check my numbers? I checked once in the morning yesterday and then again last night, but my chlorine was 0, so I added a gallon of bleach last night. Then I had my son add half a gallon at 1:30 this afternoon (I was at work and I had a feeling my chlorine would be low).

Another question I have is about the solar cover we have that came with the pool. Since my numbers have been so up and down, I didn't want to put the cover on. I was afraid 1- that it would begin to grow things if it became to warm and 2- I wasn't sure how the chemicals would react to the cover. Does anyone have any experience with that. I don't have a pool heater, so right now the water is pretty cold 73 degrees.

Last question! Does anyone know of a container I can use to measure the muriatic acid? I have a glass measuring 2 cup container, but I was afraid of what it might do to the glass.

Thanks in advance for all of your help.
 
You can check the pH and FC 30 minutes after you add them. You should do that as often as required to get them in range.

I would suggest using the cover to protect the FC until your CYA gets in the water.

I would suggest just pouring the MA directly into the pool and estimating by the 1/4 or 1/8 jug ... no need to be exact and less handling.
 
I was told when you are SLAMing you should leave the cover off due to the higher level of chlorine that might damage it. I'm not sure if that's correct or not or if it matters who's cover or what exact material ??

I've run the pool a lot with the cover in place over a couple years and no problems with it.

Muriatic acid is safe in glass, it doesn't react to it at all. In fact it would be nice if it came in glass as storing it in the plastic bottle it comes in over long periods can affect it by absorbing moisture.
 
kiss4afrog said:
Muriatic acid is safe in glass, it doesn't react to it at all. In fact it would be nice if it came in glass as storing it in the plastic bottle it comes in over long periods can affect it by absorbing moisture.
Click to expand...
Glass around a pool is never a good idea and I have no idea what you are talking about regarding the plastic and absorbing moisture.
 
I don't want glass near my pool but even with the plastic jug I keep it in the garage and measure out what I need and take that to the pool, not the jug.

Glass is impermeable, plastic isn't. Over time something like muriatic acid can absorb moisture through its plastic container.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
kiss4afrog said:
I don't want glass near my pool but even with the plastic jug I keep it in the garage and measure out what I need and take that to the pool, not the jug.

Glass is impermeable, plastic isn't. Over time something like muriatic acid can absorb moisture through its plastic container.
Click to expand...
Who keeps acid around that long? Must be nice to live somewhere with soft water.
 
kiss4afrog said:
Muriatic acid is safe in glass, it doesn't react to it at all. In fact it would be nice if it came in glass as storing it in the plastic bottle it comes in over long periods can affect it by absorbing moisture.
Click to expand...

Well lets look at my answer. I should have said it would be better to use plastic around your pool and not even answer about glass but I did. The OPs question was about using a glass measuring cup.
I should have said it would be better to use a plastic measuring cup and that's what I do but I simply answered the question.

As for storing acid in a laboratory environment glass is the preferred container and that is my background. I used to deal with acids at near 100% purity and small dilutions did make a big difference. All I said is it would be nice if it came in glass. For almost everyone using it in a 5, 10, 40 thousand gallon pool the exact purity isn't critical and glass even in the garage is a hazard for the average guy but that isn't what I was thinking when I said it would be nice if it came in glass. I'm used to dealing with it in glass and I liked it that way. I finally used up the last of at least a 7 year old supply of muriatic acid in plastic and the containers were a bit brittle and I didn't like that. That likely had something to do with me thinking fondly of a glass container.

Muriatic acid in plastic is a great idea for pool uses. I totally agree and now that I'm buying it I only get a gallon at a time so it doesn't get a chance to get very old.
 
Whoa! sorry didn't mean to start such a deep discussion. I knew what you meant "kiss", anyway. New topic: It has been raining for about 24 hours now, pretty heavy at times. Do I wait until it stops raining to test, or do I test in the rain? I am trying to do a full test only 1-2 times a week. I was getting a bit obsessed and was going through my chemicals like crazy. Last night my ph was 7.8 and my chlorine was 3 after being 5 in the morning with a ph of 7.5. I am using the blue box kit from the TF 100 ro do a 2x daily check (morning and night) of my ph and chlorine. Also I turned off my pump during the rain as I haven't had an electrician in to put in my electrical properly yet. How will that affect everything?
 
