New AZ pool start up chemical questions

[JefR]

Hello everyone,
So our pool in Buckeye,AZ( near Phoenix) just got finished. This is a second home and we weren’t there when it was filled a week or so ago. The builder did the start up chemicals. So I tested yesterday and today and here’s today’s numbers
FC 6
ph 7.6
TA 100
CH 90
CYA 100
Salt 2850
Water temp 57°
pool math said my csi was -0.86
i do have the tfp test kit

my questions are :
1) should I get the CH up to rec levels asap, will new plaster effect them at all…?
my fill water tested at 80
2) Should I drain some water to lower cya or will the upcoming evaporation / fill water lower it ?

Any other advice will be appreciate.
Thank you ,
Jef

 

[Newdude]

Congrats Jef !!!!

For CYA of 90 and above, the logarithmic scale messes up how our eyes want to see it and you need to do a dilution test. Fill the sample squirter with half pool water and half tap water. Dump out half to the sticker line. Then add the R0013. Shake, test and double the result.

The other tests don't matter until we figure out how much you will need to drain.

 

[JefR]

Newdude,
appreciate the info. So if I understand your method , I filled to the 7ml line with pool water, then topped it off with tap to the 14ml line. Then dumped back out to 7ml n topped off with the R0013. If that was right the result was 60. So I retested the regular way and it was 120. Not sure how I got 100 earlier
Ive heard the water evaporation daily here is quite a bit. Is this something that could correct itself or is a drain n refill needed. Thanks again for the help n

 

[Newdude]

If that was right the result was 60.

And because you diluted it, that means it's 120.

So I retested the regular way and it was 120. Not sure how I got 100 earlier

Don't even bother trying if it happens in the future. Do the dilution test over 90.

Is this something that could correct itself or is a drain n refill needed.

Well the good news is that with a SWG, you only need to get down to 80 or 90 and then you can let it drift down the rest of the way. It dilutes by a proportionate amount because water has no CYA unles . So to lower it to 80 would need a 25% drain. Word of caution, if you do multiple smaller drains, each subsequent drain also loses 'good water' and they become less and less efficient.

If your water table is high, the pool shell may float like a boat if you drain. See the below link for alternative draining methods if ground water is a concern. .

Draining - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Thanks again for the help n

That's why we're here. Because at some point, we didn't know either. And it sucked.

 

[JefR]

newdude,
thanks so much for the info. Appreciate it. Any thoughts on the CH issue?

 

[Mdragger88]

Just so you’re understanding- evaporation doesn’t reduce cya, salt, or ch.
It just makes them temporarily more concentrated & then when you top off the water they go back to essentially where they were (or maybe more in the case of ch). They get reduced by water exchange with fresh & cya can become lower over time due to heat (water over 90 degrees) but this can take a while.
Best to do an exchange to get cya in line.

 

[Newdude]

thoughts on the CH issue?

It doesn't matter until you're refilled. No sense in draining newly raised CH only to dilute it with 80 CH fill water.

 

[proavia]

Your location in your profile still shows Highland CA. Please update to current location.

What is the source of your fill water?
A CH of 80 anywhere in the Valley of the Sun seems quite low. Most of us see a tap water CH of 200 or higher.
Please review the extended test kit instructions to be certain you are completing the test appropriately.

Extended Test Kit Directions Archives

www.troublefreepool.com

Click on the picture for a specific test as the greenish box link still just reloads the current page.
I'd recommend you review those extended instructions for each of the tests.

 

[JefR]

hello again, sorry for the delay just got back out to AZ
ill have to wait a few weeks to do the drain in order to get my cya in-line. There’s a lot of landscaping going on near me and too much dirt in the curbs , it’d create a mess.
so until then ,

1) no need to mess with the low ch until I drain n refill?
2) Gene , I have tested my fill water several times to validate as I‘ve read on here about the high CA levels in the southwest. I’m in Buckeye and according to their website the water source is from groundwater. But here’s my sample after 8 drops. Hopefully I’m doing this right.
Also, I asked how to add my pool‘s location, but was told I had to just put the info in my signature Since I already have my “home” pool as my location.
Appreciate all of your help.

 

[proavia]

Ok - so still in Highland CA and also Buckeye AZ. Leave it all as is until that changes.

That test looks more purple than blue in the pic. It could be the rug it's on. Maybe try again - with a white surface and background. Continue the test until the color doesn't change and then subtract the last drop.

 

[JefR]

Gene,
Thank you, maybe thats my problem, is that I'm seeing purple and not blue. I'll do more testing when I return there in a few weeks.....appreciate your help

 

[proavia]

Review the CH extended test directions - especially about "fading endpoint".

Calcium Hardness

A drop-based test that measures the hardness in your water. Once measured, it is used … Read more…

www.troublefreepool.com