Newbie needs guidance (Just received TF-100 kit)

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lmhardgrave

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Mar 20, 2017
41
Sachse/Texas
Hi guys, So I finally have a proper kit as of today for testing my water. My pool builders final words about water quality were "take a sample to Leslie's they will tell you what it needs." :thumbdown:

Here are my results from my first two tests, I did these back to back to see how close they would be. I only did the CYA once but actually felt pretty good about it.

Test 1:
PH - 7.2
Chlorine - 2.0
CC - 0.5
CH - 675
TA - 40
CYA - 30

Test 2:
PH - 7.2
Chlorine - 1.5
CC - 0.5
CH - 575 (I went a little slower on this one compared to the first, I feel like this is more accurate)
TA - 50
CYA - 30 (from test 1)

So what do I need to do at this point? How do those numbers look?

I am having trouble keeping the chlorine up, I have the SWCG set at 80 percent and run the pump about 13 hours per day.

Thanks, Lane
 
Your FC target should be 4-6 per your CYA (see chart) 2 is the minimum and 1.5 is too low, add chlorine or bleach to get to your target per pool math

- - - Updated - - -

lmhardgrave said:
My pool builders final words about water quality were "take a sample to Leslie's they will tell you what it needs." :thumbdown:
Click to expand...

These words are true, if you test at the pool store they will most certainly tell you what your pool needs, the issue is that it's not really what your pool needs, Great choice on test kit
 
BasicTek said:
Your FC target should be 4-6 per your CYA (see chart) 2 is the minimum and 1.5 is too low, add chlorine or bleach to get to your target per pool math
Click to expand...

Thanks for replying. I will grab some bleach to raise the FC. Should I add stabilizer to raise the CYA? The chart looks like I should be at 70 or 80 for salt water?

Also, I tested the salt and it is 2870. I think that is a bit low also according to Pool Math..
 
What size is the SWG?

I recommend you do an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test to determine if you have organics in the pool, 'consuming' the FC.

Give the pool a good brushing. Make sure your FC is at your daily target per your CYA, shut off the SWG at sunset and take a FC reading. Leave the pump running (but SWG off) overnight. In the morning before the sun is up and on the pool, take another FC reading. If you lost more than 1ppm overnight you should SLAM Process the pool using liquid chlorine, aka bleach.
 
domct203 said:
What size is the SWG?

I recommend you do an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test to determine if you have organics in the pool, 'consuming' the FC.

Give the pool a good brushing. Make sure your FC is at your daily target per your CYA, shut off the SWG at sunset and take a FC reading. Leave the pump running (but SWG off) overnight. In the morning before the sun is up and on the pool, take another FC reading. If you lost more than 1ppm overnight you should SLAM Process the pool using liquid chlorine, aka bleach.
Click to expand...

SWG is Pentair IC20.

I will do the Overnight test tonight..
 
What I wrote down for a plaster pool is CH of 350-450; TA of 70-80 and CYA 70-80. pH of 7.5-8 You can look at the chart provided and see what you need for a Saltwater pool. Get that dry stabilizer not the liquid stuff. Put it in a sock and stick it in your skimmer basket and let it dissolve or hang it with a rock or something on the side of your pool.
 
DMS2014 said:
What I wrote down for a plaster pool is CH of 350-450; TA of 70-80 and CYA 70-80. pH of 7.5-8 You can look at the chart provided and see what you need for a Saltwater pool. Get that dry stabilizer not the liquid stuff. Put it in a sock and stick it in your skimmer basket and let it dissolve or hang it with a rock or something on the side of your pool.
Click to expand...

I need to go get the stabilizer. But, I like the sock idea.
 
Don't let the sock full of CYA lay directly against your new finish- its acidic and can mar it. Hang the sock over the edge off of a broomstick or something so that its free floating in front of a water return. That will help speed it up dissolving.

Maddie :flower:
 
Quick update. I entered all my numbers into Pool Math. I added bleach, baking soda, and i have socks of stabilizer dissolving. I followed all the suggestions for pool math. I hope this gets me to some better numbers.

Question, With the salt test strips I am showing 2800 ppm, and pool math says to add 39 lbs, but the salt cell has a green light for salt level.

Should I trust the strip and add 1 bag or trust the green light on the salt cell?

Lane
 

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Never trust a "Guess Strip" if you're going to make large changes based on the strip's results. They're far too inaccurate.

If your cell is happy and making chlorine- leave it alone!! Don't do a thing until it decides its unhappy.

