Noob, 1st post, questions

[Bret4207]

After 12 years of fighting our pool I finally stumbled onto the TFP site. THANK YOU! Now I've got a real test kit and I'm starting to already see results. The 28' above ground cess pool I had has been replaced by the beginnings of what may actually be a swimming pool!

So, here's the question. I've got things more or less on the road to being balanced. Currently my numbers are all at t low end of what my Taylor test kit tells me should be my goal levels.Thing is I have zero CYA. I didn't know anything about stabilizer before and the pool is basically full of snow melt water, pretty soft and with no residual CYA. So I got what was available locally and added 1 3/4 lbs of what is supposed to be 100% CYA. Did that yesterday and still have a zero reading. I cannot find any advice on how much stabilizer I should be adding to about 19K gal of water to get my level up where I want it. I've read the CYA readings can take a while to come up, but I;m not sure if I should add more or what.

Any advice will be gratefully appreciated.

 

[Mr Bruce]

CYA takes up to a week to show on tests. Assume it has the level you added and go from there.

 

[Butterfly]

Hey, we're glad you 'stumbled' upon TFP, too

We recommend the sock method for adding CYA. btw, how did you chlorinate the pool last season?

Post up a full set of test results and we'll help.

Yes, it can take up to a week for CYA to show on testing.

How does the pool water look?

Have you found the PoolMath calculator yet?

Post some pics for us!

Welcome to TFP

 

[Richard320]

Welcome!

Poolmath is your new best friend. Here's how to use it: http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/114-poolmath-pool-calculator

Way down near the bottom there are a couple interesting features. One is the settings which will autofill the suggested targets, the other is Effects of Adding Chemicals. You will need the pool volume entered above to use that, and it's not exact, but it should tell you pretty closely how much the stabilizer you added raised the CYA level.

 

[Bret4207]

Thanks folks. I went to the pool calculator and it says I need a bit over 6 lbs of CYA to bring it up to the 40ppm area from zero. Does that sound right?

What we've been doing in the past is adding chlorine, a lot of it, on a regular basis, trying to kill off the "green". We'd be good for a few days and right back to cloudy to green in a few days. The PH would rise (the only test I could do) and we'd fight to get it back down. Of course we didn't know we were screwing ourselves over. The pool place we got the pool from simply wasn't much help. We spent a lot of money there, took home truck loads of additives and got nowhere. It was always add this and add that and so on with nothing changing. Them being an hour away didn't help. We were never advised on anything related to balance, just handed chemicals and a bill. Kind of a sore spot with me.

Currently my numbers are mostly at the low end of what my goal area is supposed to be...I think anyways.

TA-80ppm
PH-approx 7.4-7.6, I have a hard time discerning the shades of pink.
Calcium hardness- 150
CYA-0 as far as I can tell
Chlorine- .10ppm FC, .6ppm Combined Chlorine My math may be off on that, but I think I have the decimal in the right place. I know it's low.

The pool is cloudy, whiteish blue, but I haven't vacuumed it yet. There's lots of whiteish green scummy stuff on the floor. But it has gone from the green cess pool to at least looking like water. The bugs are mostly dead, no chlorine smell and the water is "soft" feeling which is nice since we have very hard water here.

What is the "sock method" of adding CYA?

 

[Richard320]

Without knowing the volume, I can't check your math on the CYA addition.

The sock method is described in this Pool School article, What does what and how to add it is described.

 

[Bret4207]

About 19K gallons near as I can figure.

The CYA I have is granulated, like salt for your sidewalk. Looking at your location Richard, I see you probably are blessed with not ahving to know what salt for your sidewalk is!!! Lucky dog. Figure 3-4 times the size of a grain of rice. The can recommends adding to the skimmer.

Thoughts?

 

[Richard320]

About 19K gallons near as I can figure.

The CYA I have is granulated, like salt for your sidewalk. Looking at your location Richard, I see you probably are blessed with not ahving to know what salt for your sidewalk is!!! Lucky dog. Figure 3-4 times the size of a grain of rice. The can recommends adding to the skimmer.

Thoughts?

Don't pour it directly in. Over the years we've had people clog pipes with it, have it get caught in the impeller and make a racket, settle in the filter and then get backwashed away because the filter needed cleaning before it was done, all sorts of problems. You can learn from others' mistakes - you don't need to make every single one personally.

Fill a sock or a nylon (or two) and tie it up and set it in the skimmer. If it won't all fit, then hang it in front of a return. Start with maybe 4 lbs and if it ends up reading low when you test for it in a week, it's simple enough to add more. Removing excess means draining your carefully balanced water and starting over.

 

[Bret4207]

Okay, thanks!