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A few questions: 1) How old are the reagents in your test kit? Odd results can be related to test liquids being out of shelf life. 2) What was your CYA level before the recent zero reading? How long between "normal" and zero CYA? 3) How old is your SWG? Sounds like it may be nearing its end of...

Welcome aboard! You've come to the right place for advice on how to get your pool sparkling clear and keep it properly sanitized. Everything @mknauss says is absolutely correct. Pool Store info is notoriously wrong as all they are trying to do is sell you chemicals. The test results you show...

When I installed my SWG about 6 years ago, I had a similar problem. The pH was climbing almost daily due to the carbonation effect in the SWG. I solved the problem by installing a Pentair IntellipH acid injecting system. My pH is now extremely stable (7.4-7.6) because a small amount of MA is...

Richard is absolutely correct. The lack of "sparkle" is due to high pH and low FC. My pool is currently at 750 CH and I have to get to 7.4 pH with a TA of 60 to keep the "sparkle". Since I'm using an SWG, I put in an IntellipH acid injector in 2015 to keep the pH under control when I cannot be...

Welcome to TFP! :wave: While every pool is different, if you look carefully at the FC/CYA chart, you'll note there are separate recommendations for an SWG pool and a non-SWG pool. The primary reason to maintain a higher CYA level in an SWG sanitized pool is to prevent the chlorine "burning...

Chlorine is chlorine. The only difference between bleach, dichlor tabs and an SWG is form of chlorine. Chlorine likes to be a gas at room temperature. Bleach is nothing more than gaseous chlorine dissolved in water with caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) giving us sodium hypochlorite. The problem...

Welcome to TFP! Please put your pool data in a signature line to allow other TFP members understand your pool equipment situation. It will speed up the process of solving your issue. How old is your pool? If is new, i.e., less than a year old, the concrete curing is causing your pH rise. During...

WooHoo! Once again, opening a can of POP (Pool Owner Patience) has triumphed. Good job!:goodjob:

I'm not an expert in your situation but it sure sounds like the Clorox shock you added may have metals (probably copper) in it. Can you post a picture of the label? Does the actual name of the shock contain the word "Blue"? If so, it definitely has metals in it. However, a quick review of the...

Once you've gotten your water balanced, add some borates to the water. (I use fine granular boric acid) The borates act as a pH buffer and give the water a "soft" feel. I'll bet your wife will like the feel of the water on her skin after adding the borates!:thumleft:

An FC level of 7 is not a problem. It is safe to swim at a FC level up to the SLAM amounts. Check this chart Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart.

I bought a floating one at the local Big Box Hardware store for about $7. It came with a string to allow you to measure the temp at the surface or dangle the thermometer about a foot below the surface. That string will not stand up to the sun and chlorine for very long. I removed the string and...

You have a good plan to raise the FC a bit. If you haven't added any chemicals that would raise your CYA (pucks, dry shock, etc.) it is unlikely that your CYA has gone up. I'm guessing what has occurred is just the opposite. Your CYA has dropped (it decreases about 3-5 ppm per month in full...

No. Of all the test values, CYA is the least reliable from a pool $tore. I highly recommend refilling the reagents in your test kit and doing all your own testing. Read through the PoolSchool articles to understand how to test CYA and get a reliable, repeatable test.

I will bet your CYA loss is due to evaporation and refill. The low CYA is, most likely, the cause of your SWG not being able to "keep up" with the demand. One other possibility is your SWG is approaching the end of its life cycle. Any idea how old the SWG is? Normally, the only way CYA will...

Normally, the only way for CYA to decrease is draining and refilling the pool. If you are draining the pool due to excessive rain, I'll bet you're decreasing the CYA due to this "rain drain". However, in rare conditions, the CYA can be converted into ammonia. Again, your CYA is most likely...

It does sound like you may have metal precipitating out of the water on to your plastic parts, etc.. Please read this article: Pool School - Metals in the Water and Metal Stains. However, it is very difficult to give any good advice without more information. Since you've been a TFP forum member...

FC levels are directly related to CYA levels. As CYA goes up (usually due to using chlorine pucks) so does the need for FC. You are correct that your CYA is a bit high. For an SWG pool, your CYA should be no higher than 80. Here's a link to the FC/CYA Chart from the TFP PoolSchool: Pool School -...

Any new "plaster pool" (essentially any concrete pool covered with any impermeable coating) will have a very high acid demand for up to a year while the coating cures. Additionally a Salt Water Chlorine Generator (SWG) will raise acid demand due to the carbonation effect occurring in between the...

You are correct. Liquid chlorine (bleach) will not add any CYA to your pool which is why it is the TFP recommended method of sanitizing your pool. Any product that is "dry" and has chlorine in it (granular shock, chlorine pucks, etc.) has CYA added to "stabilize" the chlorine and allow it to be...

DO NOT BUY AND USE HTH Shock! There are unnecessary chemicals in those shock bags and you will not able to control the dosage with precision. You are correct that buying each ingredient gives you more control and that is what you want–precise control over your pool chemistry. You are well on the...

Welcome to TFP! This is the place to gain the expertise to keep your pool sparkling clear. As yip said, follow the PB guidance for warranty purposes. Adding ½ gal of MA seems like a lot at once be careful not to add it in one slug! Lowering TA will take some time (days not minutes) so do not be...

Do you have an SWG or are you adding liquid chlorine (bleach) manually? An SWG will raise the pH due to carbonation effects inside the SWG. I live in AZ and I use an SWG to chlorinate my pool. While every pool is different, my pool chemistry (FC, TA, CH, and CYA) is very similar to yours...

The reason your CYA is high is the trichlor pucks. The pucks use CYA as the chlorine stabilizer to create a dry powder that won't lose chlorine potency. Anytime you use those pucks, you're adding CYA to your pool. I have a similar sized pool and in the first year after filling my pool (using...

Welcome to TFP! First things first, do you have one of the TFP recommended test kits? If so, do all the test again and please post all your test results (including your pH). Also we need to know how your are sanitizing the water, e.g, adding liquid bleach yourself, trichlor pucks in a floater...

Welcome to TFP! First things first, DO NOT add more CYA until you are certain why the chlorine is being used up! Adding more CYA unnecessarily will raise the amount of FC (Free Chlorine) needed to keep the pool algae free! When you can, please post a full listing of your current test results...

No. A little higher is fine. You are right–it takes a serious amount of bleach. Objective is to keep the FC as close to the SLAM level throughout the entire SLAM process. The process can take several days so be patient and consistent in your testing/bleach additions. Some folks even set an...

I own a Taylor K-1766 salt water test kit. It is probably the best kit out there but even it is only accurate to within 200 ppm. However, it is more important what your SWG thinks the salt level is than what YOU think the salt level is. My SWG (Pentair IC40) also displays what it believes the...

First things first, did the numbers listed above come from a pool store? If so, you NEED to get a good quality test kit–either a Taylor K-2006 or a TF-100–ASAP. There is NO OTHER WAY to properly and consistently measure what's going on in your pool. The pool store–as you found out–can never...

Melt In The Sun (nice user name!) and JasonLion, Thanks for the quick replies! Going to drop my TA a bit more before adding the boric acid. Trying to get it down into the 60-80 ppm recommended range. I've noticed TA comes down very slowly. Have added MA 3 times in the last week to drop the pH...