First readings with TFPro kit

[West_Coaster]

Hi, received my new TFPro Salt test kit today and took my first readings, I am using pool math to store things.

FC = 1.5
CC = .5
CH = 875
TA = 80
CYA = > 100. The reading was above 100 a little more than the distance between 80 and 100. I see its a non linear scale, so I'd guess somewhere around 130.
PH = 7.1
Salt = 1200-1400. This is not a salt water pool yet, I haven't intentionally added any salt.

I have also received a Circupool RJ30+ and intend to move the pool to a saltwater config. Pool is 12' x 24', ~4 feet in one end and 8 in the other. From pool school, it's about 13-14K gallons.

Reading up on what to do to get the water perfect before installing any of the salt gen equipment. I'm guessing I'll be advised to exchange some water to get the CYA down, but am an open book on what to do next.

Thanks for reading.

Mike

 

[Jimrahbe]

Mike,

You need to replace enough water to get your CYA down to about 70 and that should also drop your high CH.

Until you do that it does not make sense to do much else.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

I'd also suggest you pour a good gallon of liquid chlorine in there to up your FC level or you're going to have an algae mosh pit going on soon.

Here is the guide for how much FC a pool with x amount of CYA needs: FC/CYA Levels

I would also suggest you run a diluted CYA test to confirm your CYA level. Just take half pool water and equal part tap water and mix well. Use that mixture as your pool water sample to do the test again but double the result.

Maddie

 

[HermanTX]

Salt = 1200-1400. This is not a salt water pool yet, I haven't intentionally added any salt.

Using Liquid Chlorine adds salt. Over time your salt level will increase so good that you have the proper test kit to test prior to adding any salt for the SWCG.
If you drain water to lower CYA and CH, this will also reduce your salt content. So test all 3 after refilling.

 

[West_Coaster]

I did add a gallon this morning to get the levels back up. I'm going to do the water swap tomorrow, I'm reading through the articles on how to do it properly. I want to get on to the SWG as soon as possible, but not until the water is perfect.
I noticed a few small spots of green algae in the plaster last night that I need to scrub, amazed that it's still there after the high chlorine levels for 2 weeks. Algae is the cockroaches of pools, survives through almost anything.....

I have the new SWG, all new DE grids, my new test kit and a positive attitude. Looking forward to getting this all completed and having a spotless pool.

 

[HermanTX]

I did add a gallon this morning to get the levels back up. I'm going to do the water swap tomorrow, I'm reading through the articles on how to do it properly. I want to get on to the SWG as soon as possible, but not until the water is perfect.
I noticed a few small spots of green algae in the plaster last night that I need to scrub, amazed that it's still there after the high chlorine levels for 2 weeks. Algae is the cockroaches of pools, survives through almost anything.....

I have the new SWG, all new DE grids, my new test kit and a positive attitude. Looking forward to getting this all completed and having a spotless pool.

You have done all the right things and have the positive attitude to accomplish this. Per your test results above, the FC dropped to 1.5ppm so that is an avenue for algae to grow - as you indicated, just a small crack and those bugs (or algae) can find a way to survive. So keep using LC until you get the CYA and CH sorted out. It never hurts to keep FC in the upper ranges ensure never dropping below minimums. Keep us posted.

 

[West_Coaster]

Question on water exchange, in reading on the Pool School topic there is a formula to figure out where to extract and where to fill.
From the wiki: Replacing water in-place process depends on several factors:[4]

• Pool Water TDS (PWTDS)
• Pool Water Temperature (PWT)
• Fill Water TDS (FWTDS)
• Fill Water Temperature (FWT)

DeltaT = (PWT - PWTDS / 165) - (FWT - FWTDS / 165)

I can't find a way to determine what my TDS is for the pool water and fill water. When I read about TDS, they basically say it's an old term and not really used anymore, however it's key in the filling formula.

Any ideas how to proceed with this?

My pool temp is 79, and the fill water is about 5 degrees cooler at 74-75.

 

[mknauss]

TDS of pool water is salinity, CH, and CYA added together. That gets you close enough.

TDS of fill water is essentially CH.

 

[West_Coaster]

Back reporting in.... I have replaced about 5500-6000 gallons of the ~14K, the readings are as follows now:

PH = 7.5
FC = 4.5 (I'll add more chlorine tomorrow, running an overnight loss test)
CC = .5
CH = 700 (Wonder if I need to drain more and get this down further)
TA = 90
CYA = 70 (Woo-hoo, this came down quite a bit)
Salt = 1000

I am trying to get ready to turn on the SWG Saturday. Do you think I should replace more water or is this good enough?

I need to add salt this week and get the level up, I am going to shoot for ~2,800 to start with (~ 6 bags), then slowly add more until I'm at 3,500. Sound right? (Circupool RJ 30+).

 

[PoolStored]

I am trying to get ready to turn on the SWG Saturday. Do you think I should replace more water or is this good enough?

CH levels up to 600 - 800 can be managed with careful control of water balance and the Calcium Saturation Index(CSI).

If you have an easy method for replacing more water, it might be smart to lower your CH down a bit more, maybe 450-500, to give you more flexibility to manage CSI and avoid scaling.

Are your water rates high/water restrictions in SD?

