Help need to know if I am on right track or lost?????????

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Ok, I can finally see the bottom of my pool this morning for the first time this season. Now what???? How long do I keep my chlorine levels really high???

My kids want to know when it is safe for them to swim?? can I let them today and then up the chlorine later this evening?? I knew once I got to the stage I could see the bottom I wouldnt know what to do. I have held 15ppm overnite for 2 days now.
 
jshinklin said:
Ok, I can finally see the bottom of my pool this morning for the first time this season. Now what???? How long do I keep my chlorine levels really high???
Until the pool is clear, your FC is holding overnight, and there is NO CC. You will probably have to change the sand to achieve the last one.

My kids want to know when it is safe for them to swim?? can I let them today and then up the chlorine later this evening??
I would not advise it because you probably still have very high CC levels and might not have enough FC.
I knew once I got to the stage I could see the bottom I wouldnt know what to do. I have held 15ppm overnite for 2 days now.
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Is that 15 ppm TC or FC? Do you have any CC? Is the water clear? At this point you need to wait for the water to clear then change your sand and then make sure that all the CC is gone. Then you can balance your water and swim.
 
If you have a FAS-DPD chlorine test and are getting the same FC level, or within 1.0, in the evening and the next morning, and CC is below 5, then it is time to add CYA. If the CC level is 0.5 or lower than it is fine to swim.

If you are measuring the FC level in some other way, not the FAS-DPD powder turns the water pink and then drops turn it clear again, then you should maintain FC around 15 for another couple of days and not swim yet.
 
yesterday when I had my water tested they couldnt read it cause the chlorine levels were off the charts and errored out the computer. I do not have a good test kit yet as I wont beable to order it till Tuesday. I am just using a "cheap" kit from walmart and doing the diluted testing, i know its not perfect but its better than not testing at all. When I had water tested on Friday, I had levels that read like this:

Tot. chlorine 5
free chlorine 0

I am so new at this I have no clue the difference between the 2 so I guess I will keep adding bleach for a few more days till I can get it tested again.

The test from yesterday reads something about SoftSwim B is at 7
SoftSwim c is at 8
I have no clue what either of those are or what they mean.
 
Then you have a ways to go yet. The OTO test, comes in the WalMart kit, drops turn the water yellow compared to a color standard, measures TC, which is FC plus CC. Towards the end of a baquacil conversion you will have substantial levels of CC, so the OTO test is practically useless for measuring FC.

You could really use a FAS-DPD chlorine test right now. TF Test Kits, see the link in my signature, sells one, as do a couple of other vendors. At the end of a baquacil conversion you need a very sensitive FC test and also need to know the CC level. Without that you are going to need to simply keep the FC level fairly high for about a week and try to guess at when the conversion is complete.
 
Can somone please tell me what the difference is between the Taylor 2005 and 2006 other than $10 and if I could use the 2005 and still get good accurate readings please. Went out and added another gallon of bleach to the pool as the sun is coming out and eating my chlorine and not having any cya in it its gonna go fast today like it did yesterday.
 
Will I have to buy one of these EVERY year or will it last longer or do you just buy refill things. Like I said I am very new at this..and if you didnt read earlier this mornin I woke to a CRYSTAL CLEAR POOL, that sand filter works so much better, I vacuumed to waste this mornin and no yucky stuff came out, backwashed my filter and it was good and clear, I honestly think I got most of the BAQUAPOO out with the cartridge and dont have much left in my sand at all. I am gonna see if my local pool store has a similar test that test for FC and TC so I can get more accurate readings.
 
I've never seen a FAS-DPD test at any local stores, pool or otherwise. For whatever reason you can only get it online. It's essential, really, and no you shouldn't have to replace it each year, if store properly, and you can just order refills.

If money is an issue, and you are using the Wal-Mart HTH test, for this year, just order the FAS-DPD test, from Trouble Free Test Kits. It's $23. http://www.tftestkits.com/index.php?act=viewCat&catId=6

Otherwise, have the pool store test your water. It's not always entirely accurate, but it's a starting point. Don't go buy anything the recommend....post the results here first.
 
I am gonna go today to the local pool store and have it tested once they print me out the results I will post and hopefully someone like you with alot of knowledge will be here to help me sort thru it all. Could you do me 1 BIG favor....in LAMEN terms not pool talk cause I am still learning alot tell me what FAS-DPD stands for or how it is really so different.

Thanks
I am starting to become less overwhelmed but still dazed and confuzzzed... :lol:
 

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jshinklin said:
I am gonna go today to the local pool store and have it tested once they print me out the results I will post and hopefully someone like you with alot of knowledge will be here to help me sort thru it all. Could you do me 1 BIG favor....in LAMEN terms not pool talk cause I am still learning alot tell me what FAS-DPD stands for or how it is really so different.

