Pool Company finished and said here you go... Help please

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L

Lokren

Active member
Apr 11, 2021
26
SE Virginia
Hi everyone,

First, I want to say I have tried to read as much as I could but its pretty overwhelming. So decided to make a post to help get right.

I had a 7.8k gallon fiberglass pool installed by river pools early winter. They closed it when they were done and opened it a couple weeks ago. They told me I have a detailed orientation on how to care for my pool. It really came down to just here is how to turn on your pump and change your filter. They vacuumed it and everything looks clear and doesn't smell like chlorine so I thought I was good but I started reading here and bought a Taylor k-2006c test kit just in case. It seems everything is out of whack or I messed up doing the tests.

Overview of Equipment:
River pools i30 - The install guy said he believes its around 7.8k gallons but I have not been able to confirm River pools I30
1 1⁄2 HP Supermax Variable Speed Pump
Pentair Cartridge Filter
Pentair Bioshield 80W UV system
XL Pro Mineral and Chlorine Feeder Combination Unit Pool Frog XL
Pentair 110kBTU Heater
Pentair Warrior SI robot

From reading on here it seems people really hate the Pool Frog XL systems and UV systems. I was convinced by the pool company that this is the easiest way to maintain my pool so I listened to them. Honestly, I just want to get my pool to a point where my family can use it all summer no matter the effort from me at this point.

Well here is what you guys want. I have either something weird going on with the chemistry or I messed this test up. I'll list the numbers then explain what I saw as I did them.

FC - <35PPM
CC - ~<40PPM
pH - >7
TA - Went straight to Red never was green
CH - 60 ppm
CYA- 45 (Edit forgot to put this in)

When I did the FC test after adding the DPD in it pretty much stayed clear but got kind of cloudy. I used the 10mL and 0.5 PPM calculation. I read a post on here saying that its possible that it maybe bleached and to add drops of the titrating reagent until it becomes pink. I did this and sure enough around 45-50 drops its started becoming pink. The post had also said I should keep going until it becomes clear again. Kept going through 70 drops and it started to clear up real light pink. but I just kind of gave up. That's why its listed as <35ppm. Also because my FC test was wonky I am sure my CC on is not very accurate.

On to the TA and the pH. The pH looked yellow when I followed the instructions and when I calculated the base demand it took 20 drops to get it around 7.6. I believe the pH is around 4.5 or lower based on another thread I read here stating that if my TA never goes green when I do the test and goes straight to red it means I have very low TA and pH.

So far all I have done is order some Soda ash to bring up the TA and pH and also Calcium Chloride to increase the CH. It will be a few days until all these arrives in the mail so hoping to retest mid-week.


What I need help with other then just please give me any advice; Should I turn off the XL pro chlorine Feeder and mineral paks until the FC and CC comes down? Should I just turn them off completely as I have seen suggested before? If I do where do I go from there? What about the UV sanitizer? Is it really doing me any good?

Thanks

Jon
 
Last edited:
Hi Jon :handwave:
Well, you've got a lot of questions and issues. I don't want to ramble but first things first-

I'm sorry to say your PB did you no favors selling you that expensive mineral system which is famous for causing stains in pools and green hair along with the unnecessary UV system. Is your pool indoors? If not you should get plenty of UV from the sun, Free of Charge!

So I take it you want to chlorinate with pucks??? Did you consider a Salt water chlorine generator?? Or using Liquid Chlorine? The reason I ask about this is that pucks contain about half and half chlorine and stabilizer. That stabilizer is called CYA, and it builds up in a pool to such a level that you need more chlorine alone to overcome a high level of CYA. So we try to avoid excess CYA getting in to our pools. We also follow a chart that tells us how much FC we need if we have X amount of CYA,
FC/CYA Levels

Folks at TFP *do* use pucks, but sparingly, such as on vacation or when they need more CYA and have the pucks handy. Important to note that if you choose to use pucks you should not use any Clorox Xtrablue products as they contain copper. Fiberglass pools have a propensity for particularly bad stains with metals.

Lets figure out your testing issues now:
Lets determine if you *have* FC first? Use the comparitor block that does the low level chlorine on the left and the pH test on the right. Fill the left side up to the line and add 5 drops of the reagent. Close and mix gently- What's it look like? Pictures welcome if you want confirmation. This test is rarely used as it doesn't give very accurate results and too low ones also- so we tend to only use that to confirm there *is* chlorine in the pool. People have been surprised at times.

I'll get back at you.... looking for testing help for you.

Maddie :flower:
 
Hi Maddie!

Thank you for responding. I just wanted to clarify what you wanting me to do. You want me to use the 9mL side correct? Also for the reagent are talking about the FAS-DPD Titrating reagent or the DPD Reagent. I tried it with the DPD Reagent and after 5 drops it stays clear. If it should be the other one I will do it again.

171860741_3579484208824635_8086663288582850680_n.jpg

Thanks,

Jon
 
@YippeeSkippy - I don't think the K2006C has the OTO chlorine test, only the FAS-DPD.

