1. Cant Shock w/o getting Iron Stains & 2. Sodium Bicarb Making Water Milky

[Britali]

how do i figure out the PPM?? this morning after adding chlorine, my FC test shows 3.5 and the yellow on the chlorine test was darker than the colors on the container.. pool math is telling me 3.5 is too high and my ph of 7.5 (best guess as all the colors look the same really) is too low. This really is not simple lol
ps CYA still 0 as i havent got to walmart yet to buy any

Pool math will give you a “recommended” range and an “ideal” range and will put up a notice if you are out of ideal range but still in recommended (on my app it is a blue ! instead of a red !) so do not worry so much if it is out of ideal but still in recommended.

The biggest thing about pH is keep it in the 7’s. I monitor my pH and when it goes to 7.8, I add muriatic acid to bring it back down to 7.2 then watch as it rises until it gets to 7.8. I used to wait until 8.0 to bring it down but I ended up with scale on my salt cell so I try to keep my CSI between the -.3 & +.3. End of story do not worry about an exact pH level every day as long as it in the 7’s. When it gets to 7.8 or 8.0 add muriatic acid (amount from pool math) to bring it down to 7.4 or 7.2.

As far as FC, higher is not going to hurt you…it is low that is going to lead to problems. There is big range for higher FC since slam levels do not hurt you & they are much higher than regular levels. The basic gist of it is that you want it high enough for any FC loss during the day to NOT go below your minimum FC. I set my minimum in my mind 2ppm above app minimum and I shoot for maintaining 10% of my CYA. So I consider FC 5ppm my min even though app says min FC 3ppm. And since my CYA 70, I try to maintain FC 7ppm. Maintaining FC though for me is easier since I am using a saltwater system but I do boost with liquid chlorine if my saltwater generator can’t keep up. If I was on liquid chlorine only, I would give myself an ideal target range based of what I lose on a HOT day. Say my FC loss on a hot day is 3ppm and my min FC I set is 5ppm (2ppm above the app min of 3ppm so I should always have a safe cushion)…I would set my ideal FC at 8ppm to account for that 3ppm loss per day and even if I add it in mornings and the sun eats up 3ppm, I am still at my 5ppm min (above the 3ppm absolute min) so never a danger of developing algae.

Hope that helps you to not stress for exact but get comfortable with the range. And that it is more important to stay ABOVE the minimum FC & not even get close because you will not be out there testing every hour of every day…and not sweat the higher FC (as long as not crazy & above SLAM lol which would be expensive to maintain).

 

[Britali]

Also while your CYA is zero your chlorine will BURN away from the sun. I would get that stabilizer sooner vs later because it is much cheaper than the chlorine being ate up without it.

 

[Bperry]

how do i figure out the PPM?? this morning after adding chlorine, my FC test shows 3.5 and the yellow on the chlorine test was darker than the colors on the container.. pool math is telling me 3.5 is too high and my ph of 7.5 (best guess as all the colors look the same really) is too low. This really is not simple lol
ps CYA still 0 as i havent got to walmart yet to buy any

Best advice is to Stop using the yellow chlorine test (OTO). It’s not accurate. Use the powder and drops that make it pink. (Or I forgot whether you got the TF test kit or not?)

When you do the FC test, the results are in ppm. So if it reads 4ppm yesterday and 1ppm today, your pool used 3ppm of chlorine. So that’s the number you need to add today. Then go into poolmath and click the FC tab, enter your current FC level in the “current free chlorine” and then what you want to increase it to in the “target free chlorine” and then the bottom of the page will tell you how much chlorine to add.

The above are just example numbers.

 

[Bperry]

Also while your CYA is zero your chlorine will BURN away from the sun. I would get that stabilizer sooner vs later because it is much cheaper than the chlorine being ate up without it.

This is a good observation. The chlorine you are adding without stabilizer is going to burn off very quickly. Get some in there, it’ll save you money on chlorine.

 

[Newdude]

how do i figure out the PPM?

7 ounces is 1 ppm for you if using 10% bleach. So, 3.5 (loss) X 7 would be 24.5 ounces added back to cover the loss.

Don't worry about pool math fussing or complaining about ideal/reccomended and whatnot. She doesn't know it's the dog days of August and daily demand is through the roof.

 

[kimray]

Best advice is to Stop using the yellow chlorine test (OTO). It’s not accurate. Use the powder and drops that make it pink. (Or I forgot whether you got the TF test kit or not?)

When you do the FC test, the results are in ppm. So if it reads 4ppm yesterday and 1ppm today, your pool used 3ppm of chlorine. So that’s the number you need to add today. Then go into poolmath and click the FC tab, enter your current FC level in the “current free chlorine” and then what you want to increase it to in the “target free chlorine” and then the bottom of the page will tell you how much chlorine to add.

The above are just example numbers.

ok gotcha.. pool math default for the target free chlorine is 1.0-3.0, hence why mine says high at 3.5.
what should I change the target to? because honestly i though 1.0 was considered quite low vs "in range"

 

[JeanZ1]

That is because you have no CYA. When you add CYA to your pool the free chlorine range will rise. Really important to get some CYA in there, otherwise the sun will continue to eat your chlorine (and money!) Keep up the good work, you'll get there!

 

[Bperry]

ok gotcha.. pool math default for the target free chlorine is 1.0-3.0, hence why mine says high at 3.5.
what should I change the target to? because honestly i though 1.0 was considered quite low vs "in range"

Yes, see above about CYA. The lack of CYA is going to cause trouble with algae or money or both. Low CYA means you’re wasting chlorine, which wastes money. And the low chlorine even in the proper range means you’re flirting with algae if you have some kind of event where something falls in the pool, or you forget to add chlorine one day, and then you lose the little chlorine you do have.

