Another "First water test" post

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bdbull

Well-known member
Jun 25, 2020
58
Georgia, US
First water test on new pool. Pebble was put in on 10/26 and the builder has maintained it so far. Temps here are 60's during the day and anywhere from 50 to 30's at night. Did my first water test today and am not really sure what I'm looking at. We plan on keeping it open during the winter to use the spa, but it's too cold to swim right now and we haven't even fired up the heater yet anyway. Builder put some chlorine pucks in the skimmer about 2 weeks ago. I texted him today because the iAqualink app had a message that salt was low. He told me to dump some bags of salt in, but I have no idea how much. Just looking for some guidance on what I should be doing.

Couple notes on the test.
- CYA didn't register at all
- The color for the PH was darker than the reference levels so I just guesstimated
- Pool temp was 60F

And this assumes I did everything correctly.
Screenshot_20221127-194711.jpg
 
Good job testing your own water. :goodjob: Let's get to the most important stuff right away:
1 - Lower the pH with muriatic acid. Go in stages. Use our PoolMath APP (Effects of Adding section) and enter a starting pH of 8.2 with a desired goal of 7.2. Add the acid then test again in a couple hours to adjust again. Once you get the pH down to about 7.8 or even 8.0, monitor for a while to ensure it remains in that area.
2 - While you are lowering the pH, watch the TA from time to time. If it drops any lower than 50, add just enough basking soda to keep the TA around 60.
3 - New water has no stabilizer (CYA) so add some with a starting goal of about 40-50 ppm. In the summer your CYA needs to be 70 (salt pool), but in the cold water and sun that's not as strong, a lower CYA should be fine. Plus, we don't want you to go too high. With tablets in use, there should be "some" CYA, but it may not be much. Keep in mind once your water temps get cold (below 55 or so) the SWG may stop producing chlorine at which point you'll switch to liquid chlorine. Make sure the tabs are in a feeder or floater, never in the skimmer. Once you get the pH around 7.8, the TA around 60, and teh CYA around 40-50, remove the tabs.
4 - If you are confident the CH is only 100, you need to add calcium to at least 250.
5 - Lastly, your FC is much too low. Add some liquid chlorine as soon as you can to increase the FC to about 5 ppm and try to keep it in that area for a few days. With cold water it shouldn't bee too difficult to hold.

Let's start there and let us know if you have any problem with the instructions or PoolMath APP.
 
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Adding CYA:
To increase CYA via granular stabilizer, place the required amount as calculated by the PoolMath APP 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. After about 30 minutes of soaking, squeeze the sock continuously 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.
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CYA Testing:
Proper lighting is critical for the CYA test, so you want to test for CYA outside on a bright sunny day. Taylor recommends standing outside with your back to the sun and the view tube in the shade of your body. Use the mixing bottle to combine/gently mix the required amounts of pool water and R-0013 reagent, let sit for 30 seconds, then gently mix again. Then, while holding the skinny tube with the black dot at waist level, begin squirting the mixed solution into the skinny tube. Watch the black dot until it completely disappears. If it helps, pour a little, look away, then look back and pour some more. Some people like to squirt enough solution to go line-by-line for a better feel. Once it disappears, record the CYA reading. After the first test, you can pour the mixed solution from the skinny view tube back to the mixing bottle, shake, and do the same test a second, third, or fourth time to instill consistency in your technique, become more comfortable with the testing, and validate the CYA reading. If you are still questioning your own results, have a friend or two do the same test 2-3 times. Share your results only after everyone is done to see if you came up with the same average results.
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Calcium hardness can be raised with calcium chloride or calcium chloride dihydrate. They are available in some areas as Peladow, Dowflake, Tetra Flake, or Tetra 94, often sold as a deicer by hardware stores, and some big box stores, in colder climates. Pool stores will carry either calcium chloride or calcium chloride dihydrate under a variety of names, including Hardness Plus, Balance Pak 300, Calcium Hardness Increaser, etc. Calcium products should be spread across the surface of the deep end of the pool.
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Thanks so much for all the info.

One thing I forgot to add to the original post. I noticed the filter leaking today so the builder told me to just turn everything off today until he can get back out to adjust it. He's currently out of town until Tuesday so I'm thinking everything will be off until at least Wednesday. The only thing that might run is if freeze protection kicks in, but it doesn't look like it will get that cold before he comes out.

Having said all that, should I wait until I can run things before I start adding chemicals?
 
bdbull said:
Having said all that, should I wait until I can run things before I start adding chemicals?
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For the most part, yes. Circulation is very important to mix most chemicals. You can slowly add some liquid chlorine and brush it around. I wouldn't want the FC to fall any lower. But brush it around well if you can.
 
bdbull said:
Should I even bother with adding salt? Temps are going to be consistently under 65 probably until spring now, and I believe that's the limit for the SWG to run.
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It really doesn't matter, but you might be brushing it around a bit (cold water). I'd leave it until the spring. In Ohio, spring comes later and I open the pool about April 15 (cooooold water), I leave the cover on and use liquid chlorine until the pool temps come up a bit. Then I balance salt and start the SWCG. Waiting for warmer water also allows the salt to dissolve faster (ionic compounds dissolve faster as water temperature rises).
 
Texas Splash said:
You can slowly add some liquid chlorine and brush it around.
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If you have a floatless sump pump, you can throw that in too to circulate water. I know you have a pressure cleaner, but having a robot is also a really good tool to mix water/chemicals.

My "take it away," and I backfill the pool list (not in any order):
Robot
Sump Pump
Cyclone
SpeedStir
SWCG
Hairnets

Welcome to TFP!!
 
