Just a little background before I ask questions...
This will be our 3rd summer with our pool(Santa Clause built it the week after Christmas 2012). The first summer was perfect except for one week of heavy rain and us being out of town in July. I followed the pool store's suggestions and it was all better within 3-4 days of shock, brushing, and vacuuming to waste. The pool stayed clear the rest of the summer and winter with only a little MA and salt added. The second summer started off fine but by the end was a total headache of going to the pool store and buying shock and MA on a regular basis and brushing and vacuuming to waste and chemicals and vacuuming to waste refilling the pool more pool stuff, the pool store telling me my SWG had to be broken because I never had FC unless I just added shock. I finally gave up and didn't do anything this winter. I discovered TFP and I am trying to get my pool in order before it gets hot so that it will be pretty and simply easier to maintain! I started off with going to the pool store (before I did a lot of reading on this site) to get my water tested(I didn't have a good test kit yet) and these were the results:
02/27/15
FC 0
CC 0
pH 7.8
CH 160
TA 100
CYA 25
Salt 2000
So I bought salt(added 5 bags), baking soda (added 12lbs, 6 at a time), calcium stuff??(added 10lbs), super shock-it 73(added this first 4lbs), they told be to wait on the CYA??? I did all of this over the course of a week. I started reading more on this site. I went back to the pool store(which is really a local hardware store in town that tests pool water, really nice people but I don't think they own a pool so they just tell me what the computer tells them to tell me) and these were the test results:
03/05/2015
FC 3.64
CC 0
pH 7.9
CH 230
TA 130
CYA 25
Salt 2600
My pool still had a little green to it so they sold me 2 1lb bags of dichlor and that would take care of the algae and add just enough CYA to be good. They told me to also add a quart of MA. OK I have been continuously reading on TFP and realized that was not nearly enough CYA for a salt water pool that is in direct sunlight almost all day during the summer. So I went to Lowes and bought a 4lb bottle of CYA and added it in a sock to my skimmer. At this point I am still regularly brushing and vacuuming to waste (it just seems to get the algae out better than making the filter work so hard and I had to of course keep adding water to my pool). I also ordered a real test kit T 2006K on March 13! But because I am still learning and don't have my own test kit I went back to the pool store again.....
03/13/2015 (my last time testing at the store)
FC 6.05
CC 0
pH 7.3
CH 180
TA 130
CYA 55
Salt 2600
They tell me everything is perfect. But I asked doesn't my CYA need to be a little higher since I have a Salt water pool? She says nooo it is perfect just like it is(I now know and understand why and wish I had my information from last summer because I am sure this is where my problems all started, because I was vacuuming all of my CYA out it wouldn't hold chlorine!).
Now the good news I got my T 2006K test kit yesterday and went home and tested the pool last night and this morning(just trying to get the hang of it!) These are my results:
03/18/2015 @ 8pm
FC 9
CC 0
pH 8+ it took 3 drops to turn the color back
CH 200
TA 125
CYA 85
Salt I didn't test, should be ok since the indicator light shows it as fine on SWG(I do have tests for this just didn't do it)
03/19/2015 @7am
FC 9
CC 0
pH 8+ it took 14 drops to turn the color back(what is going on????)
CH 200
TA 175
CYA 85
Salt I didn't test, should be ok since the indicator light shows it as fine on SWG(I do have tests for this just didn't do it)
So now that you have read my pool's life story.... I think I need to SLAM my pool. But I have one problem I will be out of town all day Friday and Saturday and will return Sunday afternoon and then I will be able to begin the SLAM process on Sunday afternoon. So I started off this morning by adding 1 gallon of MA to my pool to bring the pH down.
Should I add a gallon of bleach tonight and in the morning before I leave and to hopefully slow an outbreak while I am gone?
Should I try to add some CYA while I am gone too, so that my shock level won't have to be so high?
Thanks for any and all help!
I am loving this site and I hope I am on my way to a easier to maintain pool this summer!
