I've done the research and am starting, how am I doing? Details inside.

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dustbin3

0
May 30, 2015
49
Southern Illinois
So I just set up my new intex pool (details hopefully in my sig) and have been reading for 2 days straight trying to wrap my head around everything. I learn very well by seeing, but not as much by imagining, that said I think I have the basics. Now for my question, I did a test with a walmart test kit (don't worry, my Taylor FAS-DPD test is in route and will arrive on Wed) and my results were:

TC - 1

PH - 8.2

Alkalinity - 60

Hardness - 70

Cya - 0

Alkalinity - 60

I added 2 cups of muriatic acid and it lowered the ph to 7.5, so success (thank you pool calculator)! That said, I just wanted to run my plan by you guys to make sure I am heading in the right direction and not off of a cliff. My plan is to add 2 quarts and 3 cups of 8.25% bleach out of a 128oz jug to raise the FC to 5. My understanding is since I have only used tap water and rain so far, my TC and FC should be the same? I hope I understand that correctly if not please let me know. I am also planning on adding 8 lbs and 13oz of baking soda to raise the Alkalinity from 60 to 100. The calculator calls for 5 lbs of liquid stabilizer, so I plan to put that in too. Is that correct? Once I get these levels correct and my new test kit on wed, should I then slam the pool? Or should I slam it first? Not sure about the procedure for a pool with all new water. Also, is there anything obvious I am missing? Appreciate any feedback or help! :cool: Also, the water temp is a chilly 72F at the moment, if that matters.
 
Excellent job using poolmath to get the pH dialed in!

You have zero CYA right now, so target 3 FC and expect all to be gone the next day. 5 FC with no CYA will be rough on swimsuits and eyeballs. And it will still all disappear in a day.

I'd leave the TA alone for now. Nothing wrong with 60. Your vinyl pool won't leach Calcium if things get too low.

Definitely get some CYA in there. 5 lbs of granular stabilizer should get you close to 40. That's a good target to start, just in case the pool isn't as big as you think it is. Don't waste money on the liquid stuff.

With fresh tap water, you shouldn't need to SLAM. But you'll know better when you can test FC & CC directly when your test kit arrives.
 
Thank you so much for the tips, the other half is actually on her way home right now with exactly 5 lbs of granulated CYA so this is good news! How long after it is added should I test for it? I Know it dissolves slowly (planning on the panty hose hung in front of the jet), so not sure when I should test again. Also, is there a wait after adding the pantyhose cya before adding chlorine or should I do them at the same time? Thanks!
 
dustbin3 said:
Thank you so much for the tips, the other half is actually on her way home right now with exactly 5 lbs of granulated CYA so this is good news! How long after it is added should I test for it? I Know it dissolves slowly (planning on the panty hose hung in front of the jet), so not sure when I should test again. Also, is there a wait after adding the pantyhose cya before adding chlorine or should I do them at the same time? Thanks!
Click to expand...
Retest in a week. You don't need to wait. You'll be doing one after the other anyway, since both will be using the return.
 
with your new kit, you can test for FC and for CC. Add them together and you have TC.

To determine if you need to SLAM or not, there are 3 criteria to pass.
1. The water is perfectly clear
2. You have .5 CC or less (only 1 drop of test regent to go clear)
3. You pass the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test. It should be 1 or less FC loss.

if you pass all of those tests, go swimmining.
 
Divin Dave said:
with your new kit, you can test for FC and for CC. Add them together and you have TC.

To determine if you need to SLAM or not, there are 3 criteria to pass.
1. The water is perfectly clear
2. You have .5 CC or less (only 1 drop of test regent to go clear)
3. You pass the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test. It should be 1 or less FC loss.

if you pass all of those tests, go swimmining.
Click to expand...

Well #1 is a check, the rest will require my test kit which arrives Wednesday. I will let you know the results, thanks!
 
So after adding CYA and 11 cups of 8.25% bleach I checked an hour later and my TC was still at 1. I thought this was odd as it's been overcast all day (I now realize I should add it at dusk instead) but it made me think to check my ph again. It was 8.2 starting out, I added muriatic acid and got it to 7.5. However this time it was 6.8!!! Yikes! I knew CYA could lower it, but that seems excessive. Is there another cause maybe? I guess I just need to add 5lbs 8 ounces of washing soda now?
 
welp,
you're learning!

At the bottom of pool math you will see a section called EFFECTS of ADDING.
At the top enter your pool volume and in the Effects of Adding,... enter how much CYA you put in and pool math will tell you the effects.

Even on a cloudy day you will loose chlorine. Its actually UV that breaks it down, though regularly we say "sunlight". Even on cloudy days, there is UV present, just not quite as much.


dustbin3 said:
So after adding CYA and 11 cups of 8.25% bleach I checked an hour later and my TC was still at 1. I thought this was odd as it's been overcast all day (I now realize I should add it at dusk instead) but it made me think to check my ph again. It was 8.2 starting out, I added muriatic acid and got it to 7.5. However this time it was 6.8!!! Yikes! I knew CYA could lower it, but that seems excessive. Is there another cause maybe? I guess I just need to add 5lbs 8 ounces of washing soda now?
Click to expand...
 

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I sure am! I ran it through and yep, it's right where I put it, no mystery here. I won't make that mistake again. So I ran the 5lbs of borax through and it should get my PH right and raise my TA by 11, which is welcomed since it is only at 60 at the moment. Thanks for the help!

Divin Dave said:
welp,
you're learning!

At the bottom of pool math you will see a section called EFFECTS of ADDING.
At the top enter your pool volume and in the Effects of Adding,... enter how much CYA you put in and pool math will tell you the effects.

Even on a cloudy day you will loose chlorine. Its actually UV that breaks it down, though regularly we say "sunlight". Even on cloudy days, there is UV present, just not quite as much.
Click to expand...
 
Update: After adding 5lbs 8oz of washing soda according to the poolmath, my PH shot back up to 8.2, missing the 7.5 mark I aimed at. Not sure why that happened, I also added 8 cups of bleach to raise the FC but i don't think that would affect PH. Adding 2 cups of muriatic acid to try and creep slower toward my goal.
 
Checked the PH this morning after adding 2 cups of muriatic acid last night and it still read as 8.2 (which is as high as the PH test goes. Added 2 1/2 cups more muriatic acid this morning and am hoping this lowers the PH back down, even though I have no idea why it shot way up. Tested my TA which was 90, so that isn't the problem. Can rain affect it that much? Also, anyone have recommendations for masks that protect against the cloud of muriatic acid? The one I bought at walmart did not do the trick. (cough)
 
If your Walmart test kit uses pink color matching for the TC test, you might have more FC than you think and it bleached out the test, making it read lower than it is. And if FC is way high, it messes with the pH test results. You could very well be chasing your tail on this one.
 
Alright as an easy recap in one place, this is the history of my 2 day stint as a new pool owner. :D

Initial reading after fill:
PH 8.2
Alkalinity 60
Hardness 70
Cya - 0

5/31 added 2 cups of 20 Baume muriatic acid
PH dropped to 7.5

5/31 added 5lbs CYA

5/31 added 11 cups of 8.25% bleach

Ph - 6.8
TC - 1
TA - 60

5/31 added 5lbs 8oz of washing soda to raise ph

5/31 added 8 cups of 8.25% bleach to raise

PH 8.2
TC - 5+

Added 2 cups of muriatic acid.


PH 8.2
TC -5+


Added 2 1/2 cups of muriatic acid

TA- 90-100
PH 7.8
TC -3
 
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