 

[kimray]

That is because you have no CYA. When you add CYA to your pool the free chlorine range will rise. Really important to get some CYA in there, otherwise the sun will continue to eat your chlorine (and money!) Keep up the good work, you'll get there!

Aaaahhhhh

 

[Mdragger88]

That $20 bag of stabilizer will likely last u the rest of the season & the beginning of next season. You only need about 1# now. Currently You’re spending a dollars with liquid chlorine being $4+ a gallon trying to save dimes on cya.
Raise cya to 30ppm & dose to high target or a scootch higher on the chart daily (6ppm) so u don’t skirt minimum & risk algae. FC/CYA Levels
Even with cya below 20 - fc should never be below 2ppm. You are playing a risky game now after all the hard work. A sunny day can consume your unprotected fc quickly.
Use the fas/dpd test. With the drops & powder so u know exactly how much fc & cc you have.
The yellow oto test is not very accurate, barely tests above most minimums,
& doesn’t differentiate between fc & cc.
It only tests total chlorine.
Free Chlorine (good stuff)
+
Combined Chlorine (bad stuff)
= Total Chlorine.
Its more of a “do i have any chlorine or not?” kind of test.

 

[kimray]

That $20 bag of stabilizer will likely last u the rest of the season & the beginning of next season. You only need about 1# now. Currently You’re spending a dollars with liquid chlorine being $4+ a gallon trying to save dimes on cya.
Raise cya to 30ppm & dose to high target or a scootch higher on the chart daily (6ppm) so u don’t skirt minimum & risk algae. FC/CYA Levels
Even with cya below 20 - fc should never be below 2ppm. You are playing a risky game now after all the hard work. A sunny day can consume your unprotected fc quickly.
Use the fas/dpd test. With the drops & powder so u know exactly how much fc & cc you have.
The yellow oto test is not very accurate, barely tests above most minimums,
& doesn’t differentiate between fc & cc.
It only tests total chlorine.
Free Chlorine (good stuff)
+
Combined Chlorine (bad stuff)
= Total Chlorine.
Its more of a “do i have any chlorine or not?” kind of test.

headed to store to get a bag of CYA. will retest later today and let everyone know. thank you!!!

 

[Britali]

headed to store to get a bag of CYA. will retest later today and let everyone know. thank you!!!

You know about putting the dry CYA in a sock not sitting against liner to dissolve (squeeze it every 30 min to an hour)? And that it can take 24hrs to a week for the CYA to show in test results.

 

[Mdragger88]

As mentioned above- use the sock method.
When i had an intex I would use a giant clip to attach the end of the tube sock to the liner in front of the jet. The force from the jet kept the part of the sock with the cya in it off the liner.
Also some people tie it to their ladder.
1# should get dissolved pretty quickly. As soon as the sock is in the water assume it’s your new cya level & dose with liquid chlorine accordingly. Test cya tomorrow or the next day.

 

[kimray]

As mentioned above- use the sock method.
When i had an intex I would use a giant clip to attach the end of the tube sock to the liner in front of the jet. The force from the jet kept the part of the sock with the cya in it off the liner.
Also some people tie it to their ladder.
1# should get dissolved pretty quickly. As soon as the sock is in the water assume it’s your new cya level & dose with liquid chlorine accordingly. Test cya tomorrow or the next day.

got it!!

so what makes the TA decrease? it was 70 after adding BS today its 50

 

[Mdragger88]

got it!!

so what makes the TA decrease? it was 70 after adding BS today its 50

Anything acidic-like cya,Muriatic acid, dichlor or trichlor, they lower ph & ta.
Any Ta of 50 or over is ok - did u already add the cya?
If not you may want to add a 1/2# or so of baking soda first so it doesn’t go lower than 50.

 

[kimray]

As mentioned above- use the sock method.
When i had an intex I would use a giant clip to attach the end of the tube sock to the liner in front of the jet. The force from the jet kept the part of the sock with the cya in it off the liner.
Also some people tie it to their ladder.
1# should get dissolved pretty quickly. As soon as the sock is in the water assume it’s your new cya level & dose with liquid chlorine accordingly. Test cya tomorrow or the next day.

is it normal for the CYA application to cloud the pool?

 

[kimray]

Anything acidic-like cya,Muriatic acid, dichlor or trichlor, they lower ph & ta.
Any Ta of 50 or over is ok - did u already add the cya?
If not you may want to add a 1/2# or so of baking soda first so it doesn’t go lower than 50.

no i had tested again right before adding the CYA and noticed it had dropped. nothing had been added after the BS but chlorine

 

[Mdragger88]

is it normal for the CYA application to cloud the pool?

How cloudy are we talking?
Did u ever get chlorine in the water? I see u have went to zero fc.

 

[kimray]

How cloudy are we talking?
Did u ever get chlorine in the water? I see u have went to zero fc.

yea i skipped 2 days and lost all the FC.. it was raining bad here so i really didnt even go outside
the pack of CYA said the cloudiness is normal, but im not sure i trust that lol. decently cloudy. I can still see the vacuum going, but cloudy. within 5 min of adding the CYA that happeend

 

[Bperry]

yea i skipped 2 days and lost all the FC.. it was raining bad here so i really didnt even go outside
the pack of CYA said the cloudiness is normal, but im not sure i trust that lol. decently cloudy. I can still see the vacuum going, but cloudy. within 5 min of adding the CYA that happeend

That’s ok, let’s pretend you were just trying out what would happen if you forgot to add chlorine for a day when it was already low with no CYA. No you know. Get some FC in there pronto or you’ll be pulling out the wallet/purse again to fix an algae outbreak which appears close if your pool is already cloudy.