First water test with Taylor test kit

[Mik]

Hi,

I am in Sydney, Australia and this is my fist post. I have a small, 7500 gallon fully tiled concrete pool. Until now, I have been using a combination of pool shop tests and aquachek strips.

I want to take control of my pool chemistry.

Here are my first test results:
FC: 8.0
CC: 0.0
Salinity: 5000
PH: 7.8
TA: 100
CH: 120
CYA: 30

So, clearly I need to do some work. I added 8 oz of muriatic acid which should sort out my PH. I have also tuned my SWG down from 60% to 50%.

My CYA also seems low which surprised me. Should I retest once the PH is stable? The pool shop tests normally read more like 80 and I'm sure I have put enough in to get it to 80?

I presume my TA is okay?

I guess I also need to raise the CH?

Thanks in advance. I am looking forward to getting this right and then I plan to add some borates to the water.

 

[Divin Dave]

Hi Mik,
Welcome to TFP.

It sounds as if you have a grip on the testing.

Regarding your CYA test, I would like to mention that its a bit tricky and since you dont mention exactly the conditions the test was done, I will comment on that.

The test should be done outside in full sunlight. Turn your back to the sun and make the measurement. The lighting conditions really effect the outcome.

TA is ok for now.

Yes, raise the CH.

If you dont mind, please go ahead and create a signature for yourself. This will help us help you as we wont have to go back and look up your pool stats.

At the top of the page just under the Pool School button, you will see SETTINGS. Click that,
On the next window, on the left side of the screen, scroll down until you see EDIT SIGNATURE. Click that.
you will find in there a place to make a signature. When complete, click the save button.

Hope this helps,

 

[Mik]

Thanks very much for your feedback.

It was quite late in the afternoon when I ran the CYA test. I will give it another go when I get time when the sun is out.

I am a little confused about the CA. What level should I run for a fully tiled concrete pool? Will adding the calcium mess with the PH?

 

[jblizzle]

With a SWG, we recommend keeping the CYA in the 70-80ppm range. See Recommended Chemistry Levels and Water Balance for SWGs.

Adding calcium should not have an impact on the pH. You can use the "Effects of Adding Pool Chemicals" section of PoolMath to tell you what each chemical will do.

 

[Mik]

Thanks for your help so far guys. Should I be running CH at the same level as for a plaster pool in my tiled pool? I can't see any reference to a fully tiled pool anywhere in the pool school.

Thanks again.

 

[jblizzle]

Yes, use the plaster numbers since you have grout between all the tiles.

 

[Patrick_B]

Good job in taking control Mik, and welcome to the forum.

Keep in mind the CH will increase over time, and how fast depends mostly on evap rate and your fill water CH level. If it were mine, I wouldn't worry with adding more than it took me to get to about 220 PPM CH. Too, there are modern grouts that are more forgiving to lower saturation index numbers. Generally, as Jason said its best to treat it like plaster.

We see far more plaster pools than tile, so we'd love seeing some pictures. :lol:

 

[Mik]

Hi,

I am in Sydney, Australia and this is my fist post. I have a small, 7500 gallon fully tiled concrete pool. Until now, I have been using a combination of pool shop tests and aquachek strips.

I want to take control of my pool chemistry.

Here are my first test results:
FC: 8.0
CC: 0.0
Salinity: 5000
PH: 7.8
TA: 100
CH: 120
CYA: 30

So, clearly I need to do some work. I added 8 oz of muriatic acid which should sort out my PH. I have also tuned my SWG down from 60% to 50%.

My CYA also seems low which surprised me. Should I retest once the PH is stable? The pool shop tests normally read more like 80 and I'm sure I have put enough in to get it to 80?

I presume my TA is okay?

I guess I also need to raise the CH?

Thanks in advance. I am looking forward to getting this right and then I plan to add some borates to the water.

Guys, I have nearly got there I think. Here are my latest readings:

FC: 9.0
CC: 0.0
PH: 7.5
TA: 90
CH: 250
CYA: 70

I have a couple of questions. Firstly, I know the TA is a little higher than the recommended range but since I have a SWG and the PH will naturally lift, can I just leave as is for now? I figure the ~200mL acid I will need to add will probably bring it within range in a few weeks anyway?

I am trouble getting my chlorine down. My SWG is now only set at 20% and FC is still too high. It seems to have made the SWG much more effective since I upped the CYA levels. I presume this is a reasonably high quality problem to have? I have now tuned the SWG off and might wait until FC drops to around 5.0 and will turn it back on to see if I can maintain it. Does that sound like a good plan?

 

[JasonLion]

You are definitely on the right track. High TA will cause the PH to drift up. If that drift is slow enough that you don't mind adding acid each time to lower it again, then there is no need to lower TA aggressively.

When you turn the SWG on again, turn the percentage setting down even further. Chlorine demand tends to get quite low as the water gets cold. Yes, raising the CYA level greatly reduces the chlorine demand, so you get to turn down the percentage as you mentioned.

 

[pwrstrk]

Nice looking numbers ! Good job !
Don't sweat the TA. It's only 10ppm above the recommended range. Like you said acid additions my lower it.
Yep you can just turn the SWG off and let the FC drift down on its own. When it gets back in range fire the SWG up and see what happens.
The higher CYA level is doing its job. Protecting your FC. What's the water temp ?

 

[Mik]

Nice looking numbers ! Good job !
Don't sweat the TA. It's only 10ppm above the recommended range. Like you said acid additions my lower it.
Yep you can just turn the SWG off and let the FC drift down on its own. When it gets back in range fire the SWG up and see what happens.
The higher CYA level is doing its job. Protecting your FC. What's the water temp ?

The weather here is still quite warm and it is a small pool which sees a lot of sun. Generally the temp falls to about 78F overnight and depending on the day reaches 81-84 by the afternoon. Right now, it is 3pm and the water is 83F.

 

[Mik]

Here are a couple of (bad) pictures

 

[Wandersen]

Nice pool! Where in sydney are you?

 

[Mik]

Nice pool! Where in sydney are you?

Thanks. I am in Balmain. And you?