@Lokren - Jon, using a 10mL water sample, add a scoop of the DPD powder, and shake to mix. Sample should turn pink if you have chlorine. If sample doesn't turn pink there is no chlorine. If sample turns pink, add drops of R-0871 reagent, shaking between drops, and count the total number of drops until the water goes clear (no hint of pink). Divide the number of drops by 2 for the amount of FC. Add 5 drops of the R-0003, and shake. If sample turns pink, add drops of R-0871 counting the number of drops until it turns clear again. Divide the number of drops by 2, this is the amount of CC.

Taylor youtube video here...
.

--Jeff
 
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Turbo1Ton said:
@YippeeSkippy - I don't think the K2006C has the OTO chlorine test, only the FAS-DPD.

@Lokren - Jon, using a 10mL water sample, add a scoop of the DPD powder, and shake to mix. Sample should turn pink if you have chlorine. If sample doesn't turn pink there is no chlorine. If sample turns pink, add drops of R-0871 reagent, shaking between drops, and count the total number of drops until the water goes clear (no hint of pink). Divide the number of drops by 2 for the amount of FC. Add 5 drops of the R-0003, and shake. If sample turns pink, add drops of R-0871 counting the number of drops until it turns clear again. Divide the number of drops by 2, this is the amount of CC.

Taylor youtube video here...
.

--Jeff
Click to expand...

Note that Jeff's directions are for using a 10 ml sample so you divide the drops by 2 (or multiply by 0.5).

The Taylor video uses a 25 ml sample so you multiply the drips by 0.2.

Using a 10 ml sample rather then the 25 ml sample saved reagent and 0.5 accuracy is fine for your pool. We don't need 0.2 accuracy,
 
Well, Its pretty clear. So I am going to assume that my Pool Frog XL Pack is probably out or not working right. To answer Maddies question of do I want to use pucks. I do not care what I use right now. I just want to get the water right. I know after playing the money to get the pool installed and every small thing with the back yard I can not afford to change over to a SWG this year.
172268791_533528774304131_1028965651376340263_n.jpg
 
Yeah, that looks suspiciously like zero free chlorine. Check your chlorine puck device and see if its setting is open? Is there water in the chamber?
In the meantime while you figure this out I'd put half a gallon of *plain* bleach or liquid chlorine ($3,87 at Walmart in the pool section) to protect your pool while you investigate the problem.

Next please do a pH test and take a pic for us. :)

Ok??

Maddie 🖖
 
I actually have one these ready! I had to ask wife if I was crazy or if what I was seeing was under the 7 mark. Also I do not think this is a standard puck feeder. It has these custom packs I have to put into it. Any idea how to check this?

170312947_1681534782030631_622378026885360171_n.jpgUntitled.png
 
If that is pH , that is not good. Do your TA test and tell us what it shows.
You should remove the pacs from the Frog thing and leave them empty. It is best you not use it.
 

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mknauss said:
If that is pH , that is not good. Do your TA test and tell us what it shows.
You should remove the pacs from the Frog thing and leave them empty. It is best you not use it.
Click to expand...
When I did the TA test It went straight to Red and never was green. I explained what I saw in the original post.

Here is the recompleted test and the bottle that I used to perform the test. Came out the same color.

171680736_196368508736936_1175005794851844859_n.jpg
 
You have vinegar for pool water. It is slowly destroying your heater.
You need to add soda ash. Put 0 TA and a pH of 6.8 in Poolmath. Target a pH of 7.6 and see how much soda ash it tells you to add. Plan to do this several times to get your TA up and pH in the 7’s. Soda ash raises TA a lot so go slowly.
 
If you do the TA test and the sample turns red immediately upon addition of reagent R-0008, then the TA is zero, or below.

To get an idea of how low the TA is, use reagent R-0006 (base demand) to titrate the color from red to green. Multiply the number of drops by 6.3 to get how negative the TA is.

To check the FC, mix 4 parts distilled water to 1 part pool water and then test the mixed sample for fc and multiply by 5.

What did you get for the CYA?

If the CYA is over 100, mix 1 part distilled water to 1 part pool water and then test the mix for CYA.
 
My Soda ash came in the mail earlier today so I do not need to go out.

How much should I put in at a time? With the 6.8 pH and 0 TA it says I need 12 oz. I bought 10 lbs. Should I just put 12 oz. in right away or smaller amounts? I just dump in the pool?

Should I also bypass my heater for now?
 
JamesW said:
If you do the TA test and the sample turns red immediately upon addition of reagent R-0008, then the TA is zero, or below.

To get an idea of how low the TA is, use reagent R-0006 (base demand) to titrate the color from red to green. Multiply the number of drops by 6.3 to get how negative the TA is.

To check the FC, mix 4 parts distilled water to 1 part pool water and then test the mixed sample for fc and multiply by 5.

What did you get for the CYA?

If the CYA is over 100, mix 1 part distilled water to 1 part pool water and then test the mix for CYA.
Click to expand...
My CYA was 45. Forgot to put that in the original post sorry.
 

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