First TF-100 Tests - Results and Questions on Plan - Update: Resolution and pics!
- Thread starter SQLGeek
- Start date
OK, I will give it a look and see. And then explain to my wife why I'm unplugging the new piece of equipment that was installed with the pool.
Because builders only know the kickbacks that they get from the manufacturers and typically know bupkiss about maintaining the pools they built.
- Feb 6, 2015
- 6,072
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Post a pic of the UV unit and also of where the electrical line runs (where the end furthest away from the UV unit terminates). Chances are it's hardwired into your timer or automation. Either way, it's pretty easy to disconnect - so your pics will help us determine what you may need to do to safely disconnect it.
UV Unit (excuse the weeds, landscaping will happen soon)
Connection to automation panel, which is a Pentair Easy Touch. Lines were a little difficult to trace and I was a little pushed for time but pretty sure the red arrow is where it comes in. I will double and triple check before doing anything.
Just tested FC again.
FC - 2.0
CC - 0
So I lost about 4.5 FC in 10 hours.
Going to add more LC. Haven’t had a chance to add CYA yet. Dang schedule.
FC - 2.0
CC - 0
So I lost about 4.5 FC in 10 hours.
Going to add more LC. Haven’t had a chance to add CYA yet. Dang schedule.
- Feb 6, 2015
- 6,072
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
How comfortable are you around electricity? If not comfortable, pay someone to do it for you.
That being said, shut off all power to the EasyTouch and pool at the main breaker panel. Open the EasyTouch and trace the UV wires to their termination. Disconnect the wires for the UV at their termination point, wire nut the ends of the wires and tuck the wires out of the way. Put any removed panels back on and repower the EasyTouch.
Once again, if you aren't familiar with electricity, have someone who is do this for you. Safety first.
That being said, shut off all power to the EasyTouch and pool at the main breaker panel. Open the EasyTouch and trace the UV wires to their termination. Disconnect the wires for the UV at their termination point, wire nut the ends of the wires and tuck the wires out of the way. Put any removed panels back on and repower the EasyTouch.
Once again, if you aren't familiar with electricity, have someone who is do this for you. Safety first.
I tested FC last night at 8:45 PM and it was 5.0.
Tested this morning at 6:54 AM:
FC - 4.0
CC - 0
pH - 7.8
TA - 90
pH keeps creeping up as expected with a new plaster pool. What I find amusing is that TA keeps coming back to 90. Will add more acid today to bring back toward 7.2.
So I lost 1 ppm overnight in about 10 hours.
I made sure the high speed pump ran for 30 min prior to each test. The UV light shut off at 2 AM when the pool schedule ended for the day.
It seems I am within passing criteria for the OCLT but still losing a lot of chlorine in a day. I'm guessing this is due to the low CYA level.
I added enough LC this morning to bring me up to 8 ppm which is over the recommended max but lower than SLAM. I will do my best to figure out adding CYA today.
Quite comfortable. Thank you for the info, that is pretty simple.
Tested this morning at 6:54 AM:
FC - 4.0
CC - 0
pH - 7.8
TA - 90
pH keeps creeping up as expected with a new plaster pool. What I find amusing is that TA keeps coming back to 90. Will add more acid today to bring back toward 7.2.
So I lost 1 ppm overnight in about 10 hours.
I made sure the high speed pump ran for 30 min prior to each test. The UV light shut off at 2 AM when the pool schedule ended for the day.
It seems I am within passing criteria for the OCLT but still losing a lot of chlorine in a day. I'm guessing this is due to the low CYA level.
I added enough LC this morning to bring me up to 8 ppm which is over the recommended max but lower than SLAM. I will do my best to figure out adding CYA today.
Quite comfortable. Thank you for the info, that is pretty simple.
You already have a bucket of tabs, and you need CYA, so have you considered using some 3in tabs now?
Too much use of Tri-chlor (typical 3in tabs) is disastrous and results in way too much CYA. I learned that the hard way with CYA at 164 ppm back in March, before I found TFP and had to do a massive drain/re-fill to remedy that situation.
