New Pool Build - Conroe, TX - LOTS of pics! Come say hi Y'all.

I have two just because I feel safe that way.

I got my plastic measuring cups from the Dollar Tree store. It has good oz. on it and is very easy to read.

Your numbers look good!

When you add your bleach in front of the return you can also brush that area to make sure none of it settled there to be on the extra safe side.

Kim
 
Serious note guys - I am freaking out a little. I measured out EXACTLY 43 oz I poured it right where the water breaks on the surface from the return. I poured it super slow. After I poured it I brushed the area really good. Then I came in to work (I work from home and have scheduled calls and such)

That was about 3 hours ago. I just took a break, went out and tested and my CL is at 13 I tested it twice to make sure I didn't do something wrong. What did I do??? Was my initial math wrong? Here is a pic of the bleach % I read this as 8.25% - is that right?
21049167591_07af6a4f2c_c.jpg
[/url]Untitled by misplaced_texan_usaf, on Flickr[/IMG]

What do I do now? I am scared to touch it.
 
So it took 26 drops to change from pink to clear?

You might could tie-dye a t-shirt now. Too soon?

Good, bright sun will help, but I don't know how that happened. And in Cypress, it's overcast.

I'm curious to see what the experts say.
Suz.
 
YES! When I got to 16 drops and it was still bright pink, I was thinking hmm, maybe an extra drop, or two . . . then I got to 20, 25, FINALLY 26 before it went clear. I am totally freaking out. My pool is SO over chlorinated now :( The only thing that I can think of would be that I have the size of the pool wrong. We have it at 14,500 Gal. We got that by looking at the water gauge at the start and end of the fill. We took off 500 gallons thinking that would be for showers and such. But maybe we are way off.
 
I think it would be a good idea to head over to the chemistry side of the house. Sorry about the snafu, there's always "dilution is the solution for pollution", if all else fails.

Ugh. I would rather go to my PB than the Chem boards. I don't feel like being berated today. :neutral:

- - - Updated - - -

What are your gallons for the pool? Or did I miss that?
Suz.

We guesstimated 14,500 by looking at our water meter at the beginning of the fill and then at the end of the fill. We took off 500 gallons so that we could account for baths and stuff - but maybe we are way off
 
So, trying to figure out if my gallons could be wrong . . . using the pool math calculator

Length= So my pool is 33' long - but part of that is the tanning shelf. (it is curvy - but guessing 6') So lets go with 27' long.
Depth= 4 1/2 - 5 - 3 1/2. I averaged those to 4.3
Width= 17/13/15. I averaged that to 15
Spa= Guessing 800-1000 gallons - so I am going with 900

That would make it 13,900 gallons Total. That is only a difference of 600 gallons. That doesn't seem enough to make that big of a difference.
 
Without the other dimensions you just included, (I put in 33 x 17 x 4.3) I ended up with 18,000. So then when I did pool math and put in 8 for your FC goal, I still only came up with 53 oz of bleach or 10 oz more which even at that doesn't seem that big of a difference. I think the amounts you figured are the best and both so close. I don't think that's the issue.

I know I'm not any help here, but I am trying to learn. So I'm sort of thinking out loud until someone who knows comes along.

Have you done a recent CYA test, because that's the one that seems really off.

If your CYA is really 70 (don't ask me how to read that test..... I'm still guessing), do you have to do the water replacement thing?

Can you take out the pucks? I know you shut it off, but could CYA still be getting through somehow? I think Kim mentioned when she comes back from a vacation, she takes out the pucks and dries them out to reuse.

Suz. (waiting with you!)

- - - Updated - - -

YES! When I got to 16 drops and it was still bright pink, I was thinking hmm, maybe an extra drop, or two . . . then I got to 20, 25, FINALLY 26 before it went clear. I am totally freaking out. My pool is SO over chlorinated now :( The only thing that I can think of would be that I have the size of the pool wrong. We have it at 14,500 Gal. We got that by looking at the water gauge at the start and end of the fill. We took off 500 gallons thinking that would be for showers and such. But maybe we are way off.

I think if you had WAY over-estimated the size of the pool that would explain it, but I don't think you have.
 

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I actually did take the pucks out - I just threw them in the trash (as I have so many of them ready to go if needed) BUT I didn't take them out until about an hour after I added the bleach I went out to test the water and realized that I could fit my hand down into the contraption and get them out. So I took them out, restarted my pump and my phone rang - so I went back in and worked. Maybe that hour with them still in there caused an issue? Though I did have it set to 0 - maybe it still caused a problem.