Thanks
I am starting to become less overwhelmed but still dazed and confuzzzed... :lol:
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I don't know what it stands for. I'm a laymen too.

All I know is it works differently than the OTO test you have now. IT's a powder. You put some powder in the vial with your pool water, and swirl, and if you have Free Chlorine, it turns Pink. Then you take the dropper bottle with the liquid reagent, and start adding drops, till the solution turns clear again. Its the number of drops is what tells you EXACTLY how much FC you have. No guessing on shades of colors....that's why it's so easy. The next step in the test, you add another liquid reagent, and if you have CC's, it turns pink again. Then you repeat the first liquid dropper, and count the number of drops till it turns clear again. Then you know EXACTLY how many CC's you have, and if you need to keep shocking.

With FC, knowing exactly the number, you enter that in to the Pool Calculator and it tells you exactly how much bleach to add to bring you to shock level. It takes the guess work out of it, and you are in control.

An FAS-DPD test is essential in pool care. I should know what it stands for, but I'm not embarrassed to admit I don't! hehehehehe I just know I wouldn't be without one....now that I have it. I better go Google it. (I just got mine this year. It makes all the difference!)
 
FAS-DPD stands for "Ferrous ammonium sulfate-N, N-diethyl-paraphenylenediamine", but you really don't need to know that.

The key point is that FAS-DPD can test FC and CC from 0 to 50 by 0.5 or by 0.2. None of the other tests can come close to matching that range or that precision. The OTO test can't distinguish FC from CC. The DPD test can measure both FC and CC but it doesn't have the range or precision of the FAS-DPD test.

Very few pool stores use FAS-DPD, and so they are unlikely to be able to give you reliable results. Many pool stores simply say the FC or CC level is 5 any time it is above 5.

With proper storage most test kits will last two years or more if you don't run out of any of the reagents. The TF100 gives you appropriate quantities of each reagent to last two years of average usage. The standard Taylor kits give you 3/4 oz of each reagent, which means they run out of some things in less than a year and other things will last for several years (with careful storage).
 
I originally bought the Taylor 2005 which is a DPD chlorine test. I have since added a FAS-DPD kit at the cost of another $22 because I needed the accuracy at the chlorine levels required for proper pool sanitation (my CYA is on the high end at 50 which means I need to maintain around 6 ppm FC or so which can not be easily tested with a DPD test kit). So, in layman's terms, I am out more money than I would have been had I ordered the TF-100 or Taylor 2006.
 
Okay just got back from having water tested and here are the results...

TA: 140
Ph: 7.8
CYA: 20-dont know how I have any, havent added anything but straight bleach for 4 days now
TH: 370
TC: 9.7
FC: 7
Which if I am doing my math correctly I still have 2.7 ppms of CC left and need to shock shock/ bleach bleach and bleach to get it below .5ppms

I am gonna let the little one swim some today but add more bleach this evening and get it back up once the sun is gone
I did pick up some stabilizer and water conditioner but wont add any till I get my level of CC down. Is that a correct assumption??
 
jshinklin said:
I did pick up some stabilizer and water conditioner but wont add any till I get my level of CC down. Is that a correct assumption??
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Is this one bottle of product? Or Two? If two, what are the ingredients on the label of the "conditioner"?

Other than that it sounds like you know what to do, yes, you'll need to shock to get the cc's down.
 
It is together in 1 bottle and the only ingredient on the front says 100% cyanuric acid. Not sure how to add it cause it just says slow dissolving and may raise my filter pressure but NOT to backwash for 24hrs after the addition of this product.

Anyone know how to add it....its in granule form
 
jshinklin said:
It is together in 1 bottle and the only ingredient on the front says 100% cyanuric acid. Not sure how to add it cause it just says slow dissolving and may raise my filter pressure but NOT to backwash for 24hrs after the addition of this product.

Anyone know how to add it....its in granule form
Click to expand...

Yes...

Pour 20 ounces into a sock, and hang it in front of your return. It won't register on tests fully for several days if not a week. So don't bother to test for it till then. The granules may dissolve in the sock but are still fully-dissolving in the water.
 
You can also pour it into your skimmer but heck that's up to you. Don't backwash for a week, either method.

Overtime, back washing will lower your CYA, so you'll need to repeat the test monthly or bi-monthly depending on how often you backwash.
 
jshinklin said:
Okay just got back from having water tested and here are the results...


CYA: 20-dont know how I have any, havent added anything but straight bleach for 4 days now
You don't, this is just interference from the baq conversion.
Click to expand...
 
A friend of mine just got rid of her above ground pool and had some chlorine tab left from walmart..they are the 3 in 1 tabs suppose to condition/stabilize, chlorinate, and prevent algae grown. I am wondering if they are ok to use in my pool and if so should i NOT add more cya in a sock so it doesnt get tooo high.
 

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