Went to the pool store 10 days ago with a water sample, and walked out with over $300 in chemicals. On advice from the previous homeowner, we used Mineral Springs Beginnings when we opened in June (that's when we bought the house) and it was $$$$ costly to get the pool clear. Now that I've discovered this forum, I'm hoping to move forward smart and not overspend on chemicals.
My numbers on Oct 20 (pool store test) were:
CYA 47
TC 0.3
FC 0
pH 8.1
TA 95
CH 289
minerals 2500 the printout recommended 139 lbs of Beginnings but the salesperson said skip that for now
borates 19
Today I cleaned the leaves, added 5 1-lb bags of their Burnout 35 and 1 gal of muriatic acid from Lowes, and 1 hr later I measured with my TF-100:
FC 0.5
TC 0.5
pH 7.5
TA 100
CYA 0
salt <380
borate 50
I have some chlorine tabs on hand from the previous owner (no idea how old they are), and they should have some stabilizer in them. What do you recommend for CYA and mineral levels before closing?
I turned off my SWG last week because of the reduced mineral levels; LCD display says 2200. But I'm confused as to why I'm measuring such a low number (<380) for salt (I used the AquaChek strip that I ordered along with my TF-100 kit). Pool Math says I'll have to add 600+ lbs salt to get back to the right level (pool store printout said 3000 was ideal for minerals). If their mineral test is measuring the same thing as my salt strip, I'm really confused; maybe it's not?
Thanks for your help!
C
My numbers on Oct 20 (pool store test) were:
CYA 47
TC 0.3
FC 0
pH 8.1
TA 95
CH 289
minerals 2500 the printout recommended 139 lbs of Beginnings but the salesperson said skip that for now
borates 19
Today I cleaned the leaves, added 5 1-lb bags of their Burnout 35 and 1 gal of muriatic acid from Lowes, and 1 hr later I measured with my TF-100:
FC 0.5
TC 0.5
pH 7.5
TA 100
CYA 0
salt <380
borate 50
I have some chlorine tabs on hand from the previous owner (no idea how old they are), and they should have some stabilizer in them. What do you recommend for CYA and mineral levels before closing?
I turned off my SWG last week because of the reduced mineral levels; LCD display says 2200. But I'm confused as to why I'm measuring such a low number (<380) for salt (I used the AquaChek strip that I ordered along with my TF-100 kit). Pool Math says I'll have to add 600+ lbs salt to get back to the right level (pool store printout said 3000 was ideal for minerals). If their mineral test is measuring the same thing as my salt strip, I'm really confused; maybe it's not?
Thanks for your help!
C