Test results

[Cena_sea]

Hi. Need help figuring out what to do regarding test results from tft kit. Converted to salt two days ago from chlorine pucks (startup was chlorine). Thanks!

Salt machine reading is at 3000 PPM. Was at 2800 PPM the day salt was added (no additional salt added).
FC 8.5 and CC was .5 for Total Chlorine 9
CH 575
TA 150
CYA 55
PH looks to be high at 8.2

The water seems clear and looks clean but I am trying to figure out what issues I need to address. Thanks!

 

[Texas Splash]

Most immediate item would be to lower the pH with muriatic acid. Try to bring it down to about 7.6 - 7.8. You could also add about 10 -15 ppm more of stabilizer to take the CYA up to about 70. Other than that, you seem to be doing quite well.

One last thing ... what type of pool surface do you have? Update your signature please. If it's plaster, your CH is too low (250 min). If it's FG or vinyl all is good.

 

[Cena_sea]

Hi. Thank you! It is plaster. My CH was too low because I did the math wrong. Its 575. I multiplied by 5 not 25 (duh!). Now it's probably too high. I will try to find muriatic acid and stabilizer.

The test kit stirrer was so helpful. CYA might be 55 or 60--that's probably the hardest for me to judge. I am nervous being in this transitional period to salt so I'm grateful for the help on this site.

 

[Texas Splash]

Gotcha. With a CH on the upper end of the scale (still manageable), you'll just need to watch the pH and TA closely to ensure they don't go too high which could result in scale. Be sure to use the PoolMath APP so you can see your "CSI" results. Try to keep the CSI at neutral/zero or slightly below. The quickest and easiest way to do that is by lowering the pH.

With each acid application, you should find the TA slowly getting lower which is a good thing for you. Your TA can afford to go down as far as about 50-60 before you have to raise it again. Just don't let it drop below 50.

 

[Cena_sea]

Hi. Need guidance. Second time testing (9-2) fc was 8.5 and cc .5 (one drop). Filter and swg set for 5 hours daytime (swg set at 50%).

I tested yesterday. Yesterday early morning there was light rain and wind. Weather sunny and hot (90s) rest of the day. Dirt clumps from incomplete landscaping next to pool ended up in deep end and I noticed it as kids and dog were swimming around 5pm. I brushed and ran vacuum. I then tested as kids were swimming.

FC was 4. Cc 0. I was like uh oh. I tested salt and machine says 2900 ppm but my test from tfpro salt was 2600.

I did not run swg afterwards and I do not have any liquid chlorine. Tested this morning (10am) and fc is now 3 with cc 0. I need to add liquid chlorine or increase swg? Between the 4 drop to 3 I didn’t add anything or turn on swg. Cya was 65 or 70 (did twice in a row).

Only good news is my ph is 7.8 based on color though ta is still 150.

 

[Texas Splash]

I need to add liquid chlorine or increase swg?

Both. Add some liquid chlorine (or regular bleach) right away with a goal of about 6-8 ppm. Then increase your SWG output or pump run time so that you can produce more chlorine throughout the day. Five hours isn't much time because remember a cell actually produces chlorine in cycles. Like 90 minutes on then rests for an hour or two.

 

[Cena_sea]

Also I think builder is nervous about me trying to do maintenance on my own (or semi own). So am I. Ha ha. He did say if salt dropped to 2700 ppm to add a bag. So I am thinking to add salt?

 

[Texas Splash]

So I am thinking to add salt?

Sure. 2700 does seem low. Be sure to add your SWG and other pool equipment info to your signature so we can see everything.

 

[Cena_sea]

Both. Add some liquid chlorine (or regular bleach) right away with a goal of about 6-8 ppm. Then increase your SWG output or pump run time so that you can produce more chlorine throughout the day. Five hours isn't much time because remember a cell actually produces chlorine in cycles. Like 90 minutes on then rests for an hour or two.

Thank you! Going to hardware store as my next stop. And never mind on pucks. Found liquid.

 

[TexEdmond]

Good on you for taking ownership of your pool.

Also I think builder is nervous about me trying to do maintenance on my own (or semi own).

Tell us more about this? Is it new plaster? Does your builder have a recommendation for transferring maintenance to a third party, or do they intend to keep up the maintenance and are concerned about cashflow?

Your name is at the top of the checks, and your signature is at the bottom. It's your pool, so take everything anyone selling you something says with a grain of salt (pun intended). Now that you've got SWG, your regular maintenance and testing needs are going to decrease significantly. Why pay someone else?

CYA 55

CYA is measured on a logarithmic scale, so if you lost the dot between 50 and 60, round up to 60. Makes things way easier on a test that's hard enough anyway.

+1 on updating your profile / signature, that helps a ton. Also consider linking the PoolMath (paid version) app with your profile here so we can see your test history and you won't have to waste time entering it in every time.

 

[Cena_sea]

Good on you for taking ownership of your pool.

Tell us more about this? Is it new plaster?

Yes new plaster. Pebble. Going into it was always the plan to have a pool service. Never would’ve thought about trying to maintain a pool until finding this site. I told the builder early in the process I knew nothing except I wanted only salt (and no chlorine or chemicals—-ha ha ha) but friends and this site have been so encouraging to try. He did say it’s easy once you know what to do but I also never mentioned this community or help. (Thank you by the way!)

I am still strongly considering a pool service and did contact a few for quotes. I also finally had a discussion with the maintenance pool guy last week (last visit) just as he was packing up. Was glad to see his testing kit was drop test chemicals and not strips. I mentioned the 50% salt and he said he usually recommends 60-80%. I discussed the high ph on my test but he said his was lower and was in normal range but he offered to retest for me but I declined (I didn’t tell him I’d put in ma days prior).

I asked about brush recommendations and he said a half poly something half steel brush because of the glass pebble. He told me it would make the glass shine. I asked him in shock that he noticed there was glass in the pebble and he said yes he noticed. So I basically felt like he was detailed orientated enough for me.

 

[TexEdmond]

I've got zero experience with new plaster pools, but I've heard there's some important chemistry considerations while it's curing. There's tons of good advice here for new pools and making sure they're broken in properly. Be careful with overpouring acid and swinging pH at this point while it's still fragile.

Understand that whether it's you or someone else checking and dosing chems, you can really get lost chasing the "popular professional opinion" and if somebody else is telling you what to do (and making money off that), things can get out of hand really quickly. If you've already got your daily chlorine dosing controlled with the SWG, now you're really looking at a short list of maintenance and chem addition... If you're paying a pool service a couple hundred bucks a month to stop by and brush the pool, you might consider just buying a decent $800-ish robot that'll pay for itself in a half a season. We use ours all the dang time and it's worth its weight in gold. Now that my SWG is dialed in and I've got a basic understanding of my pool's muriatic acid needs, my pool maintenance is measured in minutes per week. I dump and wash the robot's filters every few days, put a little bit of acid in every day (your chems might vary), and do my drop tests, which I've actually come to enjoy. Not much of it feels like a chore, whereas when I first got started it was pretty nerve-wracking. If we decide to buy an automatic acid dosing system, the pool will really be almost 100% hands-off.

If you're set on hiring a service company, I'd urge you to have a very clear conversation about 1.) who the owner of the pool is and who's writing the checks, and 2.) Very specifically what your desires are for them doing and adding to your pool in order to receive said checks.