New to pools downunder please help

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morning test results

FC=5 (.5 regained since last evening) had the pump/SWG on for 2.5hrs.
CC=0 (no change)
PH=7.6 (no change)
TA=120 (gone up by 10)
CH=230 (no change since last tested although 500g has been added since)
CYA not tested

added another 500g of CaCl2 now. A total of 2kg has been added since first tested.
 
Hi Fgin, I would probably ramp up the CaCl2 additions to 2kg increments daily, retesting each day until you get nearer to the lower end of the recommended range for CH. Good to see the FC and Ph are holding steady. I would deal with the TA when you get the CH right. Good signs though.
 
Thanks Jezza, I added 1kg CaCl2 today

Tested just now
FC=5.5 (had cover on since last evening and the pump/SWG on for 2.5hrs overnight.)
CC=0 (no change)
PH=7.6 (no change)
TA=120 (no change)
CH=220 (dropped by 10 since last tested although about 1.5kg has been added since first tested)
CYA not tested
 
Keep adding that calcium- as I suggested before I would put in a couple of kg a day until you get it closer to the lower end of the recommended level for your pool- (also hopefully save on the reagents). So can you just clarify how much calcium carbonate you have added since your very 1st test. Also another thought worth mentioning- have you rechecked that you are running the CH test correctly. From what you mentioned in your original post you were using the 25ml sample- with means you should then be using 20 drops of R-0010, 5 drops of R-0011L and then multiplying the number of R-0012 drops by 10 is that right. Maybe try the 10ml sample for something different and see how that comes in.
 
I have added 3kg of CaCl2 since first tested on Saturday, 17 Oct 2015. I will add another 1kg today.
Yes, that is how I have been testing CH. I am using a 25ml water sample and then added 20 drops of R-0010, 5 drops of R-0011L and then multiplying the number of R-0012 drops by 10. I needed 22 drops last time I tested.

I will try the 10ml test and see how that goes.

Thanks
 
Tested just now
FC=6.5 (had cover on and the pump/SWG on for 2.5hrs overnight.)
CC=0 (no change)
PH=7.8 (gone up .2, may have something to do with the cover ?)
TA=125 (10ml test, no change)
CH=225 (10ml test, no change)
CYA=40 (no change)

How does having the solar cover on affect test results ?
do you think my CYA reading would be accurate now? It's been 7 days since I added 2kg of CYA, At the time I had no reading on the test. Add more ?
What would you suggest I concentrate now. Bring the PH a bit lower? I might try turning the dial down on the SWG tonight from 6 to 3 and see if getting the FC down will change PH.
Should I get some more MA in ? as I have only added 500ml off the 778ml first suggested by poolcalc
 
Hi Fgin, So this is what I would do now based on your recent numbers

-Use 950 mLs of MA to bring your Ph down to 7.2 and then let the PH drift back which will lower your TA. If you want to speed up the process, invert your return jets (turn them upside down)so that it provides aeration which will increase the PH quicker, and then you can repeat the process.
-Keep adding the calcium and retesting
-Add 1.5kg of stabiliser which should bring your CYA closer to recommended range- then retest in a weeks time
-Dial down the SWG slightly to bring down the FC a touch- your target should be around 5 but it's fine if it is a little higher, and provides some good insurance if your FC drops lower than than what you think
-The solar cover should protect your FC to some extent from the sunlight. It can affect PH if the cover is left on, but taking it off provides the outgassing that is required to keep Ph steady. It shouldn't affect your other parameters too much
 
I added another 500ml of MA yesterday.
had cover on and the main pump (filter/SWG) on for the past 24hrs. SWG chlorine generation setting was reduced to 4 bars. It was originally at 6 *.

Tested just now
FC=12.5 (gone up by 6)
CC=.5 (gone up from 0 which is a slight worry)
PH=7.8 (no change)
TA=125 (10ml test, no change)
CH=275 (10ml test, CH has gone up by 50 which is encouraging since I have added 4kg of CaCl2 since started testing 8 days ago.
CYA not tested (last test gave me 40)

Jezza you're spot on. I too feel the cover has a major effect on the PH. I'd like to have it on to keep the water temp up for swimming and keep the pool clean. How best to deal with it ?
This morning I stopped the main (filter/SWG) pump and switched on the solar heater pump to get the water temp up. But I still have the cover on.

I will add a more CYA and test again next weekend. I will keep adding the CaCl2 until I get to 400.

Just to recap what has been done so far.
First tested 8 days ago with the following results.

Since then, I have added
- CYA 2kg
- MA 1l
- CaCl2 4kg

Once the cover was off the FC was stable at about 5 - 6 and ph at about 7.4

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Once again thanks Jezza and the rest for all the help so far.



