Recent content by ValleySooner

I don't think it was a false reading. We've had some heavy rains recently, and there are a lot of old septic tanks, along with abandoned and cracked well heads, here in my neighborhood. We also had our streets repaved and all that black runoff is flowing through the front ditches, where our...

After the first application, the foam was completley white - and there was no residue at all, anywhere, on any part of the tub. I hosed everything down while my sump pump sucked it all out, and scrubbed it all dry with microfiber towels. Since there wasn't any residue, I stopped with just that...

In regard to the latter question... I haven't cleaned anything recently, except the filter. I made a bad assumption that, since the tub was new, it wouldn't need much maintenance or cleaning to get started. When I had a gunite/plaster pool built long ago, there wasn't anything special to do...

Great! I just ordered a 6oz bottle directly from the company. Hopefully I'll have it tomorrow. There was definitely some excess... maybe, silicone lubricant? ... that was on the hoses and pump/heater that we discovered when wiring up the 240V service. I didn't think that stuff would react to...

I've owned a pool previously (at a different house, on city water), and am familiar with water chemistry - but I have a problem that is stumping me. Last week, I had a new AquaRest AR-400 premium (ozone) tub delivered. After I filled it the first time, I added about 16ppm of dichlor and tested...

Last week when the water was 65 degrees, I tried dangling my legs into the pool and my limbs went numb after about twenty minutes. At 72 degrees today, I went for complete submersion. It was cold at first, but after a few minutes felt pretty good.

Here's what Pool School says about the CSI: It seems consistent with what's explained in the pool calculator -- in that you should try to balance your CSI close to zero so your ph swings don't hurt you! My problem thus far hasn't been finding good information. It's been in attempting to figure...

I sincerely meant that as no sleight to you! I have a tendancy to make things overly complex in everything I do. And as a new pool owner, I'm full of many stupid questions. I've annoyed my pool builder so sufficiently that I believe most of my emails now go unread. :-) Anyway, again, I really...

I do apologize for my error. Perhaps my confusion relates to what the Pool Calculator says with respect to CSI: To the untrained eye, that appeared to suggest that it was okay to specifically target a CSI value. That's good advice. Based on what I read in Pool School and on the forum, I...

My CYA currently is 45. I'd like to keep it below 50 if possible. Here were this morning's test results: FC 4.0, CC: 0, ph: 7.9, TA: 80, CH: 210, CYA: 45 I've been averaging 15 oz of acid daily to drop my ph to 7.5. The plaster on my pool is now a month old. Should I still keep my CH low for...

I'm curious what factors impact the amount of free chlorine that's lost to sunlight. Obviously, CYA levels and available sunlight (UVA/UVB radiation?) are primary determinants. However, given any fixed amount of CYA and sunlight, will your free chlorine lost to sunlight be a function of total...

My CH was rising the first two weeks, but leveled off here lately. My TA has been declining with frequent acid additions until I mistakenly added a box of baking soda this weekend. As it turns out, I messed up the settings on the pool calculator. After switching from trichlor to bleach, I didn't...

I'm in a similar situation. My new pool was built three weeks ago, and my ph can jump from 7.6 to 8.0 overnight. My CH is around 200 presently... and I've kept it there because my CSI would be much higher if my CH was around 300 during one of these jumps. Is my logic faulty? Even if my ph...

My pool construction was completed earlier this month... and I'm gradually learning more and more about the technology, chemicals, and process needed to properly maintain it. Due to rising CYA with continued usage, I've switched from using trichlor pucks to liquid chlorine. However, I usually...

I'm one of those individuals who has difficulty with some of the color comparison tests. With the ph test, I can't tell one color from the other with direct (or front) lighting. However, if I hold the test up a light source with a consistent background, then I'm better able to make the...