first Opening and a green Swamp

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Ok well I just got out of the "lab" First off a funny story..

This morning I was still filling the pool and had to go to the shop. I told my 11 year old son to turn off the water in 30 min. I figured it was possible he would forget but ok. I came home at lunch and he did exactly what he was supposed to do. I cleaned the pool had the water going to get the last bit of water into it. Left for work and left the water on. He got home about 2 1/2 hours later and turned the water off. When my wife got home she hear him tell his sister I have one hour of freedom left, because when dad gets home.....

It worked out good in my favor I had to drain more water out to get it back into the skimmer opening. Pretty funny i thought!

Ok so other than that I found I had one valve turned the right way and when I turned that it really increased the pressure on the filter. It had been running about 8 psi and now It is pulling right at 20psi. Feels much better and I am amazed I got it to where I did like that. I also changed out the filters again and they were pretty dirty.

So with all that done I grabbed a sample of water and here is where I am. I will do the CYA again tomorrow night but I'm confident I am in the 60 to 70 range maybe just a bit lower with the overfilling/draining.

FC = 13
TA = 120
CH = 260
PH 7.5
CYA 60-70

The Pool calculator says to go with a FC or 20 so I aded 2 more bottles of bleach to keep the shock up.

The pool is still kind of cloudy but I think it will look quite a bit better in the am.

If you guys have any input feel free. When it filters out is that when it will get its nice "sparkle"? I know it is not as blue colored as it was last year.

Thanks

Phil
 
Not really sure I understand your pressure discussion. The goal is not to have high pressure and having higher pressure in the filter does not necessarily mean you are getting better suction. Or maybe I am not understanding you correctly.

Sounds like you are off to a good start. Just verify your CYA although aiming a little high on the fc will not hurt.

Once all is dead and your filter does its job the sparkle will certainly appear.

Posted with Tapatalk ... sorry if I sound short ... hate typing on phone :)
 
On my system I have 2 returns the main drain on the bottom of the pool, and the skimmer. It has 2 outlets one down on the deep end and the other near the steps in the shallow end. I also have a caretaker system installed.

For the last few days I had isolated the caretaker bypassed it I guess and had water returning and coming out both outlets. Tonight eating dinner looking at the system I saw that the caretakers weren't working.

The filter pressure had been very low. Much lower than I remembered last year. It was about 3-4 pounds and it would build to about 12-15 after a day or so.

The pump has a max pressure of 50 psi. When I closed the valve that was causing the water to bypass the caretaker and the caretaker started working and the pump pressure went back to where I had expected to see it.

I am pretty sure I am on the right track with the system now. I am making notes now so I'll know what everything is supposed to be.

How much longer do you think I need to keep the FC at shock level?

Thanks

Phil
 
Got it ... you were expecting the higher pressure from the caretaker.Some of your terminology is different which caused me confusion.

Your filter is rated to 50 psi ... not your pump which I am sure could not actually achieve that.

You should shock until you meet the 3 criteria listed in the shock process ... hard to say how long it will take.

Posted with Tapatalk ... sorry if I sound short ... hate typing on phone :)
 
Good Morning,

The pool is looking great this am, I just can't believe it! My lovely wife agrees it is the same beautiful blue as last year.

This am test results

FC = 22.5

CC= 1

PH = 7.5

I'll test the CYA again this afternoon and tonight I'll do the OCLT.

I am feeling real good and I so appreciate all the help.

I'll post up a picture later.

Phil
 
You are generally safe to swim up to shock level FC for your CYA level. I would not say you are "swimming" if you are just going to be in the cold water for 30 seconds, so you would probably be fine a little above shock level for that period of time.

Probably want to take your suit into the shower with you to rinse it out though ... assuming you wear one :shock:
 
Well I went in after the leaves. FC is at 20 so I gave it a shot. I quickly determined that what was still there could be removed at a later time or by another means! Water was in the 60 degree range. It didn't last long!

We have had rain all morning today so it actually raised the water level up over the skimmer again. It came up enough where I needed to put my little pump back in the pool to drain it back down some more. I can only see my CYA going down more. I measured it at lunch and I am down to about 65. I didn't have the same sunlight as last time I measured it so I don't know for sure. CC was 1.0 this am so I am getting pretty close.

