Newby- question re: chemical testing results

Jump to latest Follow Reply
J

jmilhoan41

0
Aug 4, 2014
10
St. Paul Park
I haven't been running the pump 24 hours- just between 6-8/day. I tested after two hours this morning and the results were:
TC- 5.2ppm (I have the chlorinator set at 2)
Not sure how to check FC in my test kit
PH- 7.4
TA- 270ppm
Calcium 260ppm
Cyanuric Acid- didn't register anything in my test kit (water stayed clear and could see dot when filling tube all the way up)

I compared with a test strip and those readings were:
TC-5ppm
FC- 3ppm
PH-7.8
TA- 240ppm
Total Hardness- 250ppm
Cyanuric Acid- between 30-50 or the 'ideal' range.

So the results are kind of confusing. I fully was prepared to go get stuff to shock the pool today, but the chlorine is on the higher side of normal, so I wanted to check on what you guys thought. Also why would the PH be normal and the alkalinity be high? I'm a nurse, so that doesn't make any sense to me:) Seems like if the alkalinity was high, the PH would also be high. Any help someone could give me on what these readings should be telling me and if there is anything I need to do- thanks!

Water is clear. There had been a film you could feel, but not see on the wall/bottom yesterday, but that appears to be gone today
 
Hello and welcome to TFP! Good you posted some results. Here's what I see based on your Taylor K2006:
- The slime you feel may possibly be the start of algae growing in your pool. Mine was that way before. How do I know that?
- Your FC (free chlorine - the good kind) I suspect is low based on the Chlorine/CYA chart (link below)
- Speaking of CYA - I trust the Taylor kit, not strips. :) If the dot never disappears, you have very little if no stabilizer (CYA) to protect your chlorine.
- FC test... do you have the powder and R-0871 drops? The powder makes the water pink (if there's chlorine), and then you count the number of R-0871 drops and divide by 2 (or multiply by .5) :)
- After that you would test and record the "CC" (Combined Chlorine) level, and I suspect that number is over .5 (bad) which means you need to SLAM.

If you would like, try to re-post just your FC, CC and CYA. I would also recommend reading the SLAM method (link below) so you understand what may be ahead of you.. We'll help, but you need to know what is about to happen to stay in control. Welcome to the site!

- - - Updated - - -

Should you need to SLAM, you need to prepare a couple things first:
- Adjust PH to 7.2 - 7.5; don’t worry about testing it during the SLAM
- Ideal CYA should be 30; the higher the CYA, the more bleach required
- Have a good amount of “regular” liquid bleach on-hand to keep your FC high (at SLAM FC Level) at all times
 
Thanks so much for the quick reply! Yes, the test I ran was the powder with the drops- I used a 25ml sample- added R-0870 powder, then it took 26 drops to make it colorless. At that point I calculated wrong- I multiplied the drops by 0.2. So by what you said above, the FC would be 13, but that would be too high, right? So I actually missed the combined chlorine altogether.
Looks like I need to check it again.
 
Am I assuming correctly that this is a new fill? If so, you will need to add CYA/Stabilizer to the water. No need to test until you add it. It is available at WalMart in the seasonal pool section.

Keep FC and pH in line. TA is the last thing we ar going to worry about until you see how your pool acts.

Continue to use the 10ml samples. It will save you reagents and is close enough for us.
 
With that CYA number it would make sense that your 7 ppm of FC will get lost by the sun by the end of the day with no CYA (stabilizer) to protect it. From a chlorine standpoint, that's the biggest issue I see right now. Something you may want to consider doing tonight is the OCLT (Overnight Chlorine Less Test). Raise your FC before going to bed (i.e. 7ppm) and when you wake up, test before the sun hits it and you hope to lose no more than 1 ppm. If it dropped below 6, then that's an indication something is growing in your water taking your chlorine (FC) and you would need to "SLAM".

Even if you find out you need to SLAM, you need a CYA of 30 (ideally) to maintain the FC level required during the process. So getting stabilizer in your pool is pretty important right now. You can use the Poolmath Calculator to give you the exact amount to add. Then use the sock method to dissolve it in the pool. Hope this helps you.
 
Thanks everyone! I've been on this site looking up details prior to re-building and filling the pool, so that I could be a little prepared. Yes, it's a new fill- just filled last Thursday. I'm heading to Walmart to get the CYA/stabilizer, but one thing reading this site has done for me is make me a little scared of the CYA increasing. The chlorine pucks I'm using have that as a stabilizer too, so I just don't want to go too high with that. I'll check when I get back on how much you guys think I should use to bump it up to where it needs to be:)
 
Sure, the pucks may have added a little, but they are slow compared to the stabilizer you will put in. Since you just filled your pool, I would think you could still shoot for a stabilizer target of 30 when doing the poolmath calculator, and anything the pucks do might go up a few more ppm. Once you add your granular stabilizer in a sock, I would suggest removing the pucks though so you stay in control.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply