Water chemistry, which to adjust first

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poolpip

New member
Apr 22, 2025
2
Fort Lauderdale
Pool Size
18000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Hi everyone. Total novice here, albeit a motivated one!
I just moved into a new home which has an IG pool (not salt), having never owned a pool before I’m now learning the ins and outs of pool chemistry.
I read various threads that talk about potential issues with one chemical/balance due to another one being off, so I assumed there’s a priority to which reading you need to balance first in order to then address the others.
My question is, if multiple readings are off, in which order should I begin to adjust the main 7?

This is a general question as I don’t know what my test results are yet, I just ordered the recommended test kit yesterday. But if faced with everything out of wack, I’d like to know where to start 🤯

Thanks from the newbie!
 
Welcome to TFP!!!
Chlorine is king. Always maintain your FC based on your CYA level. Link-->FC/CYA Levels
You mention triclor puck feeder. We don't recommend using pucks. They add CYA. When CYA gets too high, you cannot maintain a high enough FC to sanitize the pool and need to replace water to lower CYA. You should look into liquid chlorine or SWG.
You should maintain a CYA of 30-60. If you add it, use granular chlorine stabilizer. Add it using the "sock method."
Maintain your pH to be 7.0-8.0. Anywhere in that range is just fine. To reduce pH, when it gets above 8.0 use muriatic acid.
I would test, but generally ignore TA. Manage your pH and TA will be just fine.
You have a plaster pool. You should maintain a minimum of 250 CH to protect the plaster. If you have 250 or more CH, leave it alone.
 
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Hey pip and Welcome !!! :wave:

Never touch min FC for your CYA level. The sun burns it off everyday and you can expect to lose a reasonable amount for that part of the season. Early/late season has less loss than mid-season like a bell curve.

But achieve this mission and the rest of them are long term issues and won't give you a swamp. Then come ask about the others and we'll help until it all clicks.

lc_chart.jpg



Click links below
Pool Care Basics
Test Kits Compared
 
Ok great, that’s much less overwhelming than the Breaking Bad home chemistry lab I was imagining.
I’ll post some numbers of my first test once the kit arrives.
The elderly gentleman I bought the house from, was very proud of his “years of self pool care”, however he had very bad eyesight and judging by the 5yr old Walmart test strips he left me, I’m preparing for some interesting numbers.

Thanks again.
 
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poolpip said:
Ok great, that’s much less overwhelming than the Breaking Bad home chemistry lab I was imagining
Click to expand...
The test instructions are all on one sheet and at a glance it kinda looks like rocket science. But when you read any last step, it's laughable how simple it is. 'Fill vial to 10ml'. *ok* 'add 1 drop of XYZ' *still waiting for the shoe to drop* *ok* :ROFLMAO:
 
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