I tested my CYA again a couple days ago - I still read 70 (still hoping I am doing it wrong)- if doing a water replacement right now is truly what is needed - I will have to bow out and use pucks till it becomes an issue that I have to replace the water. Or maybe survive on pucks till Spring and do a replacement then, maybe I can convince him (hubby) we are supposed to the first spring. There is no way I am going to drain and refill this quickly, he would divorce me. He thinks having to buy bottles and bottles of bleach is crazy - but he hasn't read what I have ya know? He also keeps throwing in my face that our AGP used pucks for 3 years and we never had to replace the water and it only got ugly 1 time when our pump went out. So this won't be a hard sale - it will be a NO SALE for him.
 
Oh! There you are. I was over on the Chem board and I heard a beration alert, so I came running over here.
Soooo.
FC 13, calm down, that's fine and dandy.
Remember we NEVER read FC without knowing CYA cause FC 5/CYA 10 is scarier than FC 13/ CYA 70.

Lets start with the pool measurments. Best done in segments and added together. (Whatever you do never say "Sure" when your pool asks "Does my butt looks big in this yard?)
The Deep bit plus the sloping bit plus the shallow bit plus the sunshelf bit and the spa bit.
That will approximate the size.
Pool math will zero in on the size related to your chemicals.

One question, when you tested the 2nd time, did you:
1. Test water from same sample?
2. Go get another sample from the same spot?
3. Go get a new sample from a different location?

Next, the actual strength of the chlorine. It says 8.25%. Usually that would mean it is a little less based on age, but it could be stronger.
It gets back to what I said before; Pool math will zero in on the size related to your chemicals.

In the end all we want is predictable results from known quantities.
Are you getting predictable results with other chemicals; the obvious one would be MA on pH.
I think you mentioned you were adding 1/2 jugs for a while. Did the before & after on pH match up with expectations for 64oz MA ?
Don't worry if you can't remember.

So, lets take a new sample and retest.
Work out what size pool reacts to 43oz of 8.25% Chlorine with the swing you see.
That can be the pool math size for now.
See if next time you dose based on this new size, it comes out as expected.
If not, fine tune the size some more.

Do you feel berated?
You don't look berated.
And your butt does not look big in that.
 
First off, NO NEED TO WORRY! FC of 13 is not that high, especially if your CYA is 70. At CYA of 70, shock level would be 28. 13 is just a little high - but no big deal. If your CYA is 40, shock level is still 16 which you are below. You can safely swim below shock level.

My guess is your estimated pool size is too high. Also, were you circulating water through the spa during that time? If not, you have to exclude that volume. As a note, since you weren't measuring MA additions, you didn't gain any insight at that time regarding a possible miscalculation of your pool size. No big deal just a missed opportunity. You can zero in on volume with various chemical additions over time by comparing the intended result with the actual result, just like you did today with chlorine.

Oz beat me to most of it but the same gist.
 
Oh! There you are. I was over on the Chem board and I heard a beration alert, so I came running over here.
Soooo.
FC 13, calm down, that's fine and dandy.
Remember we NEVER read FC without knowing CYA cause FC 5/CYA 10 is scarier than FC 13/ CYA 70.

Lets start with the pool measurments. Best done in segments and added together. (Whatever you do never say "Sure" when your pool asks "Does my butt looks big in this yard?)
The Deep bit plus the sloping bit plus the shallow bit plus the sunshelf bit and the spa bit.
That will approximate the size.
Pool math will zero in on the size related to your chemicals.

One question, when you tested the 2nd time, did you:
1. Test water from same sample?
2. Go get another sample from the same spot?
3. Go get a new sample from a different location?

Next, the actual strength of the chlorine. It says 8.25%. Usually that would mean it is a little less based on age, but it could be stronger.
It gets back to what I said before; Pool math will zero in on the size related to your chemicals.

In the end all we want is predictable results from known quantities.
Are you getting predictable results with other chemicals; the obvious one would be MA on pH.
I think you mentioned you were adding 1/2 jugs for a while. Did the before & after on pH match up with expectations for 64oz MA ?
Don't worry if you can't remember.

So, lets take a new sample and retest.
Work out what size pool reacts to 43oz of 8.25% Chlorine with the swing you see.
That can be the pool math size for now.
See if next time you dose based on this new size, it comes out as expected.
If not, fine tune the size some more.

Do you feel berated?
You don't look berated.
And your butt does not look big in that.

You may be the funniest person I know!