Get a salt test kit (Taylor K-1766) and use that a couple times per year to monitor your salt level.

Maddie :flower:
 
Good Morning TFP! I completed the overnight chlorine loss test and I am happy to say I did not lose any chlorine. It was 4 ppm at dark and it was 4 ppm again this morning. I have tested everything again after all the additions yesterday and here are the results:

FC: 4
CC: 0.5
CH: 550
TA: 80
CYA: 50
PH: 7.5
Temp: 79.3

My TA has come up to the suggested goal. I still have stabilizer dissolving in a sock so I expect the CYA to come up some more also.

My CH is high and it says I need to replace 18% of the pool water to lower, is it high enough to worry about?

Thanks for the guidance so far!
Lane
 
Manage your CSI to 0 to -0.6. Your SWCG will stay scale free that way. Means you will need to monitor and manage your pH, and most likely you will need to push your TA lower as time goes on.

Will your CH rise naturally due to fill water or was this CH due to adding cal-hypo in the past?

Take care.
 
mknauss said:
Manage your CSI to 0 to -0.6. Your SWCG will stay scale free that way. Means you will need to monitor and manage your pH, and most likely you will need to push your TA lower as time goes on.

Will your CH rise naturally due to fill water or was this CH due to adding cal-hypo in the past?

Take care.
Click to expand...

I don't know what cal-hypo is? I just started taking care of the pool myself. But, as best I can remember the pool builder only added, granulated chlorine(for the first 30 days), Muriatic Acid, stabilizer, and baking soda, and finally the salt.

So, I am guessing my CH is from the fill water. I will check my tap water and see what I get...

Edit: My tap water CH is 250. So something has pushed the pool water CH up to 550...
 
You could give yourself some breathing room by lowering to 450 if you want, but it's not a big deal if you keep an eye on your pH like Marty suggested.

Cal-Hypo is Calcium Hypochlorite, a (usually) powdered form of chlorine marketed as "shock". It raises CH along with FC. CH and CYA are like chili powder, easy to add, difficult to remove.
 
Mr Bruce said:
You could give yourself some breathing room by lowering to 450 if you want, but it's not a big deal if you keep an eye on your pH like Marty suggested.

Cal-Hypo is Calcium Hypochlorite, a (usually) powdered form of chlorine marketed as "shock". It raises CH along with FC. CH and CYA are like chili powder, easy to add, difficult to remove.
Click to expand...

I love the chili powder reference! That is so true. :D

I think for now I will just keep an eye on my PH.

Thanks!
 
I need a little more guidance.

My numbers have changed a bit this morning. They are:

FC - 3.5
CC - 0.5
PH - 7.2
TA - 70
CH - 425
CYA - 60

My CH and CYA dropped I think because we had 8 kids swimming on Saturday and lost a good bit of water from splashing. I had to refill for about an hour to gain back the inch or so we lost.

I am concerned about the chlorine level though. It was between 4-5 Saturday and Sunday when I checked. But dropped to 3.5 today. I had the SWCG set to 100% last week when I realized how low my CH was and I added the bleach recommended by pool math.. It is saying again today to add bleach.. Is it normal to add bleach with the SWCG? I thought it was supposed to take care of that for me...

Edit - Would not having enough salt be a factor? The salt cell has a green light for salt, but with the test strips it started at 2870 and today it was lower at 2430. I know the stips aren't the most accurate.
 
How long are you running the pump each day? Back of the napkin math says you'd have to run it 16 hours per day to keep up.

It is normal to have to supplement a SWG from time to time, but not often. Bring FC up to say 8, set pump to 16 hour run-time and go from there. I would bump the CYA back up to 70 too.

e: Nice of the kids to help you get your CH down :)
 
Your IC20 can generate .7 lbs of chlorine a day with 14K pool that equates to 6 FC per 24 hours. If you are only running 8 hours that drops to 2FC, You can use the pool calculator spreadsheet to calculate. Typical FC loss per day is 2-4 and that would mean your SWG should be able to create that in 8-16 hours, higher CYA will usually reduce the FC loss a little so you don't need to run your SWG as much. Also to note with IC20 for 14K pool you are running a SWG below minimum recommendations at TFP. They recommend sizing your SWG at 2x -3X so IC40 would be better in the future...
 
Thanks for the quick reply. I have it running 14 hours right now. I will bump it up to 16 hours. Any advice on the speed it should run at? Does a higher speed make a difference to the salt cell?

I will also bump the CYA back up.. At least the water loss lowered the CH! :D
 

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