First time green pool
- Thread starter vaalpens
- Start date
Thanks!
Tested the pool last night closer to the regular time:
FC: 7.5
CC: .5
pH: 7.9
Since we are going into the week and we are probably not going to swim during the week, I think this week I definitely need to run the pool without the aerator and see if I can get the pH down. It is always at 7.9, or that is what it looks like.
The FC level is still good, and bringing it slowly down is still the plan. Since we used the pool I decide to still err on the high side, adding 32oz of 8.25% bleach, but tonight I will target an FC of 9 with a resulting next testing FC of around 5.
Everything has been holding steady so I will probably start giving less frequent updates unless I run into any issues.
The test tonight shows that the FC is still holding, but my pH is still high. Since it is cooling down a bit, the aerator has now been closed and I will work on getting the pH down to the 7.2/7.8 range.
FC: 7.0
pH: 7.9 or 8.0
I am adding 32oz of 29% muriatic acid, and later tonight I will add another 32oz of 8.25% bleach.
When will be a good time to look at the CSI value? I know I should have a new TA value by tomorrow, so maybe it will be a good time to calculate the CSI and see where I am.
The test tonight shows that the FC is still holding, but my pH is still high. Since it is cooling down a bit, the aerator has now been closed and I will work on getting the pH down to the 7.2/7.8 range.
FC: 7.0
pH: 7.9 or 8.0
I am adding 32oz of 29% muriatic acid, and later tonight I will add another 32oz of 8.25% bleach.
When will be a good time to look at the CSI value? I know I should have a new TA value by tomorrow, so maybe it will be a good time to calculate the CSI and see where I am.
Did the test tonight after another 24 hours and without the aerator running, and saw some improvement to the pH. At least now I can see that I at or below 7.8, which makes it easier to read. I did not test the TA yet, but decided to go with another treatment of muriatic acid to get the pH to around 7.4 or below. FC is still holding very well:
FC: 8.5, target 9, adding 8oz of 8.25% later tonight
CC: .5
pH: 7.8, target 7.4, added 20oz of 29% muriatic acid
If the FC stay above 7 again tomorrow, then I'll probably target 8 overnight with hopefully a drop of less than 3 during the next day.
FC: 8.5, target 9, adding 8oz of 8.25% later tonight
CC: .5
pH: 7.8, target 7.4, added 20oz of 29% muriatic acid
If the FC stay above 7 again tomorrow, then I'll probably target 8 overnight with hopefully a drop of less than 3 during the next day.
You are really dialing in your pool. Good job!
Just wondering... Did you notice any increase in pool temp with the aerator off?
Just wondering... Did you notice any increase in pool temp with the aerator off?
I did not check the water temperature, but I will check it when I turn the aerator on again to see by how much the pH increase.
Did another test with a few additional data points:
FC: 7
CC: .5
pH: 7.6
TA: 120
Looks like I can bring the TA down a bit more, but I'll wait for after I ran the aerator one night to see the pH impact.
Tonight I only addressed the FC and targeted an 8ppm overnight FC, and then a possible 6ppm tomorrow, by adding 16oz of 8.25% bleach. If these numbers hold steady by tomorrow, then I could be looking at a 2ppm loss during the day and a 32oz of 8.25% bleach to keep it steady. Time will tell obviously.
Thanks for checking on me. I thought everybody was getting tired of my "no change" posts so I decided to scale down my posts.
The last two day my tests have shown that I am definitely getting to the point where I can maybe test the water every second day. My test results:
9/16/16:
FC: 6.5
A target of 6ppm after 24 hours is where I want to be, so I added 24oz of 8.25% bleach to get the overnight target of 8.
9/17/16:
FC: 7.5
CC: 0.0
The 7.5 result indicated I only needed 8oz of 8.25% bleach, but I decided to just go with 16oz again, since my average over the last 3 days were 16oz.
The pool still looks exactly the way it looked after it settled following the SLAM, so I am very impressed with the results, and is is a true believer in the TFPC method.
I tested the water again today, and for some reason my pH is higher again. The aerator has been closed for a while now, so I'm not sure why the pH went up again. Following are the test results:
FC: 7
CC: .5
pH: 7.9
TA: 130
Since the pH is an issue again I decided to go with 24oz of 29% muriatic acid again, followed up later at night with 16oz of 8.25% bleach.
My TA is down from the last 140 test on 9/8, but pH is higher again. Should I just lower the pH every time it goes up until I reach a TA of around 90, or leave the pH for a while and see if it settles.