Okay couldn't wait and it did stop raining. I plugged in my pump and tested my water
ph 8.2+ pretty pink
TC 2 (this is pretty good I think since I didn't add any chlorine yesterday and it was 3 last night)
TA 260-280
CYA 20 or less clear as crystal :(

I do have a lb of stabilizer hanging in the pool. It has been there for about 4 days. I am guessing I add more chlorine and muriatic acid and test again right? I am going to do the pool math right now. I just can't seem to stabilize the ph. Does this go on all summer? Also where my skimmer basket sits has a ring of something. I have cleaned it several times and it keeps coming back. My CC is 0 so I don't think it is affecting anything; I was just wondering how to get rid of it. Thanks!:
 
Okay couldn't wait and it did stop raining. I plugged in my pump and tested my water
ph 8.2+ pretty pink
TC 2 (this is pretty good I think since I didn't add any chlorine yesterday and it was 3 last night)
TA 260-280
CYA 20 or less clear as crystal :(

I do have a lb of stabilizer hanging in the pool. It has been there for about 4 days. I am guessing I add more chlorine and muriatic acid and test again right? I am going to do the pool math right now. I just can't seem to stabilize the ph. Does this go on all summer? Also where my skimmer basket sits has a ring of something. I have cleaned it several times and it keeps coming back. My CC is 0 so I don't think it is affecting anything; I was just wondering how to get rid of it. Thanks!:
 
With TA of 260-280, you'll be fighting the pH rise for a long time.

That stabilizer should all be dissolved after 4 days. Check the sock and give it a squeeze if it isn't.

If the ring is sort of greasy and lifts right off with a magic eraser, it's probably oils from sunscreens and makeup. A scumball will absorb it. They sell them at the pool store.
 
Should I add more stabilizer? and I have had only a few people in the pool and only then a short time; it's been too cold right now! :( so I don't think makeup and sunscreen is creating that problem. I will try the magic eraser, though. Thanks

- - - Updated - - -

btw are my targets right?
 
As long as it doesn't get nasty, getting opinions is what it's all about. It's all good and if I have to say it, I'm the one coming from someplace other than pools so I understand where someone might get a little ruffled and you should never have glass near your pool. If I was thinking I just would have said just head to Walmart, grocery store, hardware store, ... and buy a graduated plastic pitcher to use for pool chemicals. Oh well.

I would wait on the Stabilizer for a couple days. The stuff you have in the sock you need to squeeze like Richard suggested. Putting it in a sock and tossing it in a skimmer is a great idea but a lot of times the person forgets to add that you need to get in there and knead that sock to get it dissolved. It will take forever just laying there. Take a couple minutes to knead that sock a couple times a day and it's usually all in by the second day.
My understanding of CYA is that it takes a few days to show up. Unlike the other stuff you add and can test same day, some in 30 minutes, CYA can take some time. So make sure the stuff in the sock is all gone and then wait to test. I'm sure one of the other guys will give you a better time frame on how long to wait. It's one of those things it's better to sneak up on than overshoot as you'd need to drain water to reduce.

It says up to a week in "Pool School" :) Cut and paste:

"CYA - Cyanuric Acid

Cyanuric acid, often called stabilizer or conditioner, both protects FC from sunlight and lowers the effective strength of the FC (by holding some of the FC in reserve). The higher your CYA level, the more FC you need to use to get the same effect. It is important to know your CYA level so you can figure out what FC level to aim for. If you don't have a SWG or problems from extremely high amounts of sunlight, CYA is typically kept between 30 and 50. If you have a SWG or very high levels of direct sunlight, CYA is typically kept between 70 and 80.

You increase CYA by adding cyanuric acid, often sold as stabilizer or conditioner. CYA is available as a solid and as a liquid. The liquid costs a lot more, and generally isn't worth the extra expense. Solid stabilizer can take up to a week to fully register on the test, so don't retest your CYA level for a week after adding some. Solid stabilizer is best added by placing it in a sock in the skimmer basket. The pump should be run for 24 hours after adding solid stabilizer and you should avoid backwashing/cleaning the filter for a week."

A moderator should go in there and add the part about squeezing the sock :(

If you have an "oil" ring there are products to suck it up. My GF picked up a couple scumbugs but I don't think there is much difference in what it's called or where you get it. I was looking for new ones this year and good deals on ebay. Shop around a bit as it's easy to see them vary by 2x or 3x their price. Also make sure you know if it's one or a two pack. :)
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply