Recent content by JJ_Tex

Wow, lots of scary stuff going on in this post... dead cats, birds, algae, pool balls and the most scary thing of all Floc. Did you run the floc through your filter? If so, you likely gummed up your filter. Just stick to the SLAM and have some patience and your water will be clear in a...

Did you fertilize recently by chance? It does look like Iron to me as well, but check out this article especially the Vitamin C test to test for Iron stains. https://www.troublefreepool.com/blog/2019/01/18/stains-in-your-pool/

Umm... you make Walter White nervous. Yeah science.

It’s added to the raw intake pipes to control the muscles, but filtered out to less than 3 parts per billion, far less than your measurements in parts per million. https://www.bcmud.org/news/?FeedID=2397

If it were me, I would spend the $30 on the test kit to know for sure if my phosphates were really that high. https://a.co/d/fQkNwkD

Have you had low pH or added anything acidic to the skimmers?

If it were me, I would tackle the current problems of water chemistry, enjoy the pool, and start saving up $ for future problems. A small filter just means you have to clean it more often. Annoying, but nothing I would rush out and replace. The old/painted plaster could be a bit more...

Do you still have the CYA granules dissolving? If so, remove them ASAP to make your SLAM easier. Also I would recommend starting the SLAM sooner to get ahead of any visible algae and also a weekend is typically not long enough.

While you are figuring out the TA testing, I recommend you shift focus to your chlorine. With a CYA of 40, your FC should be over 5 and never ever ever below 3.... you are at 0.4. FC should be your #1 priority... TA is typically the least important metric.

I would grab a few gallons of liquid chlorine (Walmart of Pinch a Penny) and a bottle of Muriatic Acid. Those will be your most common chemicals to add. I also highly recommend testing well before next week. Why not test now?

The fancy testers like to give very precise results, but as you are finding out, precise does not mean accurate and repeatable. Get a more accurate test kit, then your focus should be on FC and SLAM. If your CYA results are remotely accurate, ~30 CYA is perfect for a SLAM so dont add any CYA...

In the world of pool store testing, the tests are either: 1. Fancy and provide precise numbers, but not very accurate (especially when not regularly calibrated) 2. Drop based and very accurate If you can invent something that checks all the boxes for #1, you would be very rich. Until then...

7.4 would be my guess. Regardless of the exact number, its good.

Look at it as a good thing. Remember when we said to not get rid of your pucks, now you get to use some of them and lessen your liquid chlorine demand for a few weeks. Also note when the water warms up in the heat of summer, your CYA will degrade a bit and will probably need repleneshing. If...

I like Walmart or Pinch a Penny. I have a SWCG but always keep at gallon or so on hand for if I need a quick boost.