DATETIMEFCCCPHTACHCYASOLAR COVERSWG setting*MA (ml)CaCl2 (g)CYA (g)SWG change*SWG pump runtime (hrs) since last test
10-15-2015 09:49 PM120.2>8120210<30ON5-
10-17-2015 12:04 PM10>8120210<30OFF5500500200012
10-17-2015 07:15 PM307.4120--OFF610
10-18-2015 10:38 AM507.4120210-OFF65002.5
10-18-2015 09:16 PM507.611023040OFF60
10-19-2015 09:54 AM507.6110--OFF65002.5
10-19-2015 08:37 PM4.507.6---OFF60
10-20-2015 10:20 AM507.6120230-ON65002.5
10-21-2015 07:48 PM5.507.6120220-ON610002.5
10-23-2015 10:13 AM6.507.812522540ON62.5
10-24-2015 2:00 PM5001000-2
10-25-2015 10:13 AM12.507.8125275-ON424

*SWG chlorine output has a setting from 1- 8
 

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Hi Fgin. Good signs on the Ch. Just keep adding calcium pitching for the lower recommended level. By the way -great record keeping. It really helps. So your Fc has really climbed because you have been running your swg for 24 hours. Is there any reason for why you are running your pump for that long? Remember that your swg will produce chlorine relative to how much you have it dialled in As well as the pump run time. So now dial it to 0 and check what hour Fc is tomorrow. From your records your sweet spot is about 6 with pump running for 2.5 hours. Once you have this dialled inyou only need to adjust for warmer weather and bather load. Personally I like to run my pump for a minimum of 4 hours so adjust my on time for the swg to reflect this and maintain my fc at around target level. It seems that your ph is drifting higher probably because of the elevated TA. As mentioned before you can add 950mls of MA for your sized pool and it should bring your PH from 7.8 to 7.2. This will lower your TA and hopefully reduce the PH rise. Keep in mind the solar cover should be taken back just for a couple of hours a day to reduce the variations in Ph. You can also expect that it will reduce your normal FC loss as it is protecting your FC from sunlight.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh and I forgot to mention that the real benefit of the cover is to reduce the heat loss from the pool at night
 
Jezza said:
-The solar cover should protect your FC to some extent from the sunlight. It can affect PH if the cover is left on, but taking it off provides the outgassing that is required to keep Ph steady. It shouldn't affect your other parameters too much
Click to expand...

The affect on pH from a cover is the opposite of what you describe. Without a cover, the outgassing of carbon dioxide raises the pH (with no change in TA). Such outgassing is faster with higher TA, lower pH, and more aeration of the water. With a pool cover, the outgassing is virtually eliminated and normally this results in a more stable pH unless one is using net acidic chemicals.
 
Thanks for the clarification Chem Geek. I just realised when rereading how this contradicts the outgassing process, required without the cover on, notwithstanding how itl leads to higher ph, especially with higher levels of TA and aeration. Without detracting from the OPs thread, just wondering if you could confim that the reduction in my ph that i am experiencing is due to the consumption of chlorine, in the absense of outgassing with the cover regularly on.
 
Oh yes i see youve added the cya that is why your running the pump for 24 hours. Just remember that this will increase your Fc as you have witnessed and you just need to dial down youtr swg. Alternatively you could take your FC a little higher than your usual target and then dial it off-essentially doing what you are having to do know although maybe not quite as much as 12FC. LOL!
 
Jezza said:
Thanks for the clarification Chem Geek. I just realised when rereading how this contradicts the outgassing process, required without the cover on, notwithstanding how itl leads to higher ph, especially with higher levels of TA and aeration. Without detracting from the OPs thread, just wondering if you could confim that the reduction in my ph that i am experiencing is due to the consumption of chlorine, in the absense of outgassing with the cover regularly on.
Click to expand...

Normally when using a hypochlorite source of chlorine with the cover on the pH will be fairly stable. This is because the rise in pH from addition of the chlorine is exactly balanced by the acidity of chlorine upon usage/consumption. If your pH is dropping, then there is something acidic getting into your pool water. Net acidic chemicals include Dichlor, Trichlor, non-chlorine shock (MPS), and of course acid.
 
Some pools with covers have been seen to have the pH drop in spite of not adding anything obviously acidic. We don't know why. Covers do get slowly oxidized by chlorine, but if the FC level is being maintained then that acidic process should be compensated by the rise in pH when chlorine is added to raise the FC back up. It could be as you say that something in the cover when it breaks down is net acidic beyond standard chlorine oxidation of an organic. Covers are a very large surface area in contact with the water so can definitely affect water chemistry if they chemically react.
 
Tested just now. Cover has been on.
FC=12.5 (no change since last tested, I forgot to dial the SWG back which I have done today to 2 bars)
CC=0 (gone down from .5)
PH=7.8 (no change)
TA=125 (10ml test, no change)
CH=275 (10ml test, no change)
CYA not tested (last test gave me 40)

Beginning another round of adding CYA and CaCl2.
 
Keep at it Fgin- yes just dial that SWG back. Just keep on eye on that Ph- 7.8 is fine if it holds but you obviously don't want to go any higher. If you want to work on that TA, you can take the cover off add MA to lower to 7.2 as mentioned earlier and then aerate.
 

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