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Texas Splash said:
Good job testing your own water. :goodjob: Let's get to the most important stuff right away:
1 - Lower the pH with muriatic acid. Go in stages. Use our PoolMath APP (Effects of Adding section) and enter a starting pH of 8.2 with a desired goal of 7.2. Add the acid then test again in a couple hours to adjust again. Once you get the pH down to about 7.8 or even 8.0, monitor for a while to ensure it remains in that area.
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Taking it one step at a time until I get more familiar with things. I added 55oz. of muriatic acid earlier today while everything was running. Just tested again and the pH is down to 8.5. Put that into the app and it told me to add 60oz to get it to 7.2, so I just added that in. Letting everything run for a while and will either test it again later tonight if I have time or tomorrow.
Will be picking up some liquid chlorine this weekend to get the chlorine levels up also, but like I said, taking it one step at a time.
 
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pH was at 7.5 2 days ago. Added chlorine yesterday and tested everything again today.
pH: 8.2
FC: 1.5
CC: 0
TA: 60
CH: 100

We've gotten a lot of rain lately, but I'm not familiar enough with it to know how that affects everything. I guess add more chlorine and muriatic acid?
 
CH is up to 300 now, but pH has gone back up to 8.5 and FC was at 0 on latest test. I added 3 pounds of CYA today and will keep everything running for 24 hours now. I'm guessing I will need to add some more chlorine once the CYA comes up.
 
bdbull said:
but pH has gone back up to 8.5 and FC was at 0 on latest test.
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These are your two most important things to watch right now. FC should never go to zero, in fact probably never less than about 3 ppm to prevent algae. If you haven't done so already, add 5 ppm worth of liquid chlorine. The FC/CYA Levels is key.

As for the pH, you'll want to watch it as frequently as required to prevent it from getting above 8.0. A high pH will lead to scaling across the pool and/or SWG. Use some muriatic acid to keep it at about 7.8.

FC and pH are probably the two items you'll need to watch more closely than the others, so do your best to stay vigilant on those and adjust as necessary. If you have more questions let us know.
 
Got pH down to 7.8, FC up to 1, and CYA up to about 10. Added more CYA and liquid chlorine tonight. Will test again tomorrow and see where to go from there. It has rained here for literally a week straight so I'm assuming that has something to do with the levels moving as well.
 
bdbull said:
Got pH down to 7.8, FC up to 1, and CYA up to about 10. Added more CYA and liquid chlorine tonight. Will test again tomorrow and see where to go from there. It has rained here for literally a week straight so I'm assuming that has something to do with the levels moving as well.
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Rain has little effect on pool chemistry. You need to get your FC up to at least 3 and keep it there until you have some CYA into the pool. Adding 1.2lb of dry stabilizer will only raise your CYA to 20. What are you trying to target?
 
PoolStored said:
Rain has little effect on pool chemistry. You need to get your FC up to at least 3 and keep it there until you have some CYA into the pool. Adding 1.2lb of dry stabilizer will only raise your CYA to 20. What are you trying to target?
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I'm trying to get it up to 75. I'm just having trouble getting it added to the pool. The stuff just doesn't want to dissolve. I was squeezing on the sock a good bit, but my hands can only take so much 55 degree water at a time. There's gotta be an easier way to do it.

Still trying to get my FC up to 3, but it's just doesn't seem to be coming up that quickly either.
 
bdbull said:
I'm trying to get it up to 75. I'm just having trouble getting it added to the pool. The stuff just doesn't want to dissolve. I was squeezing on the sock a good bit, but my hands can only take so much 55 degree water at a time. There's gotta be an easier way to do it.
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Let's target 60. In the winter it won't matter, and if on the off chance you have algae (not likely in that cold water) you can slam. You can add the last part to get to 70 in the spring. Are you putting it in a sock and leaving it in the skimmer? Is your pump running? Yes, it will take longer in colder water, but in the skimmer with pump running will help. There isn't a much easier way.
bdbull said:
Still trying to get my FC up to 3, but it's just doesn't seem to be coming up that quickly either.
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What is the date code on your liquid chlorine?
 
PoolStored said:
Let's target 60. In the winter it won't matter, and if on the off chance you have algae (not likely in that cold water) you can slam. You can add the last part to get to 70 in the spring. Are you putting it in a sock and leaving it in the skimmer? Is your pump running? Yes, it will take longer in colder water, but in the skimmer with pump running will help. There isn't a much easier way.

What is the date code on your liquid chlorine?
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I was suspending the sock in front of a return. I think I'll toss it in the skimmer next time.

The date code on my chlorine is "22PV24211 07:27:28AM" and it's from Lowe's. My FC is actually up to 3 today so what I put in last night must have helped.
 
bdbull said:
I was suspending the sock in front of a return. I think I'll toss it in the skimmer next time.
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Skimmer will likely help as it gets good flow.
bdbull said:
The date code on my chlorine is "22PV24211 07:27:28AM" and it's from Lowe's. My FC is actually up to 3 today so what I put in last night must have helped.
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HTH Liquid Chlorinator
22PV24211 07:27:28AM

Made the 242nd day of the year 2022. That would be August 30th. Chlorine degrades and you are likely seeing the result...it is not rising as expected. You can use what you have, just not as potent. Always check the dates when you are buying. Hope this helps!

Breakdown of Bleach Over Time by Storage Temp - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

Date decoders:

Chlorine Date Code Decoder - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

Chlorine Date Code Decoder/Easy Way to Measure Strength.

Hi, I just joined TFP this season and pool is looking great. TFP is an awesome resource. Thanks I thought the information below might be helpful for some of the forum participants. I recently bought 1 jug of 10% Liquid Chlorine that was actually 4.5%. It had a 2013 date code. I now am very...
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
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