First pool test

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M

Marleysrevenge

0
Jun 10, 2016
19
Charlotte/NC
I have not received my test kit yet via mail, so to open the pool this weekend I brought a sample to a local pool store. My pool was filled about 2.5 weeks ago and had no pump for 2 weeks (basically water sat and became green). Pool was shocked 3 times since then, with the last time Friday night. Currently running pump 24/7 and my SWG is now at 80% b/c I dropped it when CC was listed above 3ppm. My FC and TC levels are now both holding @ 3ppm for past 2 days with low CYA. Chlorine was higher @ 4ppm on Sunday morning and sun bleached some out by this morning I guess along with replacing water from splashout. Below are the results I have from Saturday morning:

FC = 3
TC = 3
CC = 3

PH = 7.8
Hardness = 84ppm

Alkalinity = 58ppm

CYA = 17 ppm

Copper = 0.1 ppm
Iron = 0.2 ppm
Salt = 4400

Pool store recommended the shock which brought me up to 4 and is now 3 as of current chlorine levels as of Saturday morning (we had people in pool yesterday so splash out occurred and I replaced some water too), and I have added Alkalinity to raise per their instructions. If these numbers are correct, should the issue with algae be gone (assuming that algae won't grow in 3 ppm environment). Also, should I add the CYA now, or after Calcium treatment they suggested? They said to break my treatments to 15 lbs/3 times / every 2 hours for alkalinity and calcium and to add 3lb of CYA when done. I tried the pool calculator and it recommended using Borate too, but it seems like PH is not really rising.

All suggestions welcome, as I have never had a pool before and am just learning.
 
One thing I would definitely recommend is to not take any chemical advice from the pool store. Their testing is suspect, and most of their products are over-priced and won't solve your problem. Since you have a test kit on the way, best thing to do for now is simply add about 1 gallon of regular bleach to your after each evening. That's it. Do not add any other pool store products. You can let the pump circulate and brush the pool as well to keep stuff stirred-up, but only add that bleach for now until the kit arrives. When your kit arrives, you'll need to "SLAM" (link below). To SLAM, we'll need to know primarily your CYA, FC, and pH. So read-up on the SLAM page and take advantage of the other vital links you see below in my sig. Once your kit arrives, post those results for us and we'll help you get that SLAM going to remove the algae.
 
It "could" be safe to swim if you have a one of those simple plastic comparator view testers (i.e. Wal-Mart HTH drop test kit) that allows you to do the drop testing for FC. I would say if it's yellow (FC 3-5) you are okay to swim. But if you have no way to test FC right now at all, it would not be advised. By comparison, I wouldn't want you to go too high with chlorine either. It shouldn't be a problem for your fiberglass, I just wouldn't want the chlorine to be too harsh on swimmers or clothing if you later learn the CYA is lower than what the store told you.

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The Taylor K-2006C will test for CYA. That's one of the recommended kits and does a fine job for that. :) Test strip are "no-bueno". :(
 
thx, I have been using a drop tester for ph & chlorine and the chlorine was more than 3.0 is all I could tell from that. PH was high but within the range @ 7.8. so that is good, I just am not sure how high the chlorine was, but the pool store on Sunday said 3.0, and that it should be safe. I just want to get the chems right now to ensure no problems, however I was scared at how high the chlorine could be. But then I read when slamming pool, using pool calc, I would want it at 10ppm for free chlorine. When slamming pool, do people have to stay out of it? Or can they swim the next morning? I don't want to kill anyone.
 
