rsissons, New to TFP in the So Cal area.

[rsissons]

Hi,

I have been taking care of my own pool since it was installed in Oct. 2006. I don't know if I am doing it right, but it stays pretty clean with the occasional algea that gets brushed off every week during summer. I have chlorine tabs (2") I get from Leslie's, and I add about 4 cups of muriatic acid every week. I hardly ever test. This is why I joined this forum. To learn how to properly test, and maintain the correct levels to make maintaining my pool easier and more efficient. I just moved from a 2HP single speed pump to a Sta-Rite variable speed and am looking to utilize it to save on energy costs.

Looks like I have a l lot to learn.

Cheers!

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP! The site has a ton of great info to help you maintain your pool - on your own. I would start by ensuring you are familiar with the following:
Pool School - Recommended Levels
Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart
Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry
Please note that tabs increase your CYA to a dangerous level requiring a drain. You can't afford that in Cal right now. If you have any specific question we can ever help with, please let us know. Have a great day!

 

[rsissons]

Thanks Tex,

I have already done a ton of reading. I will be ordering the TF-100 kit (i have a kit at home, but am not sure the extent of the tests it can do, it was pretty inexpensive). I will take a few tests with the kit I have until the TF-100 comes in.
I know I can use bleach(I will get the great value Walmart brand) to raise the FC, I have muriatic acid on hand already for lowering PH, and can pick up some Borax to raise PH as well as turning on the spillway and pointing the returns upward for aeration), and Baking Soda to raise TA.

I will stop using the 3" tabs immediately and hope my CYA isn't too high. Hopefully I won't have to drain any. As you mentioned in CA, it's not really an option.

Thanks for the charts, they come in handy!

 

[Texas Splash]

You HAVE been reading.

 

[rsissons]

These are the tabs I was using...
Leslie's 3 Inch Jumbo Tabs Chlorine Buckets

 

[Texas Splash]

We were just talking about tablets on another thread:

I found these two quotes from some of our long-time resident experts:

Pucks come in different sizes. Common are 7 & 8 oz sizes. An 8 oz tablet will raise your FC by 2.2 ppm and your CYA by 1.3 ppm in a 25,000 gal pool.

For dichlor every 1 ppm of chlorine you add also adds 0.9 ppm of CYA.

In addition, the bottom of the Poolmath calculator gives some info on the effects of adding chemicals such as trichlor and dichlor. The ultimate results of using tabs for a long period of time may depend upon the flow rate of water across your in-line chlorinator.

Good thing you took them out. We've had many members say their CYA was actually anywhere from 150 - 300 or more from using tabs the whole time (several seasons). That's why they could never keep their FC in-line and balanced. Woo.

 

[BuckeyeChris]

also, you may be able to move the algae around by brushing it, and brushing it will help the chlorine get to it, but..you can't get rid of algae by brushing and filtering. Killing it (the TFP way, with liquid chlorine) is the only way to get rid of it.

 

[rsissons]

also, you may be able to move the algae around by brushing it, and brushing it will help the chlorine get to it, but..you can't get rid of algae by brushing and filtering. Killing it (the TFP way, with liquid chlorine) is the only way to get rid of it.

I was using the chlorine tabs, which I am removing, wouldn't that have been my chlorine source?

 

[Richard320]

Howdy, neighbor!

Just so you know... in five years of this, I have never added baking soda or borax to my pool. Our fill water is hard enough it's not necessary. And just ignore the CH recommended levels. Unless you've refilled recently, you're probably well over it.

 

[rsissons]

Howdy, neighbor!

Just so you know... in five years of this, I have never added baking soda or borax to my pool. Our fill water is hard enough it's not necessary. And just ignore the CH recommended levels. Unless you've refilled recently, you're probably well over it.

What a small world. Good to know about the hard water. I knew we had hard water, but didn't know what effect it had on the pool water.So if your PH is low, how do you raise it if you have never added Borax? I can see the reasoning for Baking soda.

Cheers!

 

[Richard320]

I've never had low pH. Refill water comes out the tap higher than the pool and adds a lot of alkalinity besides.

Alkalinity + aeration = rising pH. The aeration from the spa and spillover handles raising pH. It handles it too well, which creates a weekly acid demand, sometimes as little as every 5 days. All I've ever added to the water is acid, bleach, and trichlor pucks during vacations.

 

[rsissons]

Ok. That makes sense. come to think of it, I have not had to add any ash or borax in the years I have had this pool. I usually just add about 4 cups of acid every (or every other week) and use the 3" tabs in a floater. seems to work OK, but I really want to get a handle on testing and balancing. Up till now it's been a guessing game. I ordered my TF-100 kit yesterday and it will be here in a few days.