Phil
 

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Hi folks,

THe pool is looking really good this morning. I got all the last few leaves and stuff out last night. Paid my son $5.00 to dive in and get the leaves from the drain :lol: He loved the adventure of it all and we got it done.

This am the tests are:

FC = 17
CC = 1
TA = 120
PH = 7.5
CH = 250
CYA = 65

I am pretty happy with how everything is looking. We haven't had any sun on the pool in the last few days. In fact it rained quite a bit yesterday. I added bleach to get the FC level back up over 18. The pool calculator says that is the level for shock now.

So far the last couple of days the CC level has remained at 1.0. Is it just a matter of time keeping it at the chock level to get that down? As I understand it when that gets down to .5 I can stop the shock level and bring it down to normal.

Thanks as always

Phil
 
So far the last couple of days the CC level has remained at 1.0. Is it just a matter of time keeping it at the chock level to get that down? As I understand it when that gets down to .5 I can stop the shock level and bring it down to normal.
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Correct on all counts. A little sunshine will be helpful in reducing the CC's although it will get there on it's own....just a little slower.
 
Ok went home at lunch at did a quick FC/CC test. I am down to .5 on the CC. :-D

So now I continue to monitor and let the FC drift down to the normal range per the FC to CYA chart correct?

At that point it is daily ph and chlorine test and a weekly full set of tests I understand.

Just to clarify at this point using the BBB method I shouldn't really see the CYA level rise from here on out. If anything with rain, splash out and such it might trend down over time correct?

The water does indeed look great. I am getting things labeled for my kids/wife to maintain stuff when I leave again next week. I'll be out for 14 days so it will be a good test. My son is really excited about the testing. He likes the science aspect of the whole thing.

Tonight I'll do the overnight drop test and report back in the am. Can I still do that with the high levels of chlorine 17ppm?

Thanks as always

Phil
 
Sounds like the water is clear and your CC is 0.5 ... do the OCLT and hopefully you will have passed and can let the FC drift back down to the 5-8ppm range.

You are correct the CYA will likely slowly drop for the reasons you stated.

Keep an eye on the FC and pH daily. Check the TA weekly. Check the CH weekly+ (should not really change much). Check the CYA monthly+ (again should not really change much). Some tests may be more often if major events (long rains storms, etc) occur.
 
Ok we have the OCLT going on right now. Currently FC is 17ppm so I'll check it in the am. I am so glad I found this board. My son is beside himself wanting to go swim.

A question on the daily FC and PH test. Do I need to do the full 870-871 test everyday or do I use the little block for chlorine and PH with the yellow and red drops?

The water is very clear and looks awesome so tempting to say the heck with it and turn on the heater right now. I didn't right down the water temps we ran last year but I thought it was around 72.

I'll report back in the am.

Thanks

Phil
 
or do I use the little block for chlorine and PH with the yellow and red drops?
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Yep, use the block. It is your daily friend and is included in the kit so you don't have the expense and time consumption the powder/drops test takes.

Although be careful. It is easy to really get into the testing and use the FAS/DPD (powder/drops) test all the time because it is so precise.......probably a very high percentage of the folks here on the forum do that.

The comparator block (red and yellow drops.....OTO test) is used for a quick check of pH and a very dependable (but no too precise) check on your chlorine level.
 
duraleigh said:
Although be careful. It is easy to really get into the testing and use the FAS/DPD (powder/drops) test all the time because it is so precise.......probably a very high percentage of the folks here on the forum do that.
Click to expand...

Count me into that group.

As for the heater......it maybe a good idea while you're still at shock levels to run it some. Get any water that maybe in there cleared up too.
 
Thanks Guys,

The OCLT test showed a drop of right at 1 ppm. I think I'm just going to keep the shock level up today and do it again tonight. I also turned the heater on so I'll let that run today.

Thanks for answering the question about the day to day test. I can see doing the FAS/DBD test but the OTO test will make it seem easy for my wife and son to do daily. She has been a bit skeptical that we can just give up the pool service.

I do believe she is coming around. I was kind of a cheap skate when it came to heating the pool last year. This year with us taking over maintaining I say run it and make it nice all the time. We are ordering a solar cover today so I'll get that on when I get home from the next trip, after that it is pool season!

Have a great day.

Phil
 

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