Ok got my test kit and these r the results


this morning I put a 1/2 jug of 10% bleach in to tide it over for the day

FC = 3.5ppm
CC - 0.5ppm
PH - 8 or greater (applied small Amy of PH down this morning = 1/4 of a half gallon bc I noticed irritated eyes and skin
TA - 90ppm
Hardness- 80ppm (I know this is low and have a chemical to increase already but have not added)
CYA - 30ppm (I know this is low and have a chemical to increase already but have not added)
Salt - 4200ppm


i will not be able to work on pool until evenings until a weekend. And I didn't see how you got the safe to swim free chlorine level when slamming. I read slam process and viewed the cya/chlorine chart but I didn't understand how your calculations were made. Sorry and thanks for all your help

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Also noticing water leaves white residue on say glass table and concrete deck. Is this scaling???? If so how do I kill that immediately hahah
 
Great! So now you can test accurately whenever you need to - perfect. Your CYA is perfect to start a "SLAM" and clear that water. Don't add any more stabilizer at the moment. You do need to adjust pH "down" to about 7.2. You'll want to use muriatic acid to do that, and try to do it as soon as you can. Just be careful with MA, stay upwind, and watch your eyes & skin for splashing. It's perfect for pools, but you just have to be extra slow and careful with it.

Once you have the pH down to about 7.2, then increase FC with regular bleach and keep it at an FC of "12" until you pass all 3 SLAM criteria. It is okay to swim as long as your FC does not exceed 12. You can dial-down or turn-off your SWG during the SLAM process if you like to give it a break. SWGs are not designed to maintain such a high FC level. Once the SLAM is complete, then you can turn it back on.

Work schedules can make it tough and/or prolong the SLAM, but the sooner you start (lower pH and increase FC) the sooner you'll be done. :) Let us know if you have any other questions.
 
Thanks. One more question, I had heard combined chlorine should be at 0.5 and if higher, it is using FC to kill say an algae or something. I guess my question would be how is CC decreased without lowering FC below a safety of 1.0?

its fun to mix the chems and test, kind of like high school chemistry class again
 

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Think of it this way ..... When your FC begins to kill organics in the water, it becomes CC. CC sits in the water until it can be oxidized by the sun and removed - kind of a transitory state of final cleansing. When a pool has too much CC (over 0.5) it means there is an over-abundance of organics that are still waiting to be burned-off by the sun and the pool is under some stress. Sometimes the answer is a little more FC, and other times it may be related to not enough sunlight to oxidize the CC. Here's a quote from the ABC's of Water Chemistry:

Combined chlorine is an intermediate breakdown product created in the process of sanitizing the pool. CC causes the "chlorine" smell many people associate with chlorine pools. If CC is above 0.5, you should SLAM your pool. CC indicates that there is something in the water that the FC is in the process of breaking down. In an outdoor pool, CC will normally stay at or near zero as long as you maintain an appropriate FC level and the pool gets some direct sunlight.
Click to expand...
 
so using pool math, I get that I need to buy 36 oz of 31.45% muriatic acid to drop my ph from 7.8 to 7.2 to start a slam. I will stop by store tonight and get that and will also get some CYA for later, as it is telling me I will need almost 36 pounds of it... Does this sound correct?

