okay.... my # what next...

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alyssa

0
May 22, 2007
2
oklahoma
Okay I recently switched from baquacil to BBB. Got a taylor 2006 test kit. Threw a ton of bleach in for days and the pool was converted in about 5 days. That has been about 2 weeks ago now. Basically all I have been doing it adding bleach to make sure its mainatining its levels but what else should i be checking here.
Here are my test #'s this evening.
fc- 2.0
cc-0
ph 7.4
alk 210
cal 160
cya 70
now... i had no cya in the pool, obviously because I was on baq before, i purchased i believe it was 4lbs of stabilizer from the pool store, added it, a week later had my water tested at the pool store (before i got my taylor kit) and they said that my cya level was 0 i was really unsure how that could be possible but... thinking maybe it didnt disolve and it got backwashed out I was instructed to add 6 lbs... ok so now my levels are around 60... I'm not really sure how many gallons my pool is. I have a 28ft round above ground pool 48in in deep
what are my ideal chlorine levels now that my cya is 70
what other things should i be doing and testing?
my water is clear and looks great.
how do you test for borates? do i need to add borax and acid? i am clueless as far as what else i should be doing here. Last year was my first year with a pool and we did the baqucil. just switched this year because i had read the horror stories on the other pool forum so i decided to switch while the gettin was good LOL plus we spent and arm and a leg on chemicals last year.
anyway if you read this far thanks... any help would be appreciated!
alyssa
 
Alyssa,

Your pool volume is approximately 18,500 gallons, if your water level is 48 inches. If that's the wall height and not the actual water level, post the water level, and I'll refigure it for you.

Download the bleachcalc program and put it on your desktop. This program does all sorts of great calcs for your pool, including how much bleach to add to raise the fc 1ppm, how much muriatic acid to add to lower the pH 0.2, etc.

For a cya of 70, you want your FC to be between 5 - 10 ppm, with a shock value of 20 ppm. Add bleach to bring your FC up to at least 5.

You have no CC, so no need to shock.

Your alkalinity is a little high, so you may want to bring that down. To do that is a lengthy process using muriatic acid to lower the pH and TA, then aerating to bring the pH back up, then adding more acid, etc. I'll let the more learned posters post what total alkalinity (TA) they think you should shoot for. There are numerous posts in the Chemistry 101 thread about lowering TA, so that would be a good place to read up on how to do it.

Borates is not something that you would normally test for, and I do believe you need a special kit for that.

No need for borax yet. If your total alk (TA) was OK and your ph was low, you could add borax to bring the Ph up. pH of 7.4 to 7.6 should be OK. Plus, if you do lower your TA using acid and aeration, you can get your pH back where you want it using aeration only.

Your cya is a little high too, but the only way to lower that is to drain some water and refill. Again, I'll let the more learned posters chime in, but I think you'll be OK, just don't add any more.

Calcium doesn't come into play for a vinyl-lined pool, so no need to worry about that.

There really isn't anything else you need to be testing for. I would probably test for FC and pH every day or every other day, test for FC, CC, pH, and TA once a week, and test for CC after any pool parties, heavy rains, etc. I don't know how often you need to test your cya level - again, I'll leave that to one of the more learned members here.

Welcome aboard, and hope this helps!

Mike
 
Thanks mike. My actual water level is at 46 right now. I keep it pretty high as my filter seems to be leaking right now.
As far as the borates/borax goes I was just wondering about that because I thought I read something about it being used in combination with the acid to create a algecide effect? I may be way off but thats what i thought i read somewhere

I'm going to retest my cya tomorrow to make sure I am doing it correctly. my taylor kit just says to mix for 30 seconds but i was reading on here its best to let it sit for 3-5 minutes. I am not sure if that would give a high or low reading if it wasnt preformed like that? at any rate I think they pool store's test was wrong when it said i was at 0 a wekk after i added 4lbs... I shouldnt have added the extra as I know I now can not get it out unless I drain. Maybe It will slowly decrease as I am having my water leak out from my filter :(

Thanks for the quick reply! I will check out the chem 101 and download blec calc. seems like all year last year i was fighting high ph and high alk I am hoping this year wont be the same. I had no clue what i was doing last year.. . just dumping baqucgoo in and doing what the pool people told me which left me with empty pockets. I hope to grasp the water chemistry this year and be able to know what it all means and how it all works. I wanna be in control not the pool store!


