Lovin'TheSun said:
Looks like you are looking for some help but you have highjacked this thread. Recommend you take your questions and open another thread. Or maybe a moderator can do it.
New Pool Owner
- Thread starter WetBehindTheEars
- Start date
Looks like you are looking for some help but you have highjacked this thread. Recommend you take your questions and open another thread. Or maybe a moderator can do it.
Off work today for moving so I took a sample of water to local "Fiesta" Pools. I was actually pretty impressed with what was said and, other than wanting to sell me name brand products they seemed to track with what the pool calculator suggested. Primarily they were concerned with my CC level of 440 and told me to drain two feet of water and refill. Then they said to focus on Chlorine with Stabilizer First and then a non Calcium Hypochlorite. Their records showed the previous owner had the pool set up for 30K gallons. When I told them I had well water they tested pool water for metals and nothing showed up. Here's what they showed:
CYA 0
FC 0
Ph 7.6
Alk. 135
CC 440
"Quat" 0...suggested the need for Algae Inhibitor
If I lower my level...would I use the backwash setting or would that cause me to lose too much sand?
I'll run my own tests today to see if I can get dialed in but it seems my biggest initial issue is the Calcium. Time to read Pool School again.
Thanks.
CYA 0
FC 0
Ph 7.6
Alk. 135
CC 440
"Quat" 0...suggested the need for Algae Inhibitor
If I lower my level...would I use the backwash setting or would that cause me to lose too much sand?
I'll run my own tests today to see if I can get dialed in but it seems my biggest initial issue is the Calcium. Time to read Pool School again.
Thanks.
Have you checked to see what the calcium level is in your well water? If it is also high in calcium then it won't help to drain and refill with well water. If you are planning to winterize the pool I would not worry about correcting the CH (calcium) until spring. Let the snow & rain fill the pool back up with free, uncalcified (for lack of a better word) water, then see if you still need to lower the CH. When you drain use the "waste" setting if you have one. As I understand it you shouldn't be loosing any sand when you backwash. If you do, you may need to check the filter for cracks. One of the sand filter folks will correct me if I am wrong. 
440 is high but not unmanageable if you keep you pH around 7.2 and the TA around 70. Keeping pH and TA low with high CH helps prevent scale formation.
Since we are not in the "active" pool season right now, you may want to go ahead and buy the stabilizer separate from the chlorine and use enough to bring the pool to 30 ppm of CYA. I think you would save money in the long run, and it would help prevent a sudden bloom of algae in the spring if your CYA is not high enough to protect your chlorine once the water reaches 70 degrees.
440 is high but not unmanageable if you keep you pH around 7.2 and the TA around 70. Keeping pH and TA low with high CH helps prevent scale formation.
Since we are not in the "active" pool season right now, you may want to go ahead and buy the stabilizer separate from the chlorine and use enough to bring the pool to 30 ppm of CYA. I think you would save money in the long run, and it would help prevent a sudden bloom of algae in the spring if your CYA is not high enough to protect your chlorine once the water reaches 70 degrees.
zea3, I took the well water in to test...no metals and no high CH levels. Their test said the water was acidic. I put in some 3qt of 6% NaOCl today just to get some in the water. I'll test with my kit tomorrow and then get started with the draining and stabilizing based on what the calculator says. Also, I need to check the Pool School for stabilizer methods...the socks in the skimmers does not sound fun.
Unless the PH level was below 7, I would not consider your water "acidic". The last reading they gave you was 7.6. Also, CH of 400 is very manageble, as long as you keep your PH between 7.2 and 7.8, with the focus of never allowing it to rise above 7.8.
Ran my own test this evening, some differences between my readings and the pool store:
FC .5
pH 7.8
CC 2.0
TC 2.5
TA 50
CH 770
CYA 0
According to my read of the Pool Calculator, for 30K gallon I should replace 55% of the water in pool to reduce CH.
If I ignore replacing the water it tells me to add 280oz of bleach, 2 cups of muratic acid, 13 lbs of baking soda and 10 lbs of CYA.
I'm hoping to not close the pool at this time...anticipate lots of rain over the winter...what do you think?
Thanks.
FC .5
pH 7.8
CC 2.0
TC 2.5
TA 50
CH 770
CYA 0
According to my read of the Pool Calculator, for 30K gallon I should replace 55% of the water in pool to reduce CH.
If I ignore replacing the water it tells me to add 280oz of bleach, 2 cups of muratic acid, 13 lbs of baking soda and 10 lbs of CYA.