One question, when you tested the 2nd time, did you:
1. Test water from same sample? No - I pulled new water
2. Go get another sample from the same spot? Yes, I have a habit of going to the same spot
3. Go get a new sample from a different location? New sample - but from same spot

My pool has been so easy. The first week we got the PT - I would send my testing to my PB and he would say "pour 1/2 bottle into the return - SLOWLY" I never measured - he said it didn't have to be exact. I never did any pool math at that point - I only tested and sent my PB the results. I do have all my records going back to day 1. I have a little calendar book that I write everything into when I test and when I add. Not sure if there is a way to backtrack and see if the numbers can be entered backwards . . . Though my PB said the PT will make the numbers jump all over the place while it is curing for the first few weeks.

For example:
7/6 PH 8.2 added 1/2 btl Acid
7/7 PH 7.8 added 1/2 btl Acid
7/8 PH 7.5 no addition
7/9 PH 7.8 added 1/2 btl Acid
7/10 PH 7.5 no addition
7/11 PH 7.8 added 1/2 btl Acid
7/12 PH 7.5 no addition
It goes back and forth like this until the 23rd Since then - my PH has stayed 7.2 -7.4. We were running the waterfalls pro 6 hours a day (we were in the pool a LOT) and I still run them about 5 hours at night - to cool it off - and anywhere from 0-8 hours a day depending on if we are in the pool or not.

Other than Acid and pucks the ONLY thing I have ever added was last weekend Soda Ash to up my PH -- I did this last Saturday. My PH was about 7.1 I added 17 oz of soda ash. In 1 hour my PH was 7.4 and is still testing at 7.4 today.

I have to finish up work (I have REALLY spent more time on the dang pool today than my job) but I will retest in a few hours and also figure out the backwards math on the 43 oz of chlorine.

Thank you Oz. Seriously. Thank you.

- - - Updated - - -

First off, NO NEED TO WORRY! FC of 13 is not that high, especially if your CYA is 70. At CYA of 70, shock level would be 28. 13 is just a little high - but no big deal. If your CYA is 40, shock level is still 16 which you are below. You can safely swim below shock level.

My guess is your estimated pool size is too high. Also, were you circulating water through the spa during that time? If not, you have to exclude that volume. As a note, since you weren't measuring MA additions, you didn't gain any insight at that time regarding a possible miscalculation of your pool size. No big deal just a missed opportunity. You can zero in on volume with various chemical additions over time by comparing the intended result with the actual result, just like you did today with chlorine.

Oz beat me to most of it but the same gist.

I guess I was just so shocked - I really expected it to come out perfect. The Spa circulates with the pool it has a constant spillover.

Thanks again guys. :super:
 
Oz! THANKS! You are awesome!

bmoreswim wonderful!

Wendy, you are doing a great job. You had a problem and knew what to say and do!

I like Oz's idea about doing your pool one piece at a time. Part A+part B+Part C=total pool.

Here is something else you also do...........

-Take a water sample from YOUR spot. Do the FC test, write it down.

-Use pool math to find how much chlorine to add to push your FC up 2 ppm using what you come up with for gals.

-Put that much chlorine in and let the pool run on high for 30 mins.

-Pull more water and run the FC test again.

Once you have done this come tell us what you got. What gals did you use and what did pool math tell you to add.

We will get your gals figured out. It MIGHT be that your bleach was REALLY fresh. What does the date code say?

Your FC is at 13 is just fine for you CYA.

HUGS we got ya!

Kim
 
Since I calmed down from my previous panic, I re-tested in a different spot and I am still at 13. BUT - after all your help - I took a deep breath and relaxed. Came inside to respond and let you guys know that I am still testing at 13 and what to my wondering eyes should appear but an email from my PB. You know, the one who hasn't cared about pool school for months? Anyone wanna guess when he is coming to give me pool school?? Huh? Do ya? Sorry to spoil the surprise - - - TOMORROW. He will be here tomorrow.

So, do I fill the chlorinator with pucks first thing in the morning and dial it to 0 until he gets here. Try to pass it off? I KNOW he is going to have me test EVERYTHING. He is going to say - I thought I told you to keep the CL at 8? Oh gee, did it raise up that much overnight?

The pool is filled to the top with water - we had no sun today so nothing burned off so I can't even dilute it.

Seriously. I guess I just have to tell him that not only did I jump the gun and start adding bleach before I had the "ok" - but my first time I did it wrong and over-chlorinated my pool and got busted.

This is not a good week over here in Wendy's World.
 

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