The BBB method seems "to easy" thats why I figure I must be missing something! LOL

so i dont need to be testing the calcium then if i have a vinyl pool. darn all those regants to waste!

alyssa
 
Alyssa,

At 46", your pool volume is approximately 17,700 gallons. Your filter's leaking?? What type of filter? Sand or cartridge?

I haven't read anything to that effect about borax and acid. Sounds kind of fishy to me. Your best bet for an algaecide would be shock levels of chlorine to kill and oxidize the algae, or if the algae's particularly stubborn, use an algaecide that has polyquat as it's main ingredient.

Ehhh, don't feel too badly about getting wrong test results from the pool store. Trust me, you're not the first, and won't be the last. :) Let me know if your cya results change, as I only mix for 30 seconds myself before I measure. I might have to test again tomorrow myself!

Oh, I know all about emptying my pockets at the pool store! I opened up my pool this year and found a nice green swamp where my pool used to be. Several $$$ later from the pool store, the water had cleared, but I could not get a FC reading to save my life. That's when I found out about the BBB method. Three days later, my FC was around 6 ppm and holding. Now I order all of my testing supplies online, buy my BBB at the grocery store - no more pool stores for me! Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it before long..:)

Nope, no need to test for calcium with a vinyl pool. Maybe you can find someone with a plaster pool and do some horse-trading with reagents. ;)

Mike
 
Many people have had very good experiences with borates, see for example this thread over at the PoolForum. It is a fair bit of work, requiring significant volumes of borax and muriatic acid.

I wouldn't worry about that ALK level too much. You should keep an eye on your PH level, it may tend to go up because of the high ALK level. As long as you keep the PH under control it will be fine. If you have a SWG you might want to bring it down to reduce the frequency with which you need to add acid. In the long run it will probably go down by it's self.
 
JasonLion said:
Many people have had very good experiences with borates, see for example this thread over at the PoolForum. It is a fair bit of work, requiring significant volumes of borax and muriatic acid.

I wouldn't worry about that ALK level too much. You should keep an eye on your PH level, it may tend to go up because of the high ALK level. As long as you keep the PH under control it will be fine. If you have a SWG you might want to bring it down to reduce the frequency with which you need to add acid. In the long run it will probably go down by it's self.
Click to expand...

Ahhh, the great tetraborate experiment! I started reading this thread a while back and got pulled away, and never got back to it. Wasn't Waterbear doing it more for pH buffering than using as an algaecide? I do stand corrected about it being fishy.
 
One thing about pool stores, here in Miami it's the cheapest form of chlorine. Most pool stores sell 10.5% chlorine for $3.50-$4.00 for 2.5 gal refills. (catch is you have to buy a couple of reusable jugs for about $6each but do the math it saves money). One pool store in our area had a special- buy 2 2.5 gl refills and get the third free. That paid for my containers (jugs). If you do the math Clorox bleach(5.25%) 1.42 gals sells for around $2.60 That's $1.83 a gal for 5.25%. Since the 10.5 is double the strength, then it calculates to $3.66 a gal of the 10.5%. I'm getting 2.5 times more the chlorine for the same price as Clorox Bleach at Costco.

Also, the Muratic acid (31.5%) is about $3.80 a gal at most of our pool stores and Home Depot sells it for $4.98 per gal (2 gal packs for $9.99)

I guess since our weather promotes competition, our pool store prices are reasonable. But you have to compare so, In my case, I can't see myself not going to a pool store.
 
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