If you don't mind me asking, what is your weekly ritual? Do you test daily, every few days? Just trying to get a feel for a base to start with.

 

[Richard320]

Ok. That makes sense. come to think of it, I have not had to add any ash or borax in the years I have had this pool. I usually just add about 4 cups of acid every (or every other week) and use the 3" tabs in a floater. seems to work OK, but I really want to get a handle on testing and balancing. Up till now it's been a guessing game. I ordered my TF-100 kit yesterday and it will be here in a few days.

If you don't mind me asking, what is your weekly ritual? Do you test daily, every few days? Just trying to get a feel for a base to start with.

This is a case of Do as I say, not as I do. After several years of testing and treating the water, I know how much bleach I use daily and how much acid I need to add with each inch of refill water, so I don't test thoroughly but maybe once a week now. When I began, it was FC & pH & TA daily. I started with astronomical CYA thanks to the previous owner and his pool service, which meant I had to keep FC waaaaay up until the water restrictions were eased and I could replace water and dilute with rainwater too.

CH doesn't change rapidly, nor does CYA, unless you're actively trying to reduce or increase them. The others you will have to learn by doing. After daily testing and dosing and watching the results you will come to a point where you can predict everything with amazing accuracy before you count the first drop. When you get there you'll know it and you'll have enough experience to ease up on the testing. Reagents are cheap. Don't be stingy with testing.

 

[rsissons]

This is a case of Do as I say, not as I do. After several years of testing and treating the water, I know how much bleach I use daily and how much acid I need to add with each inch of refill water, so I don't test thoroughly but maybe once a week now. When I began, it was FC & pH & TA daily. I started with astronomical CYA thanks to the previous owner and his pool service, which meant I had to keep FC waaaaay up until the water restrictions were eased and I could replace water and dilute with rainwater too.

CH doesn't change rapidly, nor does CYA, unless you're actively trying to reduce or increase them. The others you will have to learn by doing. After daily testing and dosing and watching the results you will come to a point where you can predict everything with amazing accuracy before you count the first drop. When you get there you'll know it and you'll have enough experience to ease up on the testing. Reagents are cheap. Don't be stingy with testing.

Thanks for the info. Tracking says the test kit will be here tomorrow. Pool is getting algea pretty bad. I am brushing it daily. FC is probably pretty low since I took the tabs out. Can't wait to find out what the pH is.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

[MarianParoo]

Your tomorrow, my today. Throw a jug of bleach in until the kit arrives!

 

[rsissons]

Richard - Test kit should be here when I get home from work (it's on the truck for delivery). I will run the test for all chemicals and report back.
I am actually a little anxious to see the results.


Marian - Roger That!

 

[rsissons]

OK. Here are the results as best as I can tell re first time using this.
FC 5
CC 1
PH 7.2
TA 150
CH 250
CYA 100

According to the pool math, I should add 119oz 14.5℅ MA to lower the PH to 7.0 and then aerate to increase it back to 7.2?

Add 119oz calcium chloride

Drain 60% of the pool and replace. Not really an option in CA.

I don't even know if I did the tests right.

Any suggestions?

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

[MarianParoo]

Please redo the CYA test first following the directions in the thread below, post #8, starting at point 9. Let us know.

Extended Test Kit Directions

Then we can talk about entering "now" and target values in PoolMath. Is your volume 22 or 23K?

 

[Richard320]

OK. Here are the results as best as I can tell re first time using this.
FC 5
CC 1
PH 7.2
TA 150
CH 250
CYA 100

According to the pool math, I should add 119oz 14.5℅ MA to lower the PH to 7.0 and then aerate to increase it back to 7.2?

Add 119oz calcium chloride

Drain 60% of the pool and replace. Not really an option in CA.

I don't even know if I did the tests right.

Any suggestions?

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

The CYA is the one you need to worry about. If it's that high - it's probably higher - getting enough FC in the water to kill all the algae and finish off the CC will be difficult. Some water replacement will be necessary.

The pH is just fine where it is for now. It will rise naturally due to the TA and when you adjust the pH down, the TA will also drop slowly. Don't add any CH.

If you've got algae, the important part is doing the SLAM, and to do that you will need to lower the CYA. The rest can wait.

 

[rsissons]

Please redo the CYA test first following the directions in the thread below, post #8, starting at point 9. Let us know.

Extended Test Kit Directions

Then we can talk about entering "now" and target values in PoolMath. Is your volume 22 or 23K?

Thanks. I will try it again in the morning by filling with pool water to the bottom mark, then with tap to the top and shake. Then poor out to the bottom mark start at #2 and test again. Then multiply the results by 2. I'll report back.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk