Trying to help my friend get his pool up and running and to switch to TFP method.

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lasercomp

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May 15, 2015
46
Brooklyn NY
Hello,
My friend just opened his 30,000 gallon inground pool and began treating the pool with shock. He went this morning to the pool store with a water sample and the pool store told him to buy some stuff to level everything out. I am not familiar enough with the readings he got in order to offer suggestions but hoping someone from this board can. Below are the levels that he received.

CYA - 0
FC - 0.2
Total Chlorine - 3.5
PH - 7.1
Total Alk - 59

He has a vinyl liner pool and chlorine based. He doesnt have a SWG. What would be the first thing to do to get the pool on the right track. Thank you in advance
 
Its from Costco called Clorox Pool & Spa Shock Plus. I dont have any other details about it. And he also used something called Clorox Extra Blue. Ive been trying to tell him to buy a test kit and test himself but he's thickheaded. He took a sample of his water to a pool store and it looks like the pool store put the water into a computer of some sort and spit out the numbers.
 
well if his FC is really 0.2 and TC is 3.5...well he has a serious algae issue starting. if he has been using shock and/or tabs...his CYA is NOT zero. first thing he should do is throw the pool store test results in the trash and get a real test kit. then post results and get input.
 
Hi there! You've come to the right place to get him going. He will need a test kit of his own, preferably a Taylor K-2006, so he can better control his numbers. Pool store readings tend to fluctuate. :) First, I would get CYA and bleach (chlorine) into the pool immediately. The CYA I have used can be bought as a granular from either Walmart or Lowe's and it's called Stabilizer on the container (check the ingredients, should say cyanuric acid). Using PoolMath and his readings from the pool store, he will need just over two gallons of 8.25% bleach (I buy Great Value brand at Walmart) to get his FC up to 6 and he will need 10 lbs of Stabilizer to get to 40 on CYA for that much water. Put the Stabilizer in a sock or knee high stocking and hang it in front of a return (squeezing it occasionally dissolves it faster). Pour the bleach in the pool in a steady stream in front of a return as well. This sends the bleach out into the volume of water, rather than it pooling in one place. I bring my PH up by aeration by turning one of the return eyes towards the top of the water and let it bubble for awhile. On that size pool, odds are he has more that one return so he could raise PH with one return and add the bleach and Stabilizer at another. I would not be concerned with the alkalinity at this time til he gets his test kit. :)
 
The pool store sold him 36.5 Lbs of Balance Pak 100 which I think they said was for the TA being low and also 6.25 pounds of Lo N Slo to raise PH. With the readings that he received from them, what would be the first step he should take? Besides getting a test kit. Assuming the readings from pool sotre is correct.
 
layla2052 said:
Hi there! You've come to the right place to get him going. He will need a test kit of his own, preferably a Taylor K-2006, so he can better control his numbers. Pool store readings tend to fluctuate. :) First, I would get CYA and bleach (chlorine) into the pool immediately. The CYA I have used can be bought as a granular from either Walmart or Lowe's and it's called Stabilizer on the container (check the ingredients, should say cyanuric acid). Using PoolMath and his readings from the pool store, he will need just over two gallons of 8.25% bleach (I buy Great Value brand at Walmart) to get his FC up to 6 and he will need 10 lbs of Stabilizer to get to 40 on CYA for that much water. Put the Stabilizer in a sock or knee high stocking and hang it in front of a return (squeezing it occasionally dissolves it faster). Pour the bleach in the pool in a steady stream in front of a return as well. This sends the bleach out into the volume of water, rather than it pooling in one place. I bring my PH up by aeration by turning one of the return eyes towards the top of the water and let it bubble for awhile. On that size pool, odds are he has more that one return so he could raise PH with one return and add the bleach and Stabilizer at another. I would not be concerned with the alkalinity at this time til he gets his test kit. :)
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DO NOT add any CYA at this time. pool stores NEVER get CYA correct. they said mine was 100 and it was 20. they have no idea how to test for it correctly. once its in, you cant get it out without refilling and you don't want to go to high. Do not adjust CYA based on store test results.

about the only thing pool stores usually get accurate is pH and chlorine.

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lasercomp said:
The pool store sold him 36.5 Lbs of Balance Pak 100 which I think they said was for the TA being low and also 6.25 pounds of Lo N Slo to raise PH. With the readings that he received from them, what would be the first step he should take? Besides getting a test kit. Assuming the readings from pool sotre is correct.
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ok, next step is for him to take all this back to the store and get his money back. seriously.

no the pool store readings are NOT accurate.

if pH is too low, you can direct jets at the surface to aerate.

I know you want to help, but you are getting ahead of yourself...gotta have the test kit in hand before making adjustments. for now jus try and keep the FC up to avoid algae. making adjustments to CYA, TA, etc at this point is useless. just guessing right now. not trying to be a jerk, but you really cant balance the pool based on the pool store's test readings. see if he can get a refund on this chemicals. they aren't needed

if adjustments are needed, there are cheap household chemicals available at a fraction of the cost.
 
Before getting any further into this process, make sure he truly wants to go the TFPC method. It's more of a philosophy than a pool care method, and he needs to be completely on board with a new way of thinking. If not, I highly suggest not wasting your time, and wait until he comes to you.

That said, step one is a test kit. Without repeatable, accurate results, you can't really give any advice.
 
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