On the right track?

[CJsdad]

Hi all, I've been creeping around the forums for better than a year now. In the past three years I've used pristine blue in our pool and this year I'm making the switch. I received my test kit (k-2006) three days ago, opened the pool, topped it off with 14" of fresh water) and started testing and adding per the pool calculator. My test results are as follows

day 1
fc-0, cc-0, ph-7.4, Ta-70
ch-120, cya-10, si-0.6
water was clear, but bottom had a film
I added 60 oz 8.3% bleach

day 2
fc-0.5, cc-0.5, ph-7.4, ta-80
ch-130, cya-10,
my son had brushed the bottom so now water was a little cloudy
added 50 oz 8.3% bleach and 32 oz stabilizer

day 3
fc-0.5, cc-0.5, ph-7.1, ta-80
ch-130, cya-25
water was barely cloudy, neither day had any green tint
added 20 oz stabilizer, 54 oz 8.3% bleach and 38 oz baking soda

Am I doing anything right, and other than fc and ph how often do the other tests need repeated once there where they need to be? Am I losing fc during the day because there was no stabilizer at the start? And a whole bunch of other questions I can't think of yet lol.

 

[Texas Splash]

Good you have the K-2006! You are correct that low CYA will cause FC depletion quite quickly. In addition, if you have algae (slimy) FC will disappear faster. Keep watching the CYA to ensure it gets-up to 30. In the meantime, increase FC to 12. You are way too low right now. Also, make sure you are testing FC with the 10ml sample as follows:
10 ml sample plus one heaping scoop of powder. Count drops then divide by 2. Example: 14 drops = FC of 7. Stay with that SLAM FC of 12 until you pass the 3 SLAM criteria.

 

[CJsdad]

Will do, and thanks for the speedy reply. Fc will be increased tonight!

 

[kimkats]

Dad you are on the right track! Getting the test kit AND having your son help with the pool! NICE

In the future can you post your numbers like this please?

FC
CC
PH
TA
CYA

It is easier to scan quickly. THANKS!

Kim:cat:

 

[CJsdad]

Retested CYA and it's at 50ppm, not sure if I tested it to soon after adding stabilizer(about 1 hour after it was all dissolved). Added bleach to bring it up to 12, will retest tomorrow evening. Will do Kimkats!

 

[kimkats]

We have found that the CYA will show up on the test after it is all dissolved AND had a chance to mix in the water. Guess who was the one that got to squeeze two big socks of CYA into their water?????? ME! LOL oh my sore hands! BUT worth it to find this out.

Kim:cat:

 

[CJsdad]

Just tested and topped off my chlorine. The numbers were

FC-9
Cc-0.5 (was barely pink before the one drop but was still pinkinsh)
PH-7.4
TA-80
CYA-65

the water looked good, just faintly hazy, but the bottom of the pool is easy to see.actually it looks pretty good in the picture!

 

[kimkats]

Loving those numbers! That is looking great! I bet it will be a jewel of a pool in a couple of days with all of your work! SWEET!

Kim:cat:

 

[CJsdad]

First off I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day. Ok update on the SLAM, tested twice yesterday and topped off chlorine, numbers were as follows

11 am
FC-9
CC-0.5
PH-7.4
CYA-65
TA-80

7 pm
FC-11.5
CC-<0.5
topped off chlorine both times, didn't get a chance to test this morning due to crazy holiday preparations. Just finished testing and the numbers are in,

FC-8.5
CC-0.0
PH-7.4
TA-100
the water is crystal clear and oh so warm for the end of May here in PA,79 degrees! Am I in the clear, all three SLAM criteria are checked off? The PH would seem to want to stay at 7.4, so is that a number I an be comfortable with(the pool calculator suggests 7.5-7.8). And am l correct in that I need only test CYA if there's a substantial splash out or once a month or every two weeks? Not sure what's the correct course of action there. And I was also thinking about adding some salt to soften up the feel of the water, any opinions on that are appreciated. Sorry for the barrage of questions.

 

[Texas Splash]

You are making fine progress. About the SLAM, you mentioned the water is clear and CC less than 0.5 - great! Now what about the overnight (OCLT) test? Did I miss that one? I don't see it, so make sure you pass that one - no more than 1 ppm FC loss overnight (no sunlight on pool from dusk to dawn). Let us know please.

As for pH, 7.4 should be okay for now and it should rise into the mid-7s shortly, especially with aeration (swimming). Yes about the CYA. So I believe passing the OCLT is your last hurdle. If you don't pass the OCLT, your SLAM FC is "28". I'm basing that off of your current CYA of 65 (round-up to 70). Hope that helps. Good luck on yoru OCLT!

 

[CJsdad]

Thanks for the heads up Texas, was thinking the third criteria was something else, and was going off your earlier post of a 12 FC slam, but that was before I raised the CYA. I tested tonight after sunset so I'll be sure to take another test first thing in the morning and post those numbers. Not sure why I was thinking no algae growth was third check off. Guessing a lot of info to soak up, thanks.

 

[kimkats]

Oh yeah there is a LOT of info to take in for sure!

I have something for you:

Print these out:
Pool School - Basic Pool Care Schedule

Pool School - Recommended Levels

Bookmark these:
Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals

http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html

Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

Make sure to ask any and all questions and concerns you have. We can help you fine tune your pool!

Kim:cat:

 

[CJsdad]

Tested this morning for chlorine loss overnight. Came back with barely 1ppm, the sample was hardly pink before the second drop. Does this mean it's good to go? And thanks for the links Kim, I've bookmarked them on my phone, and Texas, having all the links in your signature is pure genius

 

[Texas Splash]

Yessssssss! Congrats!

 

[CJsdad]

WOOHOO​the parties Thursday, last day of school blowout!!! Thanks for all the help and advise Texas and Kim. I'm thinking I made the right choice on the chemical change and signing up to TFP. Daily testing actually gives a feeling of reassurance compared to the biweekly testing that was the regiment with Pristine Blue, definitely feels like we're in control.

 

[kimkats]

Dad! You did it!! SWEET!!!

How many has CJ invited? Here is a "trick" we do when a large amount of friends are over. Push the FC to just under SLAM level right before they are expected to arrive. As soon as they leave push it TO SLAM level to kill what they left behind.

Kim:cat:

 

[CJsdad]

Thanks Kim, we're looking at between 15-20 and temps in the mid 80s. So bring it up to around 15 tommorow morning and then 20 Friday morning? CYA is at 50 and most will be here til late into the night.

 

[kimkats]

You are on the right track! What fun but oh the noise! LOL

Kim:cat:

 

[kris77]

I had a friend that used Prestine Blue. I talked him into switching last year. He had a cartridge filter. When we took his filter apart to clean it, there was about 2 lbs of copper trapped in the filter. His copper level was through the roof. Wonder how yours is???? He eventually just drained the whole pool and put in a new liner and started fresh.

 

[CJsdad]

We ran the pristine blue fairly lean because of the copper, but we did have a light staining issue in the skimmer from over the three years. I'm hoping the fact that we usually drain a third of our water every fall has helped with that. I haven't seen any evidence of copper in the sand filter when I reinstalled the flow valve. It's probly not a bad idea to get the copper levels checked though? That's one of the bigger reasons I wanted to switch, over a lot of years I imagine the build up could get substantial.