New pool and new pool owner! Check my math?

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WGpoolnewb said:
it seems to agree, within about 1000 gallons
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That's about as close as you'll ever be. As the water evaporates or gets a boost from rain, you will see +/- 2 inches which is about 1200 gallons for you from high to low. So any given day will be up or down 600 gallons from 'perfect' Even more if you don't catch it in time.
 
WGpoolnewb said:
I have the TF-Pro test kit with the salt add-on that ajw22 linked above. I also bought the standards so I could compare my testing against known standard solutions.
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This little guy was a life saver when I opened my new pool last year; takes a salt reading with no effort while I’m testing chlorine and TA:

eSeasonGear SALT-3050 Waterproof IP65 Meter, Digital Salinity PPM Temperature Tester for Salt Water Pool and Koi Fish Pond https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BXDTSX...t_i_SPS46J842MRGJ88Z8BGH?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I also use this for ph; has been spot on vs every manual test. With new plaster, you’ll be battling ph increase for a year before it settles at around 7.8. This will allow you to easily see where you are:

Wiztech Digital PH Meter with ATC: 3 in 1 PH TDS Temp - High Accuracy Pocket Size PH Tester 0.00-14.00 PH Measurement Range https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WV7HYW...t_i_SA2A4WYJ6N4DTFRBV9EZ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
 
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After being gone for 10 days, I'm back at it. Looks like the water has held up pretty well in my absence! My wife kept an eye on chlorine and pH, but didn't add anything to adjust. She noted no chlorine one day, so I tweaked a couple of settings remotely (SWG output and pump speed & schedule). She also added 80lbs salt, which looks to be right on target.

Today's logs:
FC: 4.5
CC: 0
pH: 8.4 (it's above the top color, so I entered 8.4 as an estimate/placeholder)
TA: 70
CH: 250
CYA: 40
Salt: 3000

This morning I'm going to add 32oz of muriatic acid, and retest in an hour to see where pH is. Is there anything else I should be concerned about? Should I keep working on raising my CYA at all?

Current pump and SWG:
5 hours @ 1875RPM
7 hours @ 1250RPM
SWG @ 45%
 
My current struggle revolves around my FC level... It's up a little, it's down a little. I did discover that I was not getting enough flow for my SWG about half the day, so I've corrected that. I was not always seeing "No Flow" errors even at low pump speeds, and I've now spent some time sorting out minimum speeds. For the time being, I'm just running the pump at 1875RPM for 16 hours a day, SWG @ 80%.

This morning's test results:
FC: 1 (3 days ago was 2.5)
CC: 0
pH: ~8
TA: 70
CH: 200
CYA: 40
Salt: 3000

I just feel like a step was missed starting up the pool. While the PB was "managing" the pool for the first 30 days, they would occasionally stop by and toss some tablets in the skimmer, or pour what seemed to be an arbitrary amount of MA in. After that, they added 320lbs of salt, and handed it over. In hindsight, I did not pay as much attention to the water chemistry as I thought I did at the time.

Here's what I'm thinking next steps should be. I'd love to get some feedback on them.
  • Tonight get the FC up to 3-4, and perform an OCLT
  • If OCLT results are good, work on raising CYA to 70, otherwise SLAM pool
  • Get FC to 5, and monitor level to dial in the SWG
Thoughts on this plan are appreciated.
 

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Did the OCLT last night/this morning, found a drop of 0.5 (FC of 5 at 11:39PM, FC4.5 7 hours later). CC is 0. That’s a pass as far as I know?

Time to work on the CYA?
 
WGpoolnewb said:
Did the OCLT last night/this morning, found a drop of 0.5 (FC of 5 at 11:39PM, FC4.5 7 hours later). CC is 0. That’s a pass as far as I know?
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As long as the final criteria (clear water) is good, then yes .... you passed! :goodjob: Now you can increase the CYA for your salt pool as required. Be sure to keep the FC maintained as noted on the FC/CYA Levels as you get the SWG dialed-in properly.
 
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WGpoolnewb said:
Looks crystal clear to me! Here’s the main drain cover down 6’:
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full
 
Feeling pretty good this week! Got my CYA up to 70, and the last two tests Monday and today had my FC at 3.5 & 4. A little MA will go in today, but seems like things are on track!

The other "ah ha!" moment I had recently was that the family has been running the spa a lot, which meant the SWG wasn't active. I've altered my schedule to have the pump run at 1750RPM 24/7 to accommodate.
 
I decided to check out the pool store today. Part curiosity, part because my PB claims I need their testing regularly for "warranty purposes". It was interesting to observe their methods. They looked to be using Taylor reagents, but that's where similarities ended. Everything was done very quickly, and with what looked to be low precision. For example, I meticulously count my reagent drops. The store employee let loose what looked to be a quick stream of reagents into beakers. pH color was checked inside in a darker corner of the store. And so on. I suppose for someone that has never done their own testing, it wouldn't seem unusual. I'm glad I took the time to check it out at least once. Besides, I'm sure I'll need to stop by and pick something up from them at some point in the future.

Oh, and when all their tests were complete? My results?
IMG_2323.jpg
Thank you very much!
 
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