However, if you put 3 or possibly even more 3in TriChlor tabs in your skimmer basket and program your VSF pump to run 24/7 they will be dissolved in 2 to 3 days. In my case, they keep FC and pH right in line while they are dissolving. Of course, your situation may be different with new plaster, so do keep testing regularly if you do try this. Full disclosure: it's normally a horrible practice to put tabs in one's skimmer basket because they will dissolve and send an uber high CL and highly acidic plug through your equipment when you start your pump. However, I'm not concerned about having them in my skimmer basket with my pump running 24/7. During these hot, summer months, I am running my pump at 30 GPM during sunlight hours and 20GPM for the balance of the day.
Other comments:
a) Welcome to TFP, you're sure fortunate to have this resource sooner rather than later.
b) There's lots of yo-yo to treating pool water, so don't treat abruptly. What I'm talking about here is just a few months back, I might add quite a bit of MA like you mention you did (in this thread), but treating more slowly and testing often (as you already are) is definitely more rewarding and probably less expensive in the long run.
c) Matt here (aka JoyfulNoise) is a real water genius and he's running 70 ppm CYA. I'm currently increasing my CYA level from 40 to 50, but I may consider going higher at some point. It's complicated, but for some complex reason sunlight seems to eat FC more slowly with higher CYA. And, we have zero shade on our relatively shallow pool and spa.
d) You want to store your LC preferably in a cool place, but I learned the hard way, as others have noted here, to not keep it near any metal or powder coated aluminum furniture. The small amount of escaping chlorine gas can definitely do so dirty damage to anything metal.
e) I currently use LC and have no interest in moving to - the ever so popular practice here - of using salt and a chlorine generator cell. When I have to drain my pool due to the amazing amount of rain we get here in Houston, that water is going onto our yard or into a green belt behind our home and I'd prefer to not have any salt in our water for that reason alone.
f) Keep your 3in tabs for when you are on vacation. We put them in zip lock bags on our back porch and have the neighbor that waters our plants simply dump them into our skimmer basket on a schedule appropriate for the time of the year and how long we will be gone.
g) Saving the best for last, you will likely tire of having to add LC daily. Like some other fellow TFP members here in the Houston area that are using liquid chlorine, I've purchased a Stenner pump and will be automating my LC dosing.
Cheers,
Jim
Jim-
Thanks for your thoughtful comments. It's good to see another Houstonian here.
I have, yes, but they have seemed to dissolve so slowly in the Chlorine dispenser, even when set to 5, that they seem practically worthless. My pool builder said to use 3 at a time, and if Chlorine was insufficient at the highest setting, to run the high speed mode for longer. That wasn't working either which got me looking at TFP.
I could see that putting the tabs in the skimmer or a floater could potentially be more consistent in dissolving. Of course, for the reasons you mentioned, I have shied away from putting pucks into the skimmer baskets. My pool is configured to not run from 2 am to 8 am so I would need to revisit the schedule to ensure the pump is running 24/7 and still getting adequate turnover.
Since I need CYA anyway, I might try pucks in the chlorinator again supplemented with liquid and then monitor pH, FC and CYA closely as I have been.
I do wish we had gone with the SWG but the two builders we talked to said they wouldn't do them. Seems that is common with Texas builders for some reason.
Right this second, I'd be happy with having to add LC just once a day.
Thanks for your thoughtful comments. It's good to see another Houstonian here.
I have, yes, but they have seemed to dissolve so slowly in the Chlorine dispenser, even when set to 5, that they seem practically worthless. My pool builder said to use 3 at a time, and if Chlorine was insufficient at the highest setting, to run the high speed mode for longer. That wasn't working either which got me looking at TFP.
I could see that putting the tabs in the skimmer or a floater could potentially be more consistent in dissolving. Of course, for the reasons you mentioned, I have shied away from putting pucks into the skimmer baskets. My pool is configured to not run from 2 am to 8 am so I would need to revisit the schedule to ensure the pump is running 24/7 and still getting adequate turnover.