I'm hoping to not close the pool at this time...anticipate lots of rain over the winter...what do you think?
Thanks.
With an FC of .5 and a CC of 2.0 you need to shock the pool! You can use the Pool calc or the Chlorine/CYA chart in pool school to let you know what shock level you should be at. You should also read "How to shock" in pool school.
Hopefully I wrote all that for nothing because you switched the FC & CC numbers.
As for the high CH, did you use a magnetic stirrer in that test. If you didn't, I would run it again. It takes a lot of swirling for that test and if you don't swirl enough it will be off.
Hopefully I wrote all that for nothing because you switched the FC & CC numbers.
As for the high CH, did you use a magnetic stirrer in that test. If you didn't, I would run it again. It takes a lot of swirling for that test and if you don't swirl enough it will be off.
Happy almost Spring.
My pump and equipment survived 15' of snow and sub zero temps in Oklahoma...go figure. Sigh of relief.
The sun has been shining and I've been brushing the pool and running the machine quite a bit.
Started just adding extra NaOCl last week and it went away real quick...looks like time to give the pool renewed attention.
Water temp is 54. Pool is clear except after brushing it gets a little cloudy. I have some sand or debris on the bottom that I brush up even though the plaster looks white -- close inspection is a little discolored. Here are my readings from today...
FC 0.0
pH 7.8
CC 0.0
TC 0.0
TA 70
CH 510
CYA 50
I added 182oz of bleach and have not rechecked after doing so. The pool level is high after all the rain and snow so I hope to keep lowering the CH...which is noticeably down over the winter. pH is on the high side but still in range. TA is on the low side but in range. Neighbor saw the pool today and mentioned they had never seen the bottom before since the old owner had a couple of hounds that used the pool as a mud wash. Nice.
Since the pool has been open all winter what will be my steps to really bring it up to summer readiness? Clean tile, etc.? I have some dark spots in the plaster I'll hopefully ask everyone about later but tomorrow is Monday...
Thanks.
My pump and equipment survived 15' of snow and sub zero temps in Oklahoma...go figure. Sigh of relief.
The sun has been shining and I've been brushing the pool and running the machine quite a bit.
Started just adding extra NaOCl last week and it went away real quick...looks like time to give the pool renewed attention.
Water temp is 54. Pool is clear except after brushing it gets a little cloudy. I have some sand or debris on the bottom that I brush up even though the plaster looks white -- close inspection is a little discolored. Here are my readings from today...
FC 0.0
pH 7.8
CC 0.0
TC 0.0
TA 70
CH 510
CYA 50
I added 182oz of bleach and have not rechecked after doing so. The pool level is high after all the rain and snow so I hope to keep lowering the CH...which is noticeably down over the winter. pH is on the high side but still in range. TA is on the low side but in range. Neighbor saw the pool today and mentioned they had never seen the bottom before since the old owner had a couple of hounds that used the pool as a mud wash. Nice.
Since the pool has been open all winter what will be my steps to really bring it up to summer readiness? Clean tile, etc.? I have some dark spots in the plaster I'll hopefully ask everyone about later but tomorrow is Monday...
Thanks.
Attachments
FC 2.5
pH 7.8
CC 0.5
TC 3.0
TA 80
CH 570
CYA 40
Pool calculator tells me to add 75oz of bleach, 19oz of muriatic acid and 113oz of baking soda. I am on the upper limit of pH, won't the baking soda take me over?
My son complains about burning eyes when in hotel or other pools. I want to err on the side of his comfort and enjoyment for pH. Getting pH into the 7.2 (earlier post recommendation) because of my high CH seems to be my priority but is that going to lead to stinging eyes.
Am I on track?
pH 7.8
CC 0.5
TC 3.0
TA 80
CH 570
CYA 40
Pool calculator tells me to add 75oz of bleach, 19oz of muriatic acid and 113oz of baking soda. I am on the upper limit of pH, won't the baking soda take me over?
My son complains about burning eyes when in hotel or other pools. I want to err on the side of his comfort and enjoyment for pH. Getting pH into the 7.2 (earlier post recommendation) because of my high CH seems to be my priority but is that going to lead to stinging eyes.
Am I on track?
WetBehindTheEars said:
Adding baking soda to the pool will not raise your pH by much. Not sure what you mean by "take me over". You are adding muriatic acid, I assume to bring your pH down to 7.2?? As far as buring eyes go, it is a common complaint. If you are in the pool for any period of time, even with recommended chemical levels, it will become an issue to some degree.