Three Days In, Added Some Chemicals

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S

sbollag

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Mar 2, 2016
120
New Orleans
Alright, so the plaster (Wet Edge Primera Stone) has been in since Sunday and water filled that day. Didn't add anything on Sunday, nor did we get the pump running that day, as it was Sunday. I did not test the water Sunday either (though I realize perhaps I should have done it right away). But I did test it Monday morning, before anything was added, and my readings were as follows:

pH - >8.2
CH - 375
TA - 220

Later Monday, plaster folks added two bottles of Regent Metals Out. He didn't add any acid at the time, as I think there was some miscommunication and he thought our acid level was high. No big deal. So Tuesday morning readings were not much different:

pH - > 8.2
CH - 450 (why would this have risen so much?)
TA - 210

Then later Tuesday, plaster folks came back by and hooked us up with all sorts of chemicals (thought it was really nice of them, not something they normally do, gave us a 25 lb each of trichlor tablets and granules, four gallons muriatic acid, and a bottle of a different sequestrant). While he was there, around noon, he added three pucks of trichlor to each of the two skimmers (I assume this is OK to do - that seems to be their practice) and a half gallon of muriatic acid. I added the other half gallon later that evening.

Think I'm starting to see some results of adding the chemicals, as my test readings this morning were as follows:

ph - > 8.2 (assume this will just take a little while to come down?)
CH - 500 (I'm not 100% sure this was correct, feel like I may have messed something up with this test. Is it possible that it's that high/keeps rising? Should I be concerned about that??)
TA - 120 (this seems right on target)
TC - > 5 (assume this is because of all the trichlor that was added)

So a few questions, in addition to what I've put in above. Is it OK to swim in the pool even if the chlorine is off the charts? As long as it is, I'm thinking we can probably swim if not tonight, tomorrow, as plaster seems pretty set.

Am I correct in thinking that the pH will just take a little while to come down? My understanding is that getting the TA in line will help bring the pH down, is that right?

What's going on with my CH levels??

Lastly, the Wet Edge start up instructions say something about testing for carbonate alkalinity (I believe that's what it is), but the TF-100 test kit does not appear to have a test for that, and I did a little reading about that and seems it is not so relevant/necessary, so wondering if I need to worry about that at all??

Thanks in advance for all the help!
 
Which test kit are you using? nm TF-100, new water. Get some CYA hanging on a sock, and just use bleach. No pucks, algaecides, etc.

With new plaster you need to get the pH down. It is going to keep rising for a long time.

Your FC levels depend on your CYA Add enough bleach to get to 3 FC today (now).
 
Oh, I've read that many times (it's funny, the steps in the picture on that page are almost exactly ours). Just wanting to make sure I'm doing things correctly.

Hmm, so earlier I had asked and folks had said it was fine to use the pucks, but if bleach is better, I will do that. But at this point, it seems like there's a lot of chlorine in there, right? So would I want to add bleach now??

As for the CYA, that's stabilizer, right? Funny, I asked the plasterer if I needed stabilizer, and he said no, since we have the trichlor, we don't need stabilizer. Hmmm....
 
Trichlor contains stabilizer too.....which is why people have trouble with greeen pools. They don't take into consideration *all that* CYA each puck adds. And with higher CYA you must have higher FC to be balanced.

SO we like to add things individually so we can control exactly what and how much we add. Buy some stabilizer at Lowes, it comes in 4 pound jugs of granular. If you recently won the lottery and don't mind the cost- liquid CYA is available at Leslies's and each gallon will raise your 15,000 gallon pool up about ~30ppm. Use PoolMath to check that.

Homework--> Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals
 
What are you testing FC at? You didn't include it in the first post.

Next time you go to Lowes, go ahead and buy 3-4 bottles of MA. You will use it, trust me.
 
The number you posted doesn't have CYA. We can't tell whether your chlorine is even that high without having a CYA number to compare it to. If your CYA is off the charts from using those pucks, a chlorine level of 5 could be too low.

Pucks are fine if you are trying to raise your CYA. There is no real reason you can't do that, although most of us choose to use stabilizer to do it separately. If your CYA is high, the pucks will make it worse and you can't keep chlorine levels high enough to work. This is why most of us get our CYA where we want it add chlorine another way (bleach or SWCG).

I think a chlorine level of 5, even at a low CYA levels, is safe to swim in. Some people swim up to shock level, but I use around 20% of CYA as a max chlorine level for swimming.

I would want the PH lowered first though. I wouldn't want to swim in a pool with a PH that high.
 
Please read "The ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" up in Pool School. Your quandary over CYA indicates you do not yet have a good grasp of what parameters are necessary and at what levels. That should answer some questions for you.
 
Well I guess I did not realize I need to be testing for all that immediately. Just been following the start up instructions provided by Wet Edge and testing for what they list. But if I need to start immediately testing for everything else, will do.

Thanks again.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
 

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You need to have a baseline for :
FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA

Once you have those, you only need to test your FC/CC and pH daily and the TA perhaps weekly if your pH is bouncing around, the CH weekly at first then monthly once cured and usually the CYA only a couple times a year UNLESS you have added anything to change these baseline levels and then you will need to retest as appropriate.
 
Got it! Thanks much! Will do those tests this evening and report back.

On a bright note, pool is really starting to look good, nice and blue, so I'm hoping that means things are getting balanced.

Thanks for all the help and all your patience!

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
 
YippeeSkippy said:
You need to have a baseline for :
FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA

Once you have those, you only need to test your FC/CC and pH daily and the TA perhaps weekly if your pH is bouncing around, the CH weekly at first then monthly once cured and usually the CYA only a couple times a year UNLESS you have added anything to change these baseline levels and then you will need to retest as appropriate.
Click to expand...

What is the best order to test these in? I noticed some use results/water+reagents from previous test.
Also, how deep down in the pool should I be sampling water from? Near skimmer? Near return?

Thank you.
 
I would do FC/CC first- if you find your FC is over 10ppm you don't need to do the pH as that test isn't accurate when chlorine is over 10. Otherwise do the pH next.
Then I'd do the TA and CH, with the CYA being last as its least often tested.

I use a 2 foot long piece of 1/2" PVC to use like a pipette, so I don't have to kneel down to get the water about a foot or more below the surface. I don't test near a return because first off my SWG would be spitting out chlorine there and I want to test in a place that might have the least circulation so I know what my bottom line levels are.
 
Ohhhh. Maybe my tests haven't been quite accurate - I've just been getting a sample from near the surface, didn't even realize that wasn't proper ?

So I should be getting a water sample from at least a foot down? In that case, I will definitely retest this evening and do the other tests.

Thanks!

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
 
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