This will be our 3rd summer with our pool(Santa Clause built it the week after Christmas 2012). The first summer was perfect except for one week of heavy rain and us being out of town in July. I followed the pool store's suggestions and it was all better within 3-4 days of shock, brushing, and vacuuming to waste. The pool stayed clear the rest of the summer and winter with only a little MA and salt added. The second summer started off fine but by the end was a total headache of going to the pool store and buying shock and MA on a regular basis and brushing and vacuuming to waste and chemicals and vacuuming to waste refilling the pool more pool stuff, the pool store telling me my SWG had to be broken because I never had FC unless I just added shock. I finally gave up and didn't do anything this winter. I discovered TFP and I am trying to get my pool in order before it gets hot so that it will be pretty and simply easier to maintain! I started off with going to the pool store (before I did a lot of reading on this site) to get my water tested(I didn't have a good test kit yet) and these were the results:
02/27/15
FC 0
CC 0
pH 7.8
CH 160
TA 100
CYA 25
Salt 2000
So I bought salt(added 5 bags), baking soda (added 12lbs, 6 at a time), calcium stuff??(added 10lbs), super shock-it 73(added this first 4lbs), they told be to wait on the CYA??? I did all of this over the course of a week. I started reading more on this site. I went back to the pool store(which is really a local hardware store in town that tests pool water, really nice people but I don't think they own a pool so they just tell me what the computer tells them to tell me) and these were the test results:
03/05/2015
FC 3.64
CC 0
pH 7.9
CH 230
TA 130
CYA 25
Salt 2600
My pool still had a little green to it so they sold me 2 1lb bags of dichlor and that would take care of the algae and add just enough CYA to be good. They told me to also add a quart of MA. OK I have been continuously reading on TFP and realized that was not nearly enough CYA for a salt water pool that is in direct sunlight almost all day during the summer. So I went to Lowes and bought a 4lb bottle of CYA and added it in a sock to my skimmer. At this point I am still regularly brushing and vacuuming to waste (it just seems to get the algae out better than making the filter work so hard and I had to of course keep adding water to my pool). I also ordered a real test kit T 2006K on March 13! But because I am still learning and don't have my own test kit I went back to the pool store again.....
03/13/2015 (my last time testing at the store)
FC 6.05
CC 0
pH 7.3
CH 180
TA 130
CYA 55
Salt 2600
They tell me everything is perfect. But I asked doesn't my CYA need to be a little higher since I have a Salt water pool? She says nooo it is perfect just like it is(I now know and understand why and wish I had my information from last summer because I am sure this is where my problems all started, because I was vacuuming all of my CYA out it wouldn't hold chlorine!).
Now the good news I got my T 2006K test kit yesterday and went home and tested the pool last night and this morning(just trying to get the hang of it!) These are my results:
03/18/2015 @ 8pm
FC 9
CC 0
pH 8+ it took 3 drops to turn the color back
CH 200
TA 125
CYA 85
Salt I didn't test, should be ok since the indicator light shows it as fine on SWG(I do have tests for this just didn't do it)
03/19/2015 @7am
FC 9
CC 0
pH 8+ it took 14 drops to turn the color back(what is going on????)
CH 200
TA 175
CYA 85
Salt I didn't test, should be ok since the indicator light shows it as fine on SWG(I do have tests for this just didn't do it)
So now that you have read my pool's life story.... I think I need to SLAM my pool. But I have one problem I will be out of town all day Friday and Saturday and will return Sunday afternoon and then I will be able to begin the SLAM process on Sunday afternoon. So I started off this morning by adding 1 gallon of MA to my pool to bring the pH down.
Should I add a gallon of bleach tonight and in the morning before I leave and to hopefully slow an outbreak while I am gone?
Should I try to add some CYA while I am gone too, so that my shock level won't have to be so high?
Thanks for any and all help!
I am loving this site and I hope I am on my way to a easier to maintain pool this summer!
