0 CYA and 0 FC. Need advise

[LovinPoolLife]

We did say that but we also don’t trust the strips. Most strips don’t differentiate between fc & cc very well.
I would not add anymore cya than the 3 lbs.
you need to wait 24 hours for it to register on the test.
The bubbles are ok. Keep the fountain going.
The blue is fantastic btw
It will get done - just not today.

The test strips all week showed white - 0 chlorine, it wasn’t until 3 hrs into adding 2 gal of shock & waiting 30 min adding 2 more, etc that it showed light purple. But I kept with the adding more chlorine according to pool calculator to keep it at 10 all day. I think I’ll stop with the CYA at 2 lbs today and test it tomorrow. I just wanted to get some stabilizer in there, since I’ll be at work all day tomorrow and want it to hold chlorine. I’m more worried about my low PH.

And thank you! It was so nice to see the water turn blue again. And to see the 3rd step - haven’t seen that since I closed the pool in October

 

[mgtfp]

Chlorine is actually really good at killing bacteria. Once you add chlorine, the CYA eating bacteria are usually killed very quickly. Especially once you are holding chlorine for a couple of minutes. Without CYA, this is a lot of Hypochlorous Acid (which is the sanitizing chlorine "species"), and these bugs are killed off in no-time.

It's not ammonia turning CYA into more ammonia, it's bacteria doing this. Once they are gone, it's safe to add CYA.

Often the bacteria are gone before you even noticed what's going on, but there is of course no guarantee. Usually they are killed off soon after chlorine is being reintroduced to the pool, latest once chlorine starts holding.

Even towards the end of the ammonia conversion it's usually safe to add CYA, but it makes the conversion a bit slower.

Before moving on towards the algae killing part of the SLAM, you definitely want some CYA in your pool to protect your liner from exposure to high levels of chlorine (the FC test contains the "active" Hypochlorous Acid, Hypochlorite ion and chlorine that's attached to CYA which has no oxidising/sanitising power at all, that's why we need higher FC the higher CYA is, to keep the amount of Hypochlorous Acid the same).

Even if you just added 10ppm of CYA (to avoid overdosing) now per PoolMath to whatever CYA the bacteria my have left over, this will make it safe for your liner to just add 5ppm worth of liquid chlorine each day.

Once your kit arrives, you test your CYA, add more CYA to get to a total of 30ppm, and then SLAM on.

 

[dBsooner]

Should I raise my PH tonight or leave that for tomorrow

You can go ahead and raise tonight if you want. I forgot what your TA was? Just curious where it is.

I just wanted to get some stabilizer in there, since I’ll be at work all day tomorrow and want it to hold chlorine. I’m more worried about my low PH.

It can take 1-3 days to show CYA in results. I usually wait 48 hours before testing CYA after adding. You definitely don’t want to add more than you expect to when you’re about to SLAM. More than 40 to 50 ppm of CYA and you’re gonna have an expensive SLAM. Best to stop at 30 ppm.

And for accurate CYA test, you need that TF100. Wait for it before adding more CYA.

 

[mgtfp]

The ONLY good thing to come from this ammonia issue is, it cleared up my 150 CYA issue .

There is something good in everything

 

[LovinPoolLife]

You can go ahead and raise tonight if you want. I forgot what your TA was? Just curious where it is.

It can take 1-3 days to show CYA in results. I usually wait 48 hours before testing CYA after adding. You definitely don’t want to add more than you expect to when you’re about to SLAM. More than 40 to 50 ppm of CYA and you’re gonna have an expensive SLAM. Best to stop at 30 ppm.

And for accurate CYA test, you need that TF100. Wait for it before adding more CYA.

My PH is 6.9 - 7.0. Hard to really interpret the color. My Alkalinity is 100

 

[proavia]

If the pH is around 6.9-7.0 - just leave it. With a TA of 100, it will rise in a day or two anyway.

In the mean time, add 5 ppm of chlorine DAILY until your test kit arrives and you can do a proper test.

 

[LovinPoolLife]

No more green hue and I can see the 3rd step!! . Yesterday, I couldn’t see the 2nd one.

 

[dBsooner]

No more green hue and I can see the 3rd step!! . Yesterday, I couldn’t see the 2nd one.

Lookin good! Are you brushing daily? Walls and floor.

 

[mgtfp]

I’ve been adding Stabilizer via sock in front of return method. I’ve done 2 lbs so far and only have 1 more 1lb to go then I’ll test it. I just checked my PH. Kind of hard to tell the color but it looks like 6.9 or 7.0. Alkalinity is 100. Chlorine has been holding around 5 - 6 on the test strips all day. Water is clearing up a bit. I can start to see the third step now. I had the water feature on all day to try and up the PH but just shut it off because it’s creating a lot of foam and I can see the air bubbles in the pump. Should I go get soda ash to raise PH more? I do have maybe 2 lbs of borax left. Should I add that instead? And can I even add that stuff with the stabilizer still going in the water via sock method?

