New Pool - First TF-100 Numbers

[allenp]

First post here. We bought an 18' x 48 " Intex Ultra Frame and I finished the install about a week ago. I bought the 2650 sand filter along with the SWG and so far everything is working perfectly! The most difficult part of the install was the leveling of course. The ground was off by 10" in the location I selected. After reading all of the warnings about making sure it was level, I really tried to get it perfect. So far it is remaining that way so that's great! Anyway, that's for another post.

I used the included strips initially until my TF-100 kit arrived. I tested on the day that I received it and made a few additions. Also note that I did not fill to capacity. I filled it to the bottom of the 2nd square from the top on the liner so it would be up to my son's chin. Filled from the hose with town water (no well). The water is sparkling clear and seems perfect to the eye and to swim in! I really want to learn to keep it this way.

I used 7200 gallons (7600 full I believe) on the pool calculator but don't know how accurate that is. Here are the results after my first "true" test:

FC 4.5
CC 0.5
TC 5.0
CH 50
TA 110
CYA 50
pH 7.5
Salt was just below 3000 ppm with stick test

What I'm thinking is that my TA is a bit high and I need to bring the CYA up a bit to about 70. Am I on the right track? Any recommendations?

Thanks a lot!
Al

 

[Richard320]

Welcome!

Yeah, raise the CYA a little and monitor the FC. You'll likely be able to run SWG less and still maintain adequate FC with the higher CYA. Note that as CYA rises, so does the minimum FC.

I wouldn't touch the TA. CYA is acidic, so some of that TA will go away when you add that. And if you just lower pH whenever it hits 7.8, the TA will come down on its own. As it says in the article on lowering TA, " You shouldn't lower TA just to reach a target number."

 

[allenp]

Thank you! This is our first pool and I think that I read so much before hand that I expected it to be difficult from the start. It's been too easy since the water went in! I'll get the CYA up a little bit this week and monitor. We did have some bad storms come through here yesterday that added about half an inch to the pool. Should I do anything special? I did set the SWG to run for 6 hours this morning (normally 4 hours, our pool is in the sun from sunrise to sunset) thinking a little extra chlorine may be needed.

Thanks again for replying. I've used this forum a lot since we decided to get the pool and it's been a big help!

 

[tim5055]

No, nothing special after rain unless you need to drain water. The biggest problem with rain is that folks don't want to get wet. As Richard's signature says "A pool is like a pet - you have to feed it every day, even the days you don't want to play with it!". On rainy days many people tent to skip testing. Put a few rainy days together and many times you end up with something growing in the water because of no FC. Once you get the SWCG dialed in and get used to your pools appetite for chlorine and maybe acid you may be able to skip a day or two here or there. But you really want to target at least testing FC & pH every day.