Please help, I have 0 FC and 0 CYA totally lost.

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5dogs7cats

0
May 6, 2015
4
Brookville, Ohio
I will apologize upfront, I have read and reread, did the pool calculator and followed the instructions on the Taylor-2006 on youtube,I reran each test in case I screwed it up. I have trouble understanding and reading because of Lyme disease, but I want to get the pool right. I am confused.
I have a 24 x 54 round metal pool with vinyl liner. The pool sits in direct sunlight all day. I have a solar cover but have never used it. I have a sand filter with 2 year old sand.

My current number are

FC -0
CC- .04 ppm (2 drops x .02
PH - 7.5
TA-170 ppm
TH - 300 ppm
CYA -black dot did not vanish so my understanding is that it would be less than 20 pp.

We had a bad algae problem last year so we have purchased a SWG, added the salt but I can't get the chlorine to hold at any consistent level. If I read correctly it is because I have no CYA?? I have 24 lbs of 65% bagged chlorine, a box of borax, a box of baking soda all on hand.

Do I need to go buy stabilizer? I am guessing that is from a pool store.

If anyone has any advice at all, I would greatly appreciate it. Sorry about this, I really did try to understand. Obviously I need a chemistry class :D


Thanks
 
:wave: Welcome to TFP!!!

1. Use 10ml water sample for the FAS-DPD test so each drop is 0.5ppm. This will save your reagent. Also note that for 25ml, the multiplier is 0.2, not 0.02 like you wrote.
2. Forget about the SWG until you get the pool balanced. BTW, a SWG will not prevent algae if you neglect the pool and are not testing often.
3. What is the ingredient in the bagged chlorine you have?
4. You need to raise the CYA up to about 30ppm and then I would follow the ShockLevelAndMAINTAIN Process to ensure the water is clean before dialing in the SWG. You can get the stabilizer for hardware stores and Walmart in the pool section.
 
Welcome to TFP!!:handwave:

Jason has given great advice.

To be honest I don't go to a pool store for anything anymore. WalMart has just about everything you will need. I only go to Lowes for acid.
 
Wow, that was so fast and very helpful.

The chlorine I purchased was (68% Calcium Hypochlorite)

I turned off the SWG last night when I first tested the water and had 0 FC, it is still attached but not turned on.

Thank you for getting back with me, I know you probably get sick of repeating yourselves but I was totally confused.

I will add the stabilizer and when it is 30 ppm, I will start the SLAM process.
 
5dogs7cats said:
I will add the stabilizer and when it is 30 ppm, I will start the SLAM process.
Click to expand...
No need to wait. It can take stabilizer up to a week to show up on tests. Pour the stabilizer (use Pool Math to figure out how much) in an old sock and hang it in front of a return. Then assume the CYA is there for calculations and SLAM the pool immediately.

Lot's of Ohio folks showing up today...
 
No, go ahead and put the stabilizer in and then start the SLAM with numbers based on the 30 CYA you've got dissolving in the pool.
Put your stabilizer in a sock and hang it in front of a return so the water turbulence will help it dissolve faster. Squeeze the sock now and then to speed things up too-you'll get a milky looking water out of it but it won't hurt you to touch it.
See if you can return the Calcium Hypochlorite as a vinyl pool doesn't really need calcium, but if you can't, you can use it. Its just not as cheap as bleach I imagine?
Good Luck!
 
I got the stabilizer in the socks in front of the return. I am going to start the SLAM and I am wondering if I would be better to wait until tonight. We are going to be in the high 80's today and the pool gets 100% sun all day.
I am home all day so I can add chlorine all day, that's not a problem, but I don't want to throw money down the drain, but I am anxious to get it done we are going to be in the 80's until Monday so I can actually use the pool. (unheard of in Ohio in May)
I saw today that the algae is back on the floor and walls so I want to get in and scrub it today, will that hurt the process?
Thank you.
 

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I noticed you reported a Total Hardness figure of 300, which is a closely related parameter to Calcium Hardness. The K-2006 kit has a Calcium Hardness test and we usually report its results using the CH designation. If you're CH value is in fact 300, then you do not want to use those bags of Calcium Hypochlorite, as they will quickly drive your CH above 350 which is the recommended max. As someone else suggested, better to try to return them, or save them for when you drain your pool and need to increase your CH value because of new, soft water.

By the way this site teaches that vinyl pools only need 50ppm of CH. The 250-350 recommendation you'll often see, is for plaster pools. Having that amount in a vinyl pool isn't harmful, it's just unnecessary, and puts you closer to conditions that can cause Calcium scaling, which would be bad.
 
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