Pool chemistry help

[Texas Splash]

My system has been eating basically 1 puck a day. This is probably why my CYA is high. I do shock once a week.

This (pucks & powders) will become a problem. You must stop using pucks and powders that have stabilizer in them. Otherwise your CYA will continue to grow and you'll have to change water. The waterfall has nothing to do with the chemistry other than increasing your pH. Shop around for liquid chlorine and feed your pool liquid chlorine each day from now on. It has no CYA side effects.

 

[I Got This!!!!!!]

This (pucks & powders) will become a problem. You must stop using pucks and powders that have stabilizer in them. Otherwise your CYA will continue to grow and you'll have to change water. The waterfall has nothing to do with the chemistry other than increasing your pH. Shop around for liquid chlorine and feed your pool liquid chlorine each day from now on. It has no CYA side effects.

Today’s numbers….
I added 1 1/2 gallons of 7.1 bleach at 6am this morning. 3 hours later I had a reading of 4.4 FC and .2 CC.
I put 2 gallons of 31% MA later and waited 2 hours. Took readings again and now my FC 2.6 and CC .2. The PH IS 7.6 but the TA is 330. 45/50 cya.
What the heck happened to my FC??? Lol
And how do I get the TA down???
Thanks Lou

 

[Texas Splash]

So right now FC is your #1 priority to avoid algae. Don't sweat the TA, it will fall slowly and we can come back to that later. Since your last CYA was about 60, we know from the FC/CYA Levels your FC must be quite a bit higher. You are below the minimum FC again. No bueno. If you continue to let the FC drop you will get algae. Summer is prime time for that. So I would increase the FC to about 7-8 ppm then continue to maintain it around 6-8. Your pH is great at 7.6.

Be sure there are no pucks in use. That's old school stuff and they are increasing your CYA each day. You must have a steady supply of liquid chlorine to feed your pool each day.

 

[I Got This!!!!!!]

So right now FC is your #1 priority to avoid algae. Don't sweat the TA, it will fall slowly and we can come back to that later. Since your last CYA was about 60, we know from the FC/CYA Levels your FC must be quite a bit higher. You are below the minimum FC again. No bueno. If you continue to let the FC drop you will get algae. Summer is prime time for that. So I would increase the FC to about 7-8 ppm then continue to maintain it around 6-8. Your pH is great at 7.6.

Be sure there are no pucks in use. That's old school stuff and they are increasing your CYA each day. You must have a steady supply of liquid chlorine to feed your pool each day.

Thanks again Pat,
I’ll throw a gallon of bleach in , pool math states one gal will raise me 4 points.I’ll check back with tomorrow’s reading.

 

[I Got This!!!!!!]

Thanks again Pat,
I’ll throw a gallon of bleach in , pool math states one gal will raise me 4 points.I’ll check back with tomorrow’s reading.

Morning,
Well more confusion this morning…
As you know I put the 2 gallons of MA yesterday and got the ph to 7.6. Also put a gallon of 7.1 bleach last night because the FC dropped to 2.4.
This morning the FC is 6.6, CC .2, but the PH shot up again and took 6 drops of the 0005 to get the sample down to 7.6!!!!!

 

[MITBeta]

Something's not right. Either the pool is not mixed well when you're testing, you're not testing correctly, your reagents are bad, or you added something that increased the pH.

 

[I Got This!!!!!!]

Something's not right. Either the pool is not mixed well when you're testing, you're not testing correctly, your reagents are bad, or you added something that increased the pH.

I would have to agree but I tested with 3 different kits. I let the pool mix for about 4 hours with my vs950 pump on full speed. My flow meter was showing 90+ GPM.The only thing I can think is the TA is crazy high from the original mistake of too much baking powder. I added another gal of MA yesterday afternoon and that put the PH to 7.6 and the FC to 4.6. Im going to add a gal of 7.1 bleach this morning and see if the problem repeats itself.
Thanks Lou

 

[MITBeta]

What does your TA measure?

 

[I Got This!!!!!!]

TA yesterday was 300

 

[Texas Splash]

TA yesterday was 300

Yikes. That escalated quickly. Oh well, it's not the end of the world and it's still not your #1 priority. Maintaining the proper FC is to avoid algae, so be vigilant with your FC testing until you find some consistency,

As for the TA (and pH), focus on the ph. When the pH hits 8.0, use enough acid to lower the pH to about 7.2. That's all you have to do. Each time that happens it will lower the TA each time. Easy stuff.

 

[I Got This!!!!!!]

Yikes. That escalated quickly. Oh well, it's not the end of the world and it's still not your #1 priority. Maintaining the proper FC is to avoid algae, so be vigilant with your FC testing until you find some consistency,

As for the TA (and pH), focus on the ph. When the pH hits 8.0, use enough acid to lower the pH to about 7.2. That's all you have to do. Each time that happens it will lower the TA each time. Easy stuff.

Actually the TA has always been high, it was at the 500s in the beginning.
So I’m seeing a trend here where I’m adding bleach and MA a lot!!!!!
Any one know how much I need for the season??? Just so I know how much to buy in bulk to save money. Or is the high TA whats throwing off the results and stability?
I noticed when I add the MA to lower the PH, the TC takes a dive. So far it’s been every other day this has happened. This all with no swimmers in the pool.

 

[Texas Splash]

Any one know how much I need for the season?

Not really. Once you get the TA down a bit more you'll only need acid to control the pH. It will be much better at that point. Chlorine you will use everyday of teh season.

 

[I Got This!!!!!!]

Hey Guys,
I wanted to update and ask a few questions. First off, thank you for all your help !!!!!
I’ve been using pool bleach 10% from lowes. Dates on bleach has been from around March this year.
I’ve got my numbers stable by constantly testing and adjusting chemicals.
I’m going through about 1/2 gal on bleach a day.
Because of my cya of 55/60 pool math has a medium number of 7 for my Fc.
Ph has been a constant 7.8,
Ta is stable at 7.
Everything else is in limits and water is sparkling!!!! I’ve turned my chlorinator down to 1/2 of a mark (.5). The pucks that were in there are just about gone after several weeks.
So now for the questions………
Should i discontinue pucks all together???
It’s a big bucket and still pretty full…..
Maybe use the as a toilet cleaner one at a time in the water tank !!!!! Lol
Next is the 25 pound bucket of Leslie’s power plus 73 % non-stabilized cal hypo pool shock . Also pretty full. Can I use this in moderation daily like I use the bleach???? Is this the stuff that makes your water cloudy then I have to vacuum it all up ????
If so, I’ll try to sell it on Facebook!!!
Which leads to my last question. Being I care for the pool daily and my numbers are stable without shocking since the start of using bleach for almost a month or more, am I screwing something up??? Is it wrong to balance chemicals everyday?
Do I have to shock? If I do, how high should I bring the FC to?
Thanks again, Lou

 

[newdude]

The leftover chemicals last darn near forever if stored relatively cool/dry. They may come in handy down the road if your CYA/CH can use a boost along with the daily FC. Or they will sell like hot cakes on FB marketplace (etc)

You are NOT screwing up with daily dosing. You are doing a small amount of maintenance each time to save needing to over correct your inattentiveness by shocking at the end of the week. The definition of shock is a sudden, often violent change. The only reason to shock a person or a pool is if they were DOA.