Green Grass & Sparkling Blue Water

[rwswamp]

Morning to All!

Here is what I show as of 7:00 a.m. this morning:

FC - 4.0
TC - 4.0
CC - 0
PH - 7.0 (It took 4 drops of Base) Taylor 2005 Kit
TA - 70
CH - 110

I added 9.0 lbs. of CYA yesterday, so no backwash & checking levels next week.
No CH levels before, but did have some left over Balance Pak 300 from my uneducated Pool Store days.

What now? Correct PH first? TA second?
What is a normal drop of FC on a normal day? Any ideas?
Thanks to all for your help!

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Hi, if you use Borax to raise your PH to 7.4-7.5 that should also raise your TA right into perfect range.

As for daily FC loss, that really is pool specific, every pool is unique and you'll have to "learn" your pool's demands, based on weather, bather load, etc.

I would use the CYA chart as my guide, start at the "target" goal for your CYA and then check every 24 hours to see how much FC you lose in a day....then each night add enough to bump it back up to Target. Never let it go below "minimum" or you risk an algae bloom.

Lastly, can you include your pool gallon estimate in your signature, thanks.

Hope this helps!

 

[rwswamp]

Thanks Mom!
According to the pool calculator - I need 18 lbs of Borax - that's the 20 Mule team stuff at Walmart - right? Directly, slowly into skimmer?
How long should I wait until testing for PH? Couple of Hours?

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Thanks Mom!
According to the pool calculator - I need 18 lbs of Borax - that's the 20 Mule team stuff at Walmart - right? Directly, slowly into skimmer?
How long should I wait until testing for PH? Couple of Hours?

18 lbs is too much according to my entries on the pool Calc, that will bump you up to 7.8. I would shoot for 7.5 instead....

Yes it's the 20 Mule Team.

You can pour it directly in front of the return, and then brush. Couple of hours should work...

 

[rwswamp]

Mom, What am I missing?
41,250 gallons - currently at 7.0 want to go to 7.5
Pool Calc comes back with 18 lbs - how is yours different?

Taylor book says @ 5.0 lbs of Soda ash based on 4 drops - Borax different than Soda Ash?
What is your best guesstimate of Borax?

Thanks

 

[JasonLion]

rwswamp, I believe you did the calculation correctly {EDIT} and then misread the number, just as I did. I get 13 lbs, which can look like 18 sometimes {/EDIT}. In any case, you never want to make large PH corrections like that all in one go. It is best to add perhaps halfof that amount, give it an hour to mix in, retest the PH and then continue adjusting from there.

Soda ash is not the same thing as borax. Soda ash will raise the PH and it will also raise the TA more than borax will. If you normally use trichlor tablets/pucks for chlorine you want to use soda ash, otherwise borax is better. Either one will work if you have trouble finding the other.

frustratedpoolmom, {EDIT} Ignore my previous comments. Sorry. {/EDIT}

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

IDK.... :?

I'm using Jason's Pool Calculator and entered your numbers and it shows that's enough to raise it to 7.8. TA 70, Borates 0 and 0.

Wierd.

 

[cubbybeave08]

Mom, What am I missing?
41,250 gallons - currently at 7.0 want to go to 7.5
Pool Calc comes back with 18 lbs - how is yours different?

Taylor book says @ 5.0 lbs of Soda ash based on 4 drops - Borax different than Soda Ash?
What is your best guesstimate of Borax?

Thanks

rwswamp...I went through similar over the weekend...I was testing with Taylor test kit...came up with 5 lbs...went and got a 4 pound box of borax...My test showed at 7.0 but I can't be sure that it wasn't less. At this point through out the day on Sunday I added the four pounds in incriments of about 1.5 lbs...and then would retest...when I finished the four pounds it went up to about 7.1-7.2 hard to tell with the colors. Then I got my pH up and added about 20 oucnes of that...This brought my ph up to 7.4...The next day I added about 10 more ounces and it brought up my pH to 7.5 right where I wanted it. The Pool Calc said I needed 6 lbs of borax...so if my pool is 13,500 your pool is aprox 3 times the volume of my pool so to basically do the same thing I needed to do but ran out of Borax doing you would need 18 lbs if I needed 6 via the pool Calc. Is that agreed by everyone... or am I using George Bush Math...you know fuzzy?

 

[JasonLion]

It would appear that I can't read today. I calculate about 13 pounds, which looks rather similar to 18 lbs, but isn't actually the same at all.

This is yet another advantage to the add only a portion and test approach, you get several opportunities to avoid problems from a wide variety of sources, including doing the calculation wrong and reading the results incorrectly.

 

[rwswamp]

For the groups' information:

I added (following Jason's advice) 8.0 lbs. of Borax waited and re-tested
Ph was perfect 7.4 and TA moved to 80

Thanks again to all

Any advice for a couple small rust stains on the floor of the vinyl liner?

 

[JasonLion]

If the stains are small you can usually get them up by placing a sock with vitamin C tablets in it on top of the stained area for a minute. If they cover larger areas, you may need to do an ascorbic acid treatment.

If the stains are from leaving something iron on the bottom of the pool then all you need is the vitamin C. If the stains are from iron in the water, you will also need to start using a sequestrant. Sometimes the sequestrant alone is enough to remove the stains, so add the sequestrant first, and then try the vitamin C.

 

[rwswamp]

Jason - thanks for the help on the stains - I'll try it when I get some Vitamin C tablets.

What gives on this one? My post about the 8 pounds of borax - took PH to 7.4 perfect

I checked my levels last night and found:

FC - 4.0
TC - 4.0
CC - 0
PH - 8.0 (jumped due to increase in circulation time?)
TA - 80
CH - 110

Waiting on testing CYA later in the week.

Advice on PH?

Thanks

 

[JasonLion]

I suggest double checking your PH, just to be sure, and then adjusting it down with acid. When you get a water sample to test, you should always run the pump for at least an hour before taking the sample, and get the sample form 12" to 18" down.

PH can rise fairly quickly if your have a SWG, waterfall, fountain, spillover, etc. PH will also rise quickly if you have fairly new plaster (less than one year old).

 

[fuzzy_dba]

For the groups' information:
I added (following Jason's advice) 8.0 lbs. of Borax waited and re-tested Ph was perfect 7.4 and TA moved to 80

What I've found is that if I add 1/2 of the Borax things test great. As soon as I have the SWG & Waterfall & add the rest of the Borax I overshoot the PH: I've done it twice so far with exactly the same results.

Now, I add 1/2 of the Borax, let everything run for 1-2 days and find that the PH has gone up to what I wanted anyway (7.5) due to the Borax and SWG and Waterfall. I've learned by trial and error that half the amount of Borax usually does the job.

rwswamp: Are you sure that the PH wasn't below 7.0 when you started out :?: ?