Since I need CYA anyway, I might try pucks in the chlorinator again supplemented with liquid and then monitor pH, FC and CYA closely as I have been.
I do wish we had gone with the SWG but the two builders we talked to said they wouldn't do them. Seems that is common with Texas builders for some reason.
Right this second, I'd be happy with having to add LC just once a day.
FC test this afternoon was 2.5. So I lost 5.5 FC today between the rain we had and sun and swimming or I didn’t get it up to 8.0.
Sigh.
Will add chlorine tonight and then check FC and do another OCLT to see if I’m really passing it.
I’ll try to rig up some dangling socks in front of a return. At this point I might have been money ahead to just throw a sock full in a skimmer. My schedule has not been cooperating.
Just picked up another 2.5 gallon jug of chlorine.
Appreciate everyone giving advice. I’m a little frustrated right now but I know I will get there.
Sigh.
Will add chlorine tonight and then check FC and do another OCLT to see if I’m really passing it.
I’ll try to rig up some dangling socks in front of a return. At this point I might have been money ahead to just throw a sock full in a skimmer. My schedule has not been cooperating.
Just picked up another 2.5 gallon jug of chlorine.
Appreciate everyone giving advice. I’m a little frustrated right now but I know I will get there.
Stay the course. You got this. Life gets busy for all of us, do the best you can.
We’ll ride with you every step of the way.
Thank you! The good news is the water is clear and the wife and kids are swimming happy. I may be adding chlorine twice a day and buying a bunch of it right now but life could be much worse.
Pics or it didn’t happen. Sorry but these are widely accepted internet rules, across the world. I do not get to make the rules.
Pics to come. I have been holding off because it looks bad without the landscaping done. I’ll try to snag a decent one tomorrow.
Went out to test for the night. FC is 6.5 so I’m hitting my target with LC. Of course it’s pouring now so I’ll be curious to see what tomorrow morning shows.
I used the Speed Stir for the first time tonight. Man that thing is cool! Well worth the money.
Went out to test for the night. FC is 6.5 so I’m hitting my target with LC. Of course it’s pouring now so I’ll be curious to see what tomorrow morning shows.
I used the Speed Stir for the first time tonight. Man that thing is cool! Well worth the money.
Blank slates are beautiful too. Might spawn some cool ideas from folks. Just sayin.
Tested this morning:
FC - 5.5
CC - 0
Well at least CC is holding steady at 0. Had the same observed drop of 1 in FC overnight. I did not add chlorine this morning.I'm going to experiment with how long it will hold during the day and will test this afternoon to ensure I don't dip below minimum FC level. It'd be nice to be only adding LC once a day!
FC - 5.5
CC - 0
Well at least CC is holding steady at 0. Had the same observed drop of 1 in FC overnight. I did not add chlorine this morning.I'm going to experiment with how long it will hold during the day and will test this afternoon to ensure I don't dip below minimum FC level. It'd be nice to be only adding LC once a day!
Well I've been at it about two weeks now and gotten into a cadence of testing twice a day, once before sunrise and once in the evening when the sun is down. So in effect I'm doing an OCLT every day. So far I haven't seen a drop of more than 1 ppm of FC overnight.
I'm adding LC once a day in the morning and that seems to work well.
Thank you all for the advice! I think I'm slowly starting to get the hang of it.
I'm adding LC once a day in the morning and that seems to work well.
Thank you all for the advice! I think I'm slowly starting to get the hang of it.
I finally have the pool clean and Sundek repainted so I snagged some pictures. Excuse the bucket from the bucket test and landscaping still a WIP.
Way to go !!!!!
you cannot test too much while you learn. Sure you’ll blow through some reagents but after XX tests……. You get it. Whether you do that many tests in a short time, or over a longer time is up to you. Either way you get there and it sounds like that train has pulled into the station. Bravo SQL !!!