Size Mouse over a field for detail
FCGoal: 1 to 5
Add of % bleach. Jug size 96 oz 128 oz 174 oz 182 oz 30 oz 64 oz 121 oz .
or add by weight or by volume of trichlor dichlor cal-hypo 48% cal-hypo 53% cal-hypo 65% cal-hypo 73% lithium-hypo chlorine gas .
Note: Dichlor and trichlor add CYA and lower pH. Cal-hypo adds CH.
pHGoal: 7.5 to 7.8
Given TA of and Borate of :
Add by weight or by volume of washing soda or soda ash
or add by weight or by volume of borax.
Add of 15.7% - 10° Baumé 28.3% - 18° Baumé 31.45% - 20° Baumé 34.6% - 22° Baumé 14.5% 29% muriatic acid
or add by weight or by volume of dry acid.
Note: pH calculations depend on TA and Borate. Results are approximate and can be off significantly for large pH changes. Changing your pH will also change your TA.
TAGoal: 60 to 80
Add by weight or by volume of baking soda.
To lower TA you reduce pH to 7.0-7.2 with acid and then aerate to increase pH.
Note: Adding baking soda will also raise your pH just a little.
CHGoal: 220 to 320
Add by weight or by volume of calcium chloride
or add by weight or by volume of calcium chloride dihydrate.
To lower CH you replace of the water with new water, with CH of .
CYAGoal: 70 to 80
Add by weight or by volume of stabilizer
or add of liquid stabilizer.
To lower CYA you replace of the water with new water.
Note: It can take solid stabilizer up to a week to dissolve. It will also lower your pH.
SaltAdd of salt.
To lower Salt you replace of the water with new water.
BorateAdd by weight or by volume of borax boric acid tetraborate pentahydrate
and of 31.45% muriatic acid to compensate for the pH increase.
To lower Borate you replace of the water with new water.
Note: The pH should be tested and adjusted as needed after increasing the borate level.
Temp Mouse over a field for detail
CSICalcite Saturation Index - requires pH, TA, CH, CYA, Temp, uses Borate, Salt
Less than -0.6 is suggestive of problems for plaster, tile, stone, and pebble pools.
Greater than 0.6 is suggestive of problems for all pools.
Suggested FC LevelsSWG: Normal: to Shock: Mustard Algae Shock:
Suggested target FC levels based on the current CYA level for outdoor pools.
Note: Be careful if your CYA is really and truly zero! With CYA above 90 we recommend replacing water to get CYA down before you start the SLAM process.
Suggested Goal LevelsUse suggested goal levels from: Not Setup Traditional Pool TroubleFreePool.com Traditional Spa
Primary source of chlorine: Not Setup Bleach SWG Trichlor Pool surface: Not Setup Plaster Vinyl Fiberglass
Note: Suggested goals are simply a starting point. There are many situations that are not covered by these basic guidelines.
 
36 oz of Muratic sounds about right...Just be very careful with that stuff...its pretty nasty. Mix it into a 5 gal bucket about half full before you dump..always add chemcials to water, not water to chemicals

You wont need 36 lbs of cya... I have a 13500 gal pool and its about 1lb per 10 CYA. I would start with 1 4lb can and see where you stand. CYA goes up very easily... the only way to bring it down is replace water so err on the low side and work your way up

Make sure all your numbers in pool math are pretty accurate... some fields change values when you change a corresponding one
 
so using pool math, I get that I need to buy 36 oz of 31.45% muriatic acid to drop my ph from 7.8 to 7.2 to start a slam. I will stop by store tonight and get that and will also get some CYA for later, as it is telling me I will need almost 36 pounds of it... Does this sound correct?
I tried to paste the pool math suggestions, but it wouldn't work.

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

here are my numbers
 
One other thing to note: Since your pH is so high, it might actually take more then one adjustment to get it down to 7.2. Add what pool math says, wait at least 15 mins with the pump on, then test again. If not at 7.2 do the pool math thing again and add as needed.

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If your pool is 15600. Then to go from 30 to 70 would be, 5lbs 3ozs of CyA. But you don't want to put that in until your pool is clean and clear. So just drop the pH to 7.2 and then start the SLaM.
 
Have you tested again since this morning?
Just ran your earlier numbers thru the calc

With your addition of 60 oz 10% bleach you should be up around 6.5 fc
I would test again and see where you are at, then punch it up to 8-9 to get the chlorine ready to slam... wait about an hour (pump running) then I would add about 2 cups of MA, wait 30 min and check your ph. If its going down you are on the right path and target your 7.2 mark with another 2 cups. That should get you pretty close to 7.2

If you are truly at CYA 30 then you can target 12 for your FC but since 30 is on the low end, I would add enuf CYA to get it between 30-40 (actually readable on the test kit) and target 16 (CYA 40) instead. If its below 30 your numbers could be skewed.
 
I have not been home to test yet. I won't be there for another 2.5 hours bc I also have to buy the muriatic acid and more stabilizer on the way home. There is a place on the way home like a Leslie's pool and local store where I'll get cya I guess. I will stop at lowes to get acid.
 
You may be able to get both at lowes... the MA is in the paint dept by the brushes usually and the stabilizer is in the pool section if they have any in stock... Get some HD rubber gloves too.. may help with any MA splashes until you get used to working with it
 

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