If the ammonia is gone, your pH is fine. There is nothing pulling pH further down from here onwards (adding CYA will a little). At TA 100, pH will eventually rise on it's own.

It's important to lower pH into to 7.2 - 7.5 band when above prior to starting a SLAM. There is no need to raise it into this band when pH is slightly below and TA is not too low.

While you are maintaining high FC during the SLAM, FC will be elevated (even though you may not see that because the pH test is skewed when you start getting above FC 10, and pH will look high just because of that). That's why it's important to not already start a SLAM at pH 8 and bringing it down before adding chlorine.

Once you go back down to normal FC after the SLAM, pH will come down again, that's why it's important to not fiddle with pH during a SLAM. But in the meantime some Carbon Dioxide outgassing will have occured, so that pH will not come down all the way to where you started.

Your pH is fine, I wouldn't add more Borax, washing soda or baking soda.

 

[proavia]

No more green hue and I can see the 3rd step!! . Yesterday, I couldn’t see the 2nd one.

Don't jump ahead of the process - even though you may have some free time.
You need the test kit in hand before starting the SLAM Process.

5 ppm chlorine DAILY until then. Do NOT rely on the strips - better yet, toss them in the garage right now.

 

[mgtfp]

As cute as they are- they can go to my neighbors pool or the nearby river lol. I’ve heard the babies remember where they were born and will go back to that spot when they mate and have babies. Pretty soon, you may have the entire family taking over your pool - well like they say, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

I know, the thought has crossed our mind.

I always used to run out and chase ducks away as soon as I noticed them landing. But I started to feel like a grumpy old man running out in his dressing gown to chase away the kids from his precious lawn.

A lot better for my mental health to just sign a peace treaty and accept them.

Duck droppings are so bad for pool water, as I’m sure you know

It's actually not that bad. I stay on top and get the solids out quickly. I have a suction side cleaner that vacuums through a skimmer sock. That thing is basically running nonstop during duck season, replacing the sock two or three times a day. I have two skimmer baskets, one is always loaded with a clean skimmer sock, ready to go, so I can just do a quick swap, and then clean the dirty sock with the garden hose.

When I see a fresh dropping, then I just steer the cleaner with my brush towards the fallout site. I also have a little Venturi style vacuum hooked up to the garden hose that I use for a quick clean up.

I don't mind fiddling with net, brush and vacuum, keeping the pool clean. It helps me to switch off from work. That process does a lot more for my mental health than the angst about the pool getting dirty in the first place. I love getting my coffee in the morning, then walk around the pool, fish a few leaves out and rescue a little frog.

I keep my FC on the high side of the chart anyway. Never noticed any increased FC consumption during duck season.

When we went on holidays last year while ducks were around, I just increased FC to SLAM level and turned everything off (it was winter with no direct sun on the pool). When I came back, FC was exactly where I expected it based on the daily chlorine loss I have at this time of year (which is about 2.5% loss per day in winter, my SWG produces 0.25ppm of FC per day all winter to keep FC constant around 10ppm), still well above minimum FC. The pool didn't look exactly clean, but no algae, and within a day it was back to TFP clear. But that was a job for the manual vacuum...

 

[LovinPoolLife]

Lookin good! Are you brushing daily? Walls and floor.

I sure am. Every time I added chlorine today, I broomed the steps, walls and floor of the pool. I was literally outside from 8 am til about 15 min ago. I would come inside to eat, then back out I went. In fact just before I came in for the night, I broomed again then backwashed. Then ran all my tests again. I am committed to cleaning my pool the TFP way!!!!

 

[PoolGate]

Sounds like you are making great progress! Great news!

For the ducks? SSS

 

[Sunny Blues]

Congrats on great progress! I sent you a private message as I too am Northern Illinois and have had similar experiences to you.

My alkalinity always wants to be higher, and many years we started with it at 150-190. Usually after I get it down to 80 it crawls back up to 100 and stays there. Gonna try to keep it down at 70-80 this year; see if it’s possible. It just might be our area. But you don’t want it going too much higher than 100 because then it makes pH much more volatile and you’ll always be dealing with higher pH and its daily moody swings. Lol

We had ducks about 10 years ago. But never since. They loved our yard for about three straight years. This one was a good momma (pic from 2014):




I then had to place a board to help them get out because the stairs weren’t working for the babies - not sure why. But eventually they all got out and headed for the pond behind us!

 

[LovinPoolLife]

Congrats on great progress! I sent you a private message as I too am Northern Illinois and have had similar experiences to you.

My alkalinity always wants to be higher, and many years we started with it at 150-190. Usually after I get it down to 80 it crawls back up to 100 and stays there. Gonna try to keep it down at 70-80 this year; see if it’s possible. It just might be our area. But you don’t want it going too much higher than 100 because then it makes pH much more volatile and you’ll always be dealing with higher pH and its daily moody swings. Lol

We had ducks about 10 years ago. But never since. They loved our yard for about three straight years. This one was a good momma (pic from 2014):


View attachment 566921

I then had to place a board to help them get out because the stairs weren’t working for the babies - not sure why. But eventually they all got out and headed for the pond behind us!

