Hello everyone, first post here and I apologize for the length. I've been having the local pool store do my chemical tests and I recently got the TF-PRO kit to start working on it myself. Some numbers are close and some are different so I'm not sure whose are right.
I posted them at the bottom. I have a 35,000 gallon plaster pool located in Houston, TX w/ full sun. Water temp is 93* even with the aeration from the spillover hot tub. 
I just did an ascorbic acid treatment to try and get rid of the staining in my pool but it was a no-go. My chlorine is at 0 and PH is at 7. My CYA is 40-70 depending on whose test is accurate (it was at 125 last week and I got it down after learning about it here). I did try rubbing a vitamin C tablet on the stain and didn't feel like it did anything but went ahead with the treatment anyway. I also filled a sock with citric acid before trying the AA and placing that on a spot and may or may not have had an effect but I wasn't sure enough.
I followed the AA treatment instructions and got my chemical levels where they needed to be and added 4 lb of AA around the perimeter of the pool and thrown some in the middle over the area of the stain. I waited about an hour with no change in the stain and tossed in the remaining 4 lb's of AA I had for a total of 8 lbs for 35k gallon pool. I'm sitting at 24 hours later of running the pump w/ no filters in and now I'm ready (I think) to add my filters and rebalance the chemicals even though it didn't work. The pool is very cloudy now and I can't see the bottom which I read is normal I am adding GLB sequa-sol today(it was all that was available locally and the online options wouldn't be here for a few days) and will wait another 24 hours like the bottle says before adding the rebalance chemicals.
I'm looking for advice on where to start and what numbers to believe. Notably I've mostly seen differences in my TA, CH, and CYA between my readings and the stores over the past few days. Today the biggest difference is on the CH and CYA.
Here are my numbers as of today:
TF-PRO test
FC-0, PH- 7(best guess I had on the color meter), TA 40, CH 175, CYA 70.
Pool store test using Taylor's sureTREAT
FC-0, PH- 6.9, TA 51, CH 300, CYA 40
I have lots of Sodium bicarb on hand and liquid chlorine. I know I need to bring up chlorine levels slowly. I'm thinking add 13.5 lbs of bicarb (1 costco bag), and about 1 gallon of liquid chlorine and going from there. Am I doing this correctly?
Should I try anything else for the stains before fixing my chemical levels?
My paradise (with large stain visible)
Prior to trearment
12 hours after treatment at night with pool light on
Cloudy 24 hours after treatment
I posted them at the bottom. I have a 35,000 gallon plaster pool located in Houston, TX w/ full sun. Water temp is 93* even with the aeration from the spillover hot tub. I just did an ascorbic acid treatment to try and get rid of the staining in my pool but it was a no-go. My chlorine is at 0 and PH is at 7. My CYA is 40-70 depending on whose test is accurate (it was at 125 last week and I got it down after learning about it here). I did try rubbing a vitamin C tablet on the stain and didn't feel like it did anything but went ahead with the treatment anyway. I also filled a sock with citric acid before trying the AA and placing that on a spot and may or may not have had an effect but I wasn't sure enough.
I followed the AA treatment instructions and got my chemical levels where they needed to be and added 4 lb of AA around the perimeter of the pool and thrown some in the middle over the area of the stain. I waited about an hour with no change in the stain and tossed in the remaining 4 lb's of AA I had for a total of 8 lbs for 35k gallon pool. I'm sitting at 24 hours later of running the pump w/ no filters in and now I'm ready (I think) to add my filters and rebalance the chemicals even though it didn't work. The pool is very cloudy now and I can't see the bottom which I read is normal I am adding GLB sequa-sol today(it was all that was available locally and the online options wouldn't be here for a few days) and will wait another 24 hours like the bottle says before adding the rebalance chemicals.
I'm looking for advice on where to start and what numbers to believe. Notably I've mostly seen differences in my TA, CH, and CYA between my readings and the stores over the past few days. Today the biggest difference is on the CH and CYA.
Here are my numbers as of today:
TF-PRO test
FC-0, PH- 7(best guess I had on the color meter), TA 40, CH 175, CYA 70.
Pool store test using Taylor's sureTREAT
FC-0, PH- 6.9, TA 51, CH 300, CYA 40
I have lots of Sodium bicarb on hand and liquid chlorine. I know I need to bring up chlorine levels slowly. I'm thinking add 13.5 lbs of bicarb (1 costco bag), and about 1 gallon of liquid chlorine and going from there. Am I doing this correctly?
Should I try anything else for the stains before fixing my chemical levels?
My paradise (with large stain visible)
Prior to trearment12 hours after treatment at night with pool light onCloudy 24 hours after treatment
Last edited:
Summer is a bad time to try an AA simply due to the possibility of getting algae when the FC is low, and it looks like you have algae. But first I would say yes, add some baking soda to get the TA up to about 60. That should help increase the pH on its own to 7.2 or perhaps slightly above. Your spillway will help as well. As for the chlorine, start increasing it. The sooner the better. Since Vitamin C and the AA did nothing, I suspect your staining is organic or possibly organic with scale. Increase the FC to about 5-6 ppm for now. Try to keep it steady in that area.
but at least you'll have crystal water. We can try a couple stain tricks later.
. It's just about looking like it did before I tried fixing the stains 
. Hopefully tonight I pass the OCLT. 
