TDS reading 3000

Jump to latest Follow Reply
P

PoolDad2

0
Jun 24, 2007
79
Eastern NC
I have an IG Vynal 24.5K gallon pool with a Quad 60 D.E. filter. I can't remember the pump HP but the system is old since the plumbing to the pump from the pool is only 1.5". I did a spring cleaning to the filter system 4 weeks ago. It didn't look bad after running all winter. My chemicals that I checked with my kit were good but I have had an issue with algae this past week. I have been doing the BBB method for over a year now. I tried to clear up the algae by putting in 4, 1.68 gallon jugs of 6% chlorine in and brushing the entire pool down. It must have done something because the next day I had to backwash the filter, it was at 24psi. When clean and freshly charged with D.E. it is at 14psi. I added more chlorine and brushed down again after back washing the filter, so I'm thinking I will have to backwash again tonight when I get home from work.

The pool store is telling me I need to do a partial drain to get my TDS down. My questions is do I have too? What caused it to get so high. Over the course of two years it went from 1200 to 2200 to now 3000. The last time I added water was Aug last year. The rest of the time the pool has been kept full by all the rain we have been getting here in Eastern NC. When I do fill the pool it is from the town water, not well.

Did I mess up by not vacuuming the algae that was on the bottom to waste? Should I take the filter apart and clean it out again to get rid of what might still be inside the filter? Some times I get ahead of myself and this time I'm thinking I did.

Thanks for any and all help. :)

Here is the water test figures.
Saturations indx: -1.3
TDS: 3000
CYA: 40
Tot. Chlorine: 1.8
Free Chlorine: 1.8
pH: 6.9
Totl Alkalinity: 54
Adj. total Alk: 42
Tot. Hardness: 139
 
In virtually every case, you can disregard TDS.....it's not important.

What is important is your cause for algae to appear........that's lack of chlorine. YOur chlorine should be around 3-5ppm constantly.

The numbers you posted look they came from a digital readout of test strips......very, very unreliable.. I would suggest you get another pool store to give you test results from drops-based test or, better yet, get your own really good kit to help you better understand what's going on in your pool.

6.9 pH is a little too low.....you should be in the mid 7's. That said, you're not dangerously low and I would be reluctant to trust that result. I would get that 6.9 confirmed by another source and then, if correct, bring it up with 20 Mule Team Borax.
 
When I get home I will test it again. I got a good kit, just went to the store just to see how their test compaired. I knew I was going to be by the store so I just took a sample with me.

I have a nice supply of chlorine. Been buying it little by little over the winter.

Can't wait to get home and see what I get with my kit compaired to the store.

Side note, I'm sure this is common in skimmers but mine seems to be a spider magnet. It is amazing of the size of some of the spiders that are in there. :shock:
 
PoolDad2 said:
Side note, I'm sure this is common in skimmers but mine seems to be a spider magnet. It is amazing of the size of some of the spiders that are in there. :shock:
Click to expand...

Mine is too. You'd think they'd be extinct by now as fast as I kill them.
 
PoolDad2 said:
...IG Vynal 24.5K gallon pool with a Quad 60 D.E. filter...I have had an issue with algae this past week...tried to clear up the algae by putting in 4, 1.68 gallon jugs of 6% chlorine in and brushing...the next day I had to backwash the filter, it was at 24psi (when clean D.E. it is at 14psi)...added more chlorine and brushed again after back washing the filter...will have to backwash again tonight when I get home from work.
...pool store is telling to do a partial drain to get my TDS down...What caused it to get so high...in the course of two years it went from 1200 to 2200 to now 3000...last time I added water was Aug/08...the pool has been kept full by the rain we have been getting here in Eastern NC...I fill the pool from the town water, not well.
Did I mess up by not vacuuming the algae that was on the bottom to waste? Should I take the filter apart and clean it out again to get rid of what might still be inside the filter? Some times I get ahead of myself and this time I'm thinking I did. Here is the water test figures.
Saturations indx: -1.3
TDS: 3000
CYA: 40
Tot. Chlorine: 1.8
Free Chlorine: 1.8
pH: 6.9
Totl Alkalinity: 54
Adj. total Alk: 42
Tot. Hardness: 139
Click to expand...
At a CYA of 40 you should have FC of 3-5: See the CYA/Chlorine chart here: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/chlorine_cya_chart_shock/ You should be shocking the pool at a FC level of 16.

What kit are you using to get the measurements?
If they were from test strips I'd STONGLY recommend getting a good test kit. If you are using test strips they have been proven time and time again to be much less than accurate. We either recommend the Taylor K2006 or the TF-100 (http://www.tftestkits.net/)

As duraleigh stated, your PH is on the low side and the PH and TA can both be brought up by using 20 Mule Team Borax (green box); IF the PH reading is accurate.

-And you are right, the skimmers seem to attract the large brown spiders: YUK!
 
PoolDad2 said:
When I get home I will test it again. I got a good kit,

Which test kit do you have? We recommend the FAS-DPD chlorine test over the DPD chlorine test that is much more common.

I have a nice supply of chlorine. Been buying it little by little over the winter.
What form of chlorine are you using? There are various forms of chlorine for pools, both stabilized and unstabilized, We recommend unstabilized liquid chlorine or chlorine bleach (one and the same chemical) because it has the fewest undesirable effects
Click to expand...
 
The bleach I have is from Family Dollar Store. It is, I think the 168oz jug that states it has 6% chlorine. I have about 45 jugs in the garage.

I have the Taylor K2006 kit. So I'm GTG in that department. One thing that I'm out of is our aquabot died. Good thing is it is still under warranty and it only cost me $21 to UPS it back to NJ. :mrgreen: I never new how much I depended on that thing to keep the bottom of the pool clean until it broke.
 
This probably doesn't have anything to do with your questions, but several people have found that bleach purchased from dollar stores tends to be very old and thus will have lost most or all of it's strength. It won't hurt your pool, but it also won't add nearly as much chlorine as you might expect it to.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
I just did another test to the pool after adding the 20 Mule team, about 4lbs of it and some chlorine last night. Here are my readings. I also still have some Algae settling to the bottom. Got to add more bleach and brush up the pool again today. Thanks for all the help.

CYA: 40
Tot. Chlorine: 4
Free Chlorine: 0
pH: 7.5
Totl Alkalinity: 70
 
PoolDad2[b said:
]The bleach I have is from Family Dollar Store[/b]. It is, I think the 168oz jug that states it has 6% chlorine. I have about 45 jugs in the garage.

I have the Taylor K2006 kit. So I'm GTG in that department. One thing that I'm out of is our aquabot died. Good thing is it is still under warranty and it only cost me $21 to UPS it back to NJ. :mrgreen: I never new how much I depended on that thing to keep the bottom of the pool clean until it broke.
Click to expand...

I hate to be the bearer of bad news....there have been several reports of bad bleach from dollar stores, it's not a source we recommend because of that. Don't be surprised if the bleach is not as strong as it's label says. Best way to tell is target your level, add the bleach, test, and if you don't reach your target level there is a good chance the bleach has lost strength....which could mean you'll go thru the 45 jugs quicker than planned... :|
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply