Need help with pool water test results

[NCleavelin]

I’m unfortunately overdue on my monthly backwash (cleaned the filter about 2 months ago but haven’t backwashed)

Should I backwash tonight and add DE & then fix the chemicals tomorrow? Don’t have time tonight to do all chemicals

—-TA is 50 I think (no more than 60 per my test tonight)
—-Chlorine is 0 - didn’t turn pink at all
—-pH is 8.2
—-CYA is 30 I think (I’m always terrible at this one)

Also I know I need to do SLAM to keep my chlorine better in check but can’t remember what I should do first (overnight test etc) to see why my chlorine isn’t sticking (test to see if I have ammonia etc)

 

[YippeeSkippy]

I'd skip the backwash and use that time to get some Liquid Chlorine in there instead!!! You're inviting algae to a rage and the DJ is rocking.

Why are you routinely backwashing? We only backwash filters when the pressure gauge goes up 20-25% higher than the clean pressure of the pump after the last backwash.

Don't worry about TA until we figure out why your pH is so high at this point? Do you have spa overspills or fountains running constantly?? What I don't want to have happen is you dropping your pH with MA, and have your TA bottom out. Sooooo take the pH down to 7.8 (using PoolMath) and re-test. If it hit your mark of 7.8 retest your TA and if lower than 50ppm raise it to 70 using Baking Soda (nothing else) and let mix in well and retest. Then you can drop the pH again using MA to 7.6.

Retest that CYA outside, sun to your back and vial held waist high. If lower than 30, add 10ppm CYA. When looking at the vial's dot just *glance* at it and away. Don't stare looking for it

IF something not clear, please holler back...ok?

Maddie

 

[NCleavelin]

I'd skip the backwash and use that time to get some Liquid Chlorine in there instead!!! You're inviting algae to a rage and the DJ is rocking.

Why are you routinely backwashing? We only backwash filters when the pressure gauge goes up 20-25% higher than the clean pressure of the pump after the last backwash.

Don't worry about TA until we figure out why your pH is so high at this point? Do you have spa overspills or fountains running constantly?? What I don't want to have happen is you dropping your pH with MA, and have your TA bottom out. Sooooo take the pH down to 7.8 (using PoolMath) and re-test. If it hit your mark of 7.8 retest your TA and if lower than 50ppm raise it to 70 using Baking Soda (nothing else) and let mix in well and retest. Then you can drop the pH again using MA to 7.6.

Retest that CYA outside, sun to your back and vial held waist high. If lower than 30, add 10ppm CYA. When looking at the vial's dot just *glance* at it and away. Don't stare looking for it

IF something not clear, please holler back...ok?

Maddie

Thanks! I’ll add liquid chlorine tonight and retest tomorrow

Yes I do have a spa spillover running when my pump runs (8 PM - 5 AM), along with some sprayers I bought to hook up to my return lines to aerate and help keep the pool cooler (has helped a lot here in TX - doesn’t feel like a warm bath anymore)

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Those are what's making your pH go so high. Cut the spillover down to just a few minutes of run per day for now. Just enough per day to allow fresh chlorinated water to enter the lines there.
How many and type of sprays are you using, and do they help? Got a pic??

 

[NCleavelin]

Those are what's making your pH go so high. Cut the spillover down to just a few minutes of run per day for now. Just enough per day to allow fresh chlorinated water to enter the lines there.
How many and type of sprays are you using, and do they help? Got a pic??

I’ll have to figure out how to schedule the spillover to just be a few min per day right now…right now it runs when the pump is on (see pics for the control system and app I use…I’ll have to Google how to schedule the water feature)

Below is a picture of the sprayers - they do seem to help lower the pool temp…I got them from KoolYourPool.com. I’m sure there are cheaper options but I liked those and they work well

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Ok.... knowing your fountain is necessary at this time.... spa spillover can be ignored too then.... lets treat that low TA with Baking Soda, and then hit it with Muriatic Acid to lower the pH. Just add the Baking Soda that PoolMath says will get you to 70ppm, and mix in. Then then add the muriatic acid to get to 7.8 pH. And then using PoolMath take the pH from 7.8 down to 7.4. Baby steps.

You'll just monitor how the fountain raises the pH and everytime it goes to 8, take it down again.

Can you do this?

 

[NCleavelin]

Ok.... knowing your fountain is necessary at this time.... spa spillover can be ignored too then.... lets treat that low TA with Baking Soda, and then hit it with Muriatic Acid to lower the pH. Just add the Baking Soda that PoolMath says will get you to 70ppm, and mix in. Then then add the muriatic acid to get to 7.8 pH. And then using PoolMath take the pH from 7.8 down to 7.4. Baby steps.

