New Pool Chemical Step by Step???

[Mr Bruce]

1. How did you add the CYA? Is it dissolved?

2. I don't see why not. How does the water look?

3. If it is clear to the bottom, pH is 7.2-7.8 then you can swim.

 

[Richard320]

To add to what Mr. Vruce posted.... what does the Intex manual say you need the salt at? Generally there's a chart in the booklet that tells you how much salt to add to what size pool. If you added enough and it's fully dissolved, then you can start the SWG.

 

[rolo918]

Hey everyone, thanks for the quick advice! I've ordered the T-100 test kit and added a salt test kit to go with it. I've played with PoolMath and have a good idea on how it works. Thunderstorms forecast tomorrow, which is fine, because the test kit won't be here until Saturday. After after your advice, there's no way I'm filling the pool without the kit in my hands.

Another question about sand. The owners manual for the SWG calls for No. 20 silica sand or glass sand with particle size range .45-.85mm and a uniformity coefficient less than 1.75. After searching Home Depot, Lowes, Fleet Farm and Menards, I don't see any sand that has those type of specifics listed. Will I be sorry if I just use sand box sand, or does anyone have an ideas where to get this specific of a sand?

Thanks again.

Did anybody else catch this or is it just me ??? (The SWG). He's referring to his filter not an SWG
the SWG is a chlorine generator that uses salt in your water Can you please tell us the make and model of your SWG if one is installed

 

[munsterf15]

As of June 9 at 9am, here are my numbers using the TF-100 test kit.

CH 1
PH 7.7
FC 1
CC 0
TC 1
TA 320
CYA no reading yet
Salt 1700

I have a SWG ECO 20110 2650 GPH salt system. I turned on the SWG yesterday but didn't according to the manual didn't add enough salt to start, so I added another 40 pounds of salt today and about 40 ounces of bleach to get the FC up a little.

Is it common for the CYA to not show readings yet? I dissolved 3 pounds of it (mostly dissolved it) in a 5 gallon bucket then added it to the pool almost 2 days ago.

Marty

 

[Mr Bruce]

It should show up soon.

How did you get a CH of 1?

 

[Husky25]

Is it common for the CYA to not show readings yet? I dissolved 3 pounds of it (mostly dissolved it) in a 5 gallon bucket then added it to the pool almost 2 days ago.

CYA may take up to a week to show up on a test.

 

[munsterf15]

It should show up soon.

How did you get a CH of 1?

I just did the CH test in the TF-100 test kit. Is that a weird number?

 

[Mr Bruce]

Yes, since it should be a multiple of 25

 

[munsterf15]

Hey everyone. Thanks for the support. My numbers are settling down well, except for one. My TA is at 400. I ran the test several times, watched the video on the TFTestkits website and am pretty sure I'm doing it right. Is TA something I should be very concerned about?

Here are the rest of my numbers. Any thoughts on the rest of these?

ph 8.2
FC 7
CC 0
CH 375
TA 400
Salt 2600

Thanks again for your help. This website and forum rock.

Marty

 

[Richard320]

Hey everyone. Thanks for the support. My numbers are settling down well, except for one. My TA is at 400. I ran the test several times, watched the video on the TFTestkits website and am pretty sure I'm doing it right. Is TA something I should be very concerned about?

Here are the rest of my numbers. Any thoughts on the rest of these?

ph 8.2
FC 7
CC 0
CH 375
TA 400
Salt 2600

Thanks again for your help. This website and forum rock.

Marty

The high pH is more worrisome. It could be 8.2 or just as easily be 9.0.

Before you reach for the acid...

Repeat the TA test but do two things different.

• Use 10 ml of pool water, 1 drop of R-0007, 3 drops of R-0008, and multiply the number of drops of R-0009 by 25 to get your TA level.
• Wipe the tip of the R-009 with a damp paper towel between drops. Sometimes a static electric charge can build up on the R-0009 dropper bottle tip, causing the drops to be smaller than usual and making the test read higher than actual. You can prevent this by wiping the tip of the dropper bottle with a damp cloth or tissue before you start and after each drop.
  

Once you have the new TA reading, plug 8.2 pH and the TA reading into poolmath and add what ever acid it asks for to get pH to 7.2. Let it circulate and brush a few times in each direction to really get it mixed. Retest pH and TA again. If it still says 8.2, repeat. When the pH color shifts, then you make your final pH adjustment.

You'll be using a lot of acid to lower pH for a while, but each time you add it, you also reduce TA some. The amounts of acid and how often you need to adjust should both go down over time.

 

[911medic]

Hey everyone. Thanks for the support. My numbers are settling down well, except for one. My TA is at 400. I ran the test several times, watched the video on the TFTestkits website and am pretty sure I'm doing it right. Is TA something I should be very concerned about?

Here are the rest of my numbers. Any thoughts on the rest of these?

ph 8.2
FC 7
CC 0
CH 375
TA 400
Salt 2600

Thanks again for your help. This website and forum rock.

Marty

I have extremely alkaline well water that we used to fill our pool, similar to yours (~400). Once you get your pH adjusted to normal, the pH will tend to climb over time due to that high alkalinity. Every time you lower the pH with acid, you lower the alkalinity some as well.

Once you've gotten the other chemistry taken care of, you can speed the alkalinity lowering process by aerating the pool, which will cause the pH to rise faster and let you lower it (and the alkalinity along with it) more frequently. I'm down to a TA of about 140 now.

Stock up on acid, as you'll go through a fair amount of it.