Newbie - Not sure what to do once I test and get numbers

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D

D&JButler

Gold Supporter
Bronze Supporter
May 18, 2016
58
MARION, IL
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Hi!
I'm super pumped to find this site, but a bit overwhelmed by all of the information. I am trying to follow the directions from the thread "turning your green swamp back into a sparkly oasis," which seemed crystal clear when I read it, but now that I am trying to apply it, I'm so confused.
I purchased the Taylor K-2006 test and all of the recommended chemicals. We took the tarp off this morning, and the pool was a swamp, as expected. (As a sidenote, we hope to purchase a solid cover before we close this fall. But, of course, I will be checking this site for recommendations.)
My initial numbers were:
FC .4
CC 0
pH 7.0
TA 70
CH 150
CYA maybe 80-100, but I'm really not sure.

Started off with 2 gallons of liquid chlorine

Readings one hour later:
FC 4.2
Forgot to check CC
pH 7.0
TA 100
Added 141 ounces of Borax

Readings just now:

FC 5.0
CC 5.6
pH 7.4
TA 110
CYA 100?

So far, I added another gal of liquid chlorine (12.75%), but I have no idea what to do next.
Hoping to get smarter about this whole process! Love the idea of saving money! We purchased the house 3 years ago. This is the third summer with the pool. Really sick of throwing thousands of dollars in it every year.

Thank you in advance!
Jill
 
Hello Jill and welcome to TFP. First question ... Marion where? That's important, so if you can update the state as well that would help. If you say Marion, Texas, then we're neighbors. :)

As for your readings..... Ugh ... here we go ..... we MUST validate that CYA. If it's truly at or over 100, you'll need to do a partial water exchange. So here's what you should do first:
CYA Dilution Testing:
Add pool water to bottom of sticker.
Add tap water to top of sticker.
Shake.
Pour out half so mixture is to bottom of sticker.
Add reagent to top of sticker.
Shake.
Test outside with back to sun and tube at waist level.
Pour back and forth a few times to see if you get the same result.
Double the result.

Now those instructions (the bottle & label) are for the TF-100, but same principle for the K-2006 - 50/50 pool & tap water then mix in the vile - double result. Make sure to test CYA outside with bright sunlight at your back. Post back your CYA test results please. Great to have you with us.
 
Jill,

Welcome to TFP :)

It may seem overwhelming now but in a couple weeks you will be a pro :) where is marion?

Fist things first, you have to make a decision on your CYA before we get started.. if your choose #2 below you will use massive amounts of chlorine, how much is unknown...
1. drain 50% of your water because you really need your CYA to be about 30 or 40....
2. leave it there and backwash more than usual to drain your water throughout the summer....

You need to do a SLAM, just below in my signature

It looks like you are using poolmath but if not it's right at the top of this page, fill the bottom page first using tfp.com, bleach and vinyl, then fill in your gallons in the top

use your current numbers in the now and depending on if you keep CYA or drain will determine what your put for CYA.. to give you an idea to SLAM with 90 CYA your FC would need to be 35 and if you drain your FC would be 12..

let us know how you want to go forward

I hope this helps :)
 
Hi! Thanks for your quick reply. It's Marion, IL. I'll update that ASAP. Sadly we're not neighbors. Haha

Okay, before I use up more reagent, I'd better make sure I know what you're talking about. When you say "bottom of sticker" are you referring to the 7 ml line? And I'm not sure what you mean by "double the result."

And hello CaseyCowboy! I really would like to avoid draining the pool, but if it's the best way to move forward, then we will. I will try to get a more accurate reading of CYA first and get back to you guys. Thanks for your help!
 
Oh and it looks like your using the 25ml sample when performing the FC and CC test. If you use the 10ml sample for FC and CC testing each drop reads as 0.5 as opposed to 0.2 for the 25ml sample. It will save you a stack on the precious 0871 reagent. I get the feeling your going to need it.
 