View attachment 566922

Hi, I did get your private message and I’m sorry for not responding earlier. This pool issue has consumed my time. Awww such cute ducks LOL but I’d cry if they were all in my pool. I had to chase a male and female out of mine this morning. I’d love to know a trick on keeping them out!!

And I never knew it’s better for a pool to keep alkalinity on the lower side. The pool store always said to keep it between 125-150. Last year I kept it high and struggled with very high PH. Nothing I did brought it down. It was at an 8 almost all summer.

 

[thefloatqueen]

Yeah, that can be a bit annoying. At least you can shoo them away with good conscience when they're not actually nesting in your backyard.

Once "my" ones had picked our pool to build a nest and actually started laying an egg a day, I didn't have the heart to mess around with them.

One of my temporary residents is a single mum, and she hardly makes a mess. She first came two years ago (established herself while we were on holidays) at the end of winter. Came back for a second clutch in spring, ducklings hatched two days after Christmas. We were at home and enjoyed watching them swimming in the pool and learning how to use the ramp I installed for them. Christmas is when summer really starts here, so that wasn't too bad.

She returned last year at about the same time. Towards the end of her brooding another couple moved in. Took me a while to realise that this was not just dad finally showing up and doing laps with mum, but a whole new couple. I couldn't really shoo them away without risking to mess with mum #1, so they eventually got comfortable.

Mum #1 wasn't happy to have intruders when her kids were about to hatch. Fighting ducks are an impressive sight. We were on holidays again when they hatched. We saw them jumping into the pool early in the morning on the security camera, they hung around for a few hours, then disappeared.

By the time we got back from holidays, mum #2 had already started laying eggs. And her hubby was a stay at home dad. It was very cute to watch how he hung around in and next to the pool, waiting for mum to come out twice a day for a couple of laps and a short flight. But boy, did he leave a mess in the pool. My suction cleaner ran pretty much full time, vacuuming through a skimmer sock. According to my security camera, the ducklings jumped into the pool one morning, about half an hour after I left for work, and were gone by the time I was back home.

A few weeks later, mum #1 returned, she must have lost all of her ducklings to go that soon for a second clutch. This time they appeared one afternoon still before Christmas, stayed over night and then left for good later the next morning.

Then we had the pool for ourselves for the rest of summer. Late summer, another couple landed in the pool (different breed). Heard them twice early in the morning landing on the roof and flying into the pool from there. Wasn't interested in new tenants and shooed them away, and they didn't return after the second "discouragement".

I assume that mums #1 and #2 will return this year...

I’m so jealous!! I want duckie residents! Single moms, babies, baby daddy drama, all of it! How cuteeee!!!!

 

[LovinPoolLife]

No more green hue and I can see the 3rd step!! . Yesterday, I couldn’t see the 2nd one.

I can see the bottom of the pool in the shallow end and can faintly see the main drains now. YAY! Waiting (im)patiently for my TC100 kit

 

[LovinPoolLife]

I’m so jealous!! I want duckie residents! Single moms, babies, baby daddy drama, all of it! How cuteeee!!!!

You’re welcome to take the pair that keep going in my pool daily LOL. My neighbor had 4 adult ducks in hers yesterday.

 

[Lake Placid]

And I never knew it’s better for a pool to keep alkalinity on the lower side. The pool store always said to keep it between 125-150. Last year I kept it high and struggled with very high PH. Nothing I did brought it down. It was at an 8 almost all summer.

This is typical. Advice from the pool store is often blanket for those folks using trichlor pucks. They are very acidic and to counteract the drive down of ph the pucks cause, higher alkalinity is recommended because it will want to drive ph back up. Manage your ph in the low to mid 7’s range and your and the alkalinity will fall. You will find a point when your alkalinity is low enough that the ph won’t rise as fast. Shoot for keeping your Alk at 70.

 

[thefloatqueen]

Congrats on great progress! I sent you a private message as I too am Northern Illinois and have had similar experiences to you.

My alkalinity always wants to be higher, and many years we started with it at 150-190. Usually after I get it down to 80 it crawls back up to 100 and stays there. Gonna try to keep it down at 70-80 this year; see if it’s possible. It just might be our area. But you don’t want it going too much higher than 100 because then it makes pH much more volatile and you’ll always be dealing with higher pH and its daily moody swings. Lol

We had ducks about 10 years ago. But never since. They loved our yard for about three straight years. This one was a good momma (pic from 2014):


View attachment 566921

I then had to place a board to help them get out because the stairs weren’t working for the babies - not sure why. But eventually they all got out and headed for the pond behind us!

View attachment 566922

OMG. Y’all are killing me with these ducks! I LOVE THEM!!!!

OP, you’re doing fantastic! I’ve been following this rabbit hole this lovely evening and looking forward to the rest of your journey! Keep up the hard work!