You'll just monitor how the fountain raises the pH and everytime it goes to 8, take it down again.

Can you do this?

Yup! Ok so before I do anything - here are my numbers from tonight...still follow the steps above right? Do I do the baking soda around the edges of the pool, and then immediately after that do the Muriatic Acid?

Last night all I did was add 75 oz of liquid chlorine

Tonight's Test Results:
FC = 1
CC = 1 (I think? May be 0.5...wasn't too sure)
TC = 2
CH = 250
pH = 8.2
TA = 60
CYA = 30

 

[NCleavelin]

Yup! Ok so before I do anything - here are my numbers from tonight...still follow the steps above right? Do I do the baking soda around the edges of the pool, and then immediately after that do the Muriatic Acid?

Last night all I did was add 75 oz of liquid chlorine

Tonight's Test Results:
FC = 1
CC = 1 (I think? May be 0.5...wasn't too sure)
TC = 2
CH = 250
pH = 8.2
TA = 60
CYA = 30

Ok.... knowing your fountain is necessary at this time.... spa spillover can be ignored too then.... lets treat that low TA with Baking Soda, and then hit it with Muriatic Acid to lower the pH. Just add the Baking Soda that PoolMath says will get you to 70ppm, and mix in. Then then add the muriatic acid to get to 7.8 pH. And then using PoolMath take the pH from 7.8 down to 7.4. Baby steps.

You'll just monitor how the fountain raises the pH and everytime it goes to 8, take it down again.

Can you do this?

Ok just did 2 lbs 3 oz of baking soda to get TA to 70, and then immediately put in 8.3 oz of acid to get down to 7.8, per PoolMath

Will test again in a little under 30 minutes to see where I'm at

How do I increase Calcium Hardness? PoolMath says Calcium Chloride or Calcium Chloride Dihydrate which I have neither of.

And should I add in more liquid chlorine tonight? Not sure if I'll have time tonight after adding more acid to get down to 7.4 pH.

Water feels kinda slimy when I use the brush pole...is that due to any of this? Looks somewhat clear (no algae I can see) but definitely not great either

 

[YippeeSkippy]

GET SOME CHLORINE IN THERE TONIGHT!!!

 

[YippeeSkippy]

You're risking algae every day you let your FC go low. You should never go below 2, but really aim for 5-6 so that you *can* lose some daily but still be higher than the minimum.
Chlorine is a consumable and needs daily replenishment. Either Liquid Chlorine or Salt Water Systems are best.

 

[NCleavelin]

Good morning! Have another pool party tomorrow and can't seem to get this chlorine under control... Water felt kinda slimy last night but not as bad this morning

Obviously I need to add more liquid chlorine this morning but do I do the SLAM method? I've never done it so it's all new to me.

Everything else look ok besides CH and FC? How do I increase CH? Thanks!

2 nights ago:

Measurements	Treatment Details
FC = 0 (forgot to measure CC)	Added 75 oz of liquid chlorine from Pinch a Penny
Didn't measure CH	-
pH = 8.2	Didn't have time to add acid - focused on chlorine
TA = 50	-
CYA = 30	-

Last night:

Measurements	Treatment Details
FC = 1; CC = 1; TC = 2	Added 91 oz of liquid chlorine, per PoolMath (target FC of 6)
CH = 250	Didn't have anything to increase this
pH = 8.2	Put in 8.3 oz muriatic acid, per PoolMath, to get to 7.8
TA = 60	Added 2 lbs, 3 oz baking soda, per PoolMath, to get to 70
CYA = 30	-

This morning (haven't put in any chemicals yet today):
FC = 0.5; CC = 0.5; TC = 1
CH = 250 (how do I increase this?)
pH = 7.8
TA = 70
CYA = 30

 

[Texas Splash]

Your FC level is and has been much too low. I wouldn't be surprised if you have algae. I suggest you increase the FC to around 5-7 ppm right away. Keep it there all day and do an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test this evening. The other numbers are fine.

 

[NCleavelin]

Your FC level is and has been much too low. I wouldn't be surprised if you have algae. I suggest you increase the FC to around 5-7 ppm right away. Keep it there all day and do an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test this evening. The other numbers are fine.

Ok so I added in 119 oz of liquid chlorine to get to 7 ppm FC, per PoolMath about 2.5 hours ago (had some work stuff this morning so had to delay the first dose to then)

Then an hour later it was at 1.5 FC, so I added another 100 oz of liquid chlorine to try to get to 7 ppm FC

But now I just tested again just now and it's still at 1.5 FC

I've kept at least an hour in between dosages/tests to let the chlorine go through the system some

Keep pumping in liquid chlorine each hour? Or how do I try to get to 7?