FC: 7
CC: .5
pH: 7.9
TA: 130
Since the pH is an issue again I decided to go with 24oz of 29% muriatic acid again, followed up later at night with 16oz of 8.25% bleach.
My TA is down from the last 140 test on 9/8, but pH is higher again. Should I just lower the pH every time it goes up until I reach a TA of around 90, or leave the pH for a while and see if it settles.
I would keep the pH between 7.2 and 7.8 for safe and comfortable levels.
Since you seem to be a tweaker, read this and see if it fits for you:
Pool School - Lower Total Alkalinity
Since you seem to be a tweaker, read this and see if it fits for you:
Pool School - Lower Total Alkalinity
We do not randomly shock our pools. Why would you suggest that? The OP has already completed a SLAM.
Other than mixing the water, the filter and pump have nothing to do with water balance.
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You should follow the procedure in the link that Marian posted and lower your TA some more. With a TA of 130ppm your pH will rise quickly, as you have noticed.
Thanks for the information. I probably did not understand that the higher TA will let the pH rise quicker.
What will be a good target level for TA?
The recommended level for TA is :
I've never been sure what the 90+ meant. Does it mean it is ok to be over 90, but it is recommended to be between 70 and 90. Or does it mean 90+ is also recommended.
The numbers are in for the day with TA showing a trend downwards:
FC: 7.0
CC: 0
pH: 7.8
TA: 120
I added another 24oz of 29% muriatic acid to bring the pH down, and it seems at this rate my TA will be down to around 90 by Thursday.
I have not added any bleach yet, but I am thinking of maybe rolling the dice to see what the FC will be tomorrow if I just leave it at the current 7ppm.
FC: 7.0
CC: 0
pH: 7.8
TA: 120
I added another 24oz of 29% muriatic acid to bring the pH down, and it seems at this rate my TA will be down to around 90 by Thursday.
I have not added any bleach yet, but I am thinking of maybe rolling the dice to see what the FC will be tomorrow if I just leave it at the current 7ppm.
Each pool has its own happy TA. Some pools need a lower TA and some pools need a higher. You will find your pool's TA happy place. As you get closer to your pool's ideal TA you will notice the PH will not rise as fast. At some point, you will find a TA where your PH will not rise as fast.
Thanks for the information.
I have never monitored the pH this close so I'm not sure when pH does not rise that fast. Once I get to adding MA once a month, is that a good indication, or maybe even less frequent.
I decided to add some bleach last night and added my normal 16oz of 8.25%. Today the FC number stayed with the trend, which means tonight will be another 16oz:
FC: 7.0
CC: 0.5
pH: 7.6
The pH was down a bit, so I decide to add another 12oz of MA. By Thursday or Friday I will evaluate the TA again just to make sure it doesn't go to low, but for now I am targeting a stable pH and then maybe see what the TA is and should be.
I added another 12oz of 29% muriatic acid to bring the pH down, and it seems at this rate my TA will be down to around 90 by Thursday.
I have not added any bleach yet, but I am thinking of maybe rolling the dice to see what the FC will be tomorrow if I just leave it at the current 7ppm.
FC: 7.0
CC: 0.5
pH: 7.6
The pH was down a bit, so I decide to add another 12oz of MA. By Thursday or Friday I will evaluate the TA again just to make sure it doesn't go to low, but for now I am targeting a stable pH and then maybe see what the TA is and should be.
I added another 12oz of 29% muriatic acid to bring the pH down, and it seems at this rate my TA will be down to around 90 by Thursday.
I have not added any bleach yet, but I am thinking of maybe rolling the dice to see what the FC will be tomorrow if I just leave it at the current 7ppm.
The numbers are in for the day and it is basically the same as yesterday. So I decided to check the TA also:
FC: 7.0
pH: 7.6
TA: 100-110
The TA must be very close to 100, but I think there was a slight change in red when I added the 11th drop. Either way it is coming down nicely. The pH also looked a solid 7.6 instead of me having to think about it.
No change for the night. Adding about 24oz of 29% MA (shooting for 7.2), and later I will be adding 16oz of 8.25% bleach.
FC: 7.0
pH: 7.6
TA: 100-110
The TA must be very close to 100, but I think there was a slight change in red when I added the 11th drop. Either way it is coming down nicely. The pH also looked a solid 7.6 instead of me having to think about it.
No change for the night. Adding about 24oz of 29% MA (shooting for 7.2), and later I will be adding 16oz of 8.25% bleach.