What is the CH of your fill water?

 

[West_Coaster]

I'll have to test the fill water, not sure on its CH.

Yes, there are water restrictions here in SD, so I'm trying to limit what I use for just a pool. I'll do the calcs, but I think I have to exchange quite a bit more to get CH down 200 or more ppm.

 

[HermanTX]

I'll have to test the fill water, not sure on its CH.

Yes, there are water restrictions here in SD, so I'm trying to limit what I use for just a pool. I'll do the calcs, but I think I have to exchange quite a bit more to get CH down 200 or more ppm.

Just remember that is you further draining to lower CH then your Salt and CYA levels will also come down. So you may need to add stabilizer if that drops too much depending on how much water is replace.

There are many members from AZ that have high CH water and are able to manage the pool balance via CSI. So the choice is yours whether to drain more or not.

 

[West_Coaster]

My CSI score is currently -.57, seems I can easily get that back to zero by adjusting PH or PA a little. Pool school says -.57 isn't bad for a plaster pool.

I measured my fill water and the CYA is unmeasurable, <30. This test seems to be the most subjective, meaning I think it can vary a lot depending on when you think you can't see the dot anymore. Gonna read up on it.

I did the overnight chlorine loss test and lost .5, which is 1 drop on my test kit, so not much loss.

I'm thinking I'll swap out another 2,000 gallons and wherever the CH lands, that's going to be my starting point. From pool school, it looks like my CYA is good at 70 for a SWG, but I should get my TA down a bit, raise ph a bit, and see if I can get CA down in the 500's.

 

[West_Coaster]

I drained another 4" from the pool and refilled, here is where my water is tonight:

FC = 11
CC = .5
CH = 625
TA = 120 (not sure why this went up so far, maybe because PH also increased?)
CYA = 70
PH = 7.8 (this went up a lot since yesterday)
Salt = 1000

I can't drain anymore water, we are in a serious drought here.

I feel this is pretty good from where I started, so I added (6) 40 lb bags of salt to the pool. Filter is running overnight and I'll check salt tomorrow morning and add more based on the reading. I'm going to start around 3300-3400, that sound good? The Circupool manual says to run between 3000-4000, but I want to make sure and not go over.

Any other suggestions?

 

[HermanTX]

TA = 120 (not sure why this went up so far, maybe because PH also increased?)

Only your fill water would add to increasing this other than adding baking soda. You may want to run that test again. Remember it is a 25ml sample.

so I added (6) 40 lb bags of salt to the pool. Filter is running overnight and I'll check salt tomorrow morning and add more based on the reading.

Just ensure you brush the bottom in morning, let pump run for another hour before you test for salt. Starting on the low side of the SWCG recommendation range is fine such as 3300ppm. The SWCG will tell you if all is OK on salt level.

Your CYA is fine and your CH is manageable.

Continue to watch your pH and lower it when it hits 8. The high TA is helping push the pH increase.

Keep up the good work.

 

[West_Coaster]

Swept the pool this morning and it looks like all the salt from last night has dissolved.
Salt = 2600 now. Will add 2 more bags tonight, from pool math that should put me in the sweet spot. Tomorrow I'll install the SWG and get it running. Not going to be easy based on the current plumbing, but I'm thinking of removing my pool heater as there is no longer NGas running to it anyway.

 

[West_Coaster]

I ended up adding just 1 bag and the salt is at 3400. The SWG is fully installed and running, today's readings were:

FC = 6
CC = 0
CH = 625
TA = 120
PH = 7.8
Salt = 3400

Was super easy installing the SWG, no problems at all. It's set at 75%. I adjusted the pool pump as well, runs from 7am to 12:30 on 2400 rpm, then from 12:30 to 5pm at 1500 rpm. Trying to take advantage of solar power.
I also swapped out my DE grids for a new set, the old set were the originals and were exactly 20 years old.

Everything is working perfect at the moment, pool is crystal clear. Going to wait a few days and see where FC settles and adjust the SGW to keep it at 6-7.

 

[HermanTX]

I ended up adding just 1 bag and the salt is at 3400. The SWG is fully installed and running, today's readings were:

FC = 6
CC = 0
CH = 625
TA = 120
PH = 7.8
Salt = 3400

Was super easy installing the SWG, no problems at all. It's set at 75%. I adjusted the pool pump as well, runs from 7am to 12:30 on 2400 rpm, then from 12:30 to 5pm at 1500 rpm. Trying to take advantage of solar power.
I also swapped out my DE grids for a new set, the old set were the originals and were exactly 20 years old.

Everything is working perfect at the moment, pool is crystal clear. Going to wait a few days and see where FC settles and adjust the SGW to keep it at 6-7.

I looked at your PM logs and did not see CSI. Do you have that active on the PM app? It is under settings where you put in Pool information and asks if you want to Track Salt and CSI. CSI is very helpful to understand the balance of your pool water since you have high CH.

 

[West_Coaster]

It was missing the water temp to calc CSI. I added it and CSI is at 0.0.

 

[HermanTX]

It was missing the water temp to calc CSI. I added it and CSI is at 0.0.

Great. You cannot be a zero every time you test because temperature does influence it and that is something we lack direct control unless you heat your pool constantly. Just keep CSI in the desired range.