 

[Texas Splash]

Keep pumping in liquid chlorine each hour? Or how do I try to get to 7?

Unless your CYA test was incorrect and much lower, it's safe to say you have algae tearing up that chlorine. Do the best you can to keep the FC somewhere in that 5-7 range. Once the sun drops it might help. But the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test will tell for sure. If you fail the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test it will be time for a SLAM Process.

 

[NCleavelin]

Unless your CYA test was incorrect and much lower, it's safe to say you have algae tearing up that chlorine. Do the best you can to keep the FC somewhere in that 5-7 range. Once the sun drops it might help. But the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test will tell for sure. If you fail the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test it will be time for a SLAM Process.

I'm honestly not positive about the CYA test...at the 30 line I could see the black dot when I looked at it, but that was the max I have with my test

I'll keep adding chlorine again right now to try and get it up more

 

[NCleavelin]

Unless your CYA test was incorrect and much lower, it's safe to say you have algae tearing up that chlorine. Do the best you can to keep the FC somewhere in that 5-7 range. Once the sun drops it might help. But the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test will tell for sure. If you fail the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test it will be time for a SLAM Process.

Ok - last night I got the FC up to 7

Unfortunately this morning FC was at 2

I can’t do SLAM today since we have a pool party but I want to get the FC up higher but not too much that it’s too much to swim in

What FC should I aim for by adding liquid chlorine right now? Pool party starts in 6 hours

 

[Texas Splash]

Okay, so we know a SLAM Process is in the future. Keep in mind that contrary to what you might hear at a pool store, we use the FC/CYA Levels. So if your CYA was 30 for example, the SLAM FC level is 12. You can be in the water as long as you do not exceed your SLAM level. Most of the time swimmers don't even know. But I'd say if you are still hesitant, get the FC up to at least 7 or so. Test just before the party and increase it right afterwards.

 

[NCleavelin]

Okay, so we know a SLAM Process is in the future. Keep in mind that contrary to what you might hear at a pool store, we use the FC/CYA Levels. So if your CYA was 30 for example, the SLAM FC level is 12. You can be in the water as long as you do not exceed your SLAM level. Most of the time swimmers don't even know. But I'd say if you are still hesitant, get the FC up to at least 7 or so. Test just before the party and increase it right afterwards.

I need to go get a couple jugs of liquid chlorine tomorrow so I can do the SLAM process

However, after reading this post (CYA - Cyanuric Acid Test), I’m almost positive my CYA is 0 (I always see a full black dot at the 30 mark)

How do I increase the CYA and keep it there? And do I have do that first before SLAM? How long do I wait after raising the CYA to do SLAM?

 

[Texas Splash]

How do I increase the CYA and keep it there?

Adding CYA:
To increase CYA via granular stabilizer, place the required amount as calculated by the Poolmath calculator into a white sock and place in the poolside skimmer basket. For those concerned about suction flow to the pump, suspending the sock near a return jet or from a floating device will also suffice. Best never to allow undissolved granules to rest directly against the pool surface. Squeeze the sock periodically to help it dissipate. Once dissolved, consider your CYA adjusted to that programmed (target) level. CYA test readings should show a rise in 24-48 hours, however some pools may experience a longer delay to fully register. Best to confirm final CYA in about 5-7 days before adding any more stabilizer/conditioner.

 

[NCleavelin]

Adding CYA:
To increase CYA via granular stabilizer, place the required amount as calculated by the Poolmath calculator into a white sock and place in the poolside skimmer basket. For those concerned about suction flow to the pump, suspending the sock near a return jet or from a floating device will also suffice. Best never to allow undissolved granules to rest directly against the pool surface. Squeeze the sock periodically to help it dissipate. Once dissolved, consider your CYA adjusted to that programmed (target) level. CYA test readings should show a rise in 24-48 hours, however some pools may experience a longer delay to fully register. Best to confirm final CYA in about 5-7 days before adding any more stabilizer/conditioner.

Hey again - need to get my pool under control again with this Texas heat

FC = 0 so I know I need to keep putting in liquid chlorine, but CYA is also 0 I think (I know I have some kind of leak to get taken care of I think in the skimmer)

Also pH is high at about 8.2

Until I get the leak taken care of, do I get CYA up first or can I put the granular stabilizer in a sock right now and also dump in liquid chlorine?

I know a SLAM is in my immediate future because I’ve had some algae and can’t keep FC, but what is my first step starting tonight?

Granular stabilizer? And can I immediately put in liquid chlorine based on CYA of 0 for now? And then 30 min later put in acid to lower the pH?