Okay, so we know your CYA is actually 120 then. So a 50% water exchange should lower your CYA to 60 and hopefully reduce your copper level to something that won't react in a volatile manner with chlorine (green water/hair). If you can exchange more water even better, but never below the lowest step or lower than about 12". But yes, a water exchange is the only way to remove metals, lower CYA (and CH for that matter). Good news is with TFP, once you lower those items, they will never increase again unless YOU chose to do so on purpose.
 
Thought I would update you on our progress. We drained about half of the pool and refilled on Sunday -took all day and evening. Monday am (yesterday), before heading to work, I re-tested and the CYA was 60. Still a little higher than we'd hoped, but we can live with it. pH was 7.3, TA 70. Began SLAMing and we are keeping it up. The pool is looking very promising. Still cloudy, but blue. We are brushing a couple of times a day, and then we see some green cloudy stuff that gets stirred up - seems to be less each time.
Hopefully we are on the right track. I can't thank you all enough for your patient, quick, thorough, and helpful responses and for all the fantastic information on this site. My next move is to become a supporter. Thanks!
 

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D&JButler said:
Sorry to be a pest, but should we go ahead and fill our inline chlorinator with chlorine tabs while we're SLAMing?
Click to expand...
Absolutely not.

You have already reported CYA levels in triple digits and you see what a pain that was to fix. Pucks add CYA. Every single puck you add raises CYA in your pool by 1.7. How many pucks a week? 5 maybe? That's 8.5 CYA per week, 34 per month, over 100 just in the three summer months!

Time to refresh yourself on Pool School - How to Chlorinate Your Pool
 
D&J Butler,

You are no pest. This is what we do and all of us love doing it.

I do not see that anyone yet has suggested to read "The ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" up in Pool School. It's the basic bible for what we do. It teaches us what we test for, why we test for it, and importantly, how to move the numbers up and down as needed.

Additional articles that may help you is the SLAM article in Pool School.

So, you are going to post a new set of results and, now, you will have had a chance to understand the five things we are looking for. Together, we'll analyze those five things and show you how to move your pool into the SLAM process and then, at the end of the SLAM, your water will be crystal clear and you will be able to maintain it that way.

Ask as much as you want. You will not find a more dedicated group so willing to help.
 
Richard, Wow! Thank you for the explanation about the pucks! We may as well remove that inline chlorinator, because we certainly won't be using it anymore. And the link about chlorine was very helpful

Dave, Thank you for the link to ABC's of Pool Chemistry. I believe I read that when I first came to the site, but I was SO ignorant of all the information here, that it really didn't sink in the first time around. The re-read was very helpful! I have already been following the How-To SLAM article religiously. And thanks to all the quick and great feedback on this forum thread, we are doing great. It feels like we may be in the home stretch of SLAMing. The FC this morning was 20 (target 24 based on our CYA of 60). The combined chlorine was 0.5. There is no place in PoolMath to enter CC, so I check it, but I'm not sure what to do with that number.
The pool is very blue - still very hazy, but looking much closer to the goal.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the wonderful and non-judgmental help here!!!
 
You are welcome :)

That chlorinator will come in handy if you ever go on vacation and need to use it, the best thing about TFP is knowing what you are putting in your pool, so while your gone the pucks work great..

The CC is used so you know that the chlorine is being used and actively killing greenies in your water, we also use this during normal testing to see if everything is good for your water, once you are below .5 or at 0, your pool is clear and you have no FC loss overnight (OCLT) you are done with the SLAM :)
 
Woo hoo! In the pool by Memorial Day, thanks to you awesome peeps!!! Finished SLAM yesterday and have been letting FC fall. FC was 8.5 before we jumped in, still a little high, but doable.
I will try to attach a panoramic photo of the pool and one of my SLAM spreadsheet.

A million thanks!
Jillimage.jpgimage.jpg
 
On final question (hopefully :p): I have some chemicals leftover from last year that I purchased in my still-ignorant state, such as algicide, "smart shock" (dichlor), and a few others. I will not be needing these ever again, correct?
What should I do with these? I feel bad about trying to sell/give to somebody else, because I would feel compelled to tell them about TFP - that there is a better way! (I think I'm becoming a TFP evangelist. lol :rolleyes:)

Thanks, again!
Jill
 

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