New pool owner - struggling with CCL

[purcyg]

2 straight nights losing 1 or less FCL, virtually 0 CCL, and it appears my pool even has a drain! The only area where I went off-book was to use the cellulose product that we already had vs. DE to assist the filter - It seemed to work pretty well.

Thanks for the advice and for the collective wisdom of this group - I've put some of what you've saved me toward supporting the forum.

A couple more questions:
- I'll get new test numbers tonight, but I think my next step is to lower TA w/muriatic acid and then use aeration if needed to raise PH back up afterward?
- At pool open, initial Psi of filter was around 19. After the mess of things I did, including a couple rounds of clarifier before finding this site, backwashing and rinsing doesn't get it lower than 24. Is that any cause for concern?

Thanks,
Gregg

 

[Texas Splash]

Glad you're seeing progress. For the TA, the acid/aeration trick works well. It's not always a fast process, but it's fairly cheap and easy to do. For the psi, based on everything you did it may be time for a through deep cleaning as noted on the Deep Cleaning a Sand Filter page. That may help. Hopefully it's not your gauge. Even if it is, those are easy replacements.

 

[purcyg]

Perfect! I'll watch it and work that in if it doesn't improve. Thanks again, Pat.

Glad you're seeing progress. For the TA, the acid/aeration trick works well. It's not always a fast process, but it's fairly cheap and easy to do. For the psi, based on everything you did it may be time for a through deep cleaning as noted on the Deep Cleaning a Sand Filter page. That may help. Hopefully it's not your gauge. Even if it is, those are easy replacements.

 

[purcyg]

Hello again - something strange:
- last night, PH 7.5, TA: between 225-250 (if needed, FCL was 3, CCL < .5)
- turned jets upward to begin aeration. Did some scrubbing of discoloration on liner and embedded rope light for a couple hours.
- added 1 gal 10% chlorine, 1 gal Muriatic acid (20).
- this morning: PH is lower as expected (7.1), but TA actually went up (275). (FCL was 7, CCL < .5) I didn't know how much to expect it to go down, but certainly wasn't expecting up. I've had tests in the past 3 weeks between 225-300 for TA.

Questions:
Any thoughts as to TA having a wide variation? I'm using the 10ml, 1 drop 007, 3 drops 008, 25x drops of 009 to do the testing. I don't think I'm messing it up, but it could be possible if it's the only likely cause. I am using up the rest of the 3" trichlor pucks too, if that has anything to do with this conversation.
How long should I expect aeration (2 jets) to take to raise PH by .1 with filter running 24x7?

Thanks again,
Gregg

 

[Mr Bruce]

I'm using the 10ml, 1 drop 007, 3 drops 008, 25x drops of 009 to do the testing.
Gregg

edit I was thinking of CH. Here you go:

Rinse the sample tube with pool water.
Fill the sample tube with pool water to the 25 ml mark. The top of the sample will be curved. This curve is called a meniscus. The bottom of the meniscus should be level with the 25 ml mark.
Add 2 drops of R-0007 and swirl to mix.
Add 5 drops of R-0008 and swirl to mix. The solution should turn green or blue. If the sample turns red, pink, or yellow, you are done, your TA is zero, and your PH is very very low (4.5 or lower).
Counting the number of drops as you go, add R-0009 one drop at a time, swirling to mix after each drop.
Continue adding drops until the color changes to something more or less red, pink, yellow, or clear. The sample may switch between green, blue, and gray while you are adding drops. That is not the color change you are waiting for.
Continue adding drops as long as the color continues changing. The final drop, that does not change the color any further, does not count.
Multiply the number of drops by 10 to get your TA level. Remember that the final drop, which didn't cause any further color change, doesn't count.
Dispose of the sample safely. It is best to pour it down the drain with the water running. Do not add it back to the pool.
Rinse the sample tube with tap water and store for next time.