I'm SLAMmin'...

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kiv558

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Bronze Supporter
Jun 14, 2016
45
Boston burbs, MA
So of course, I ran out back with it. Here are initial readings:

FC 9.5
CC 0
pH 7.5
TA 140
CH 425
TA 140
CYA 40

The FC is high, as expected, because I've had some algae and I've been sort of blindly keeping it high using WalMart 10% bleach until the kit arrived. So I think, my next move is to test FC/CC again at sundown, then again first thing before the sun hits it to see if my blind SLAM worked? If I don't lose FC, then I can let it drift down to a target of 5, but never under 3. Right?

As for the high CH -- I do need to add some water. Will adding a few inches (3-4") of water in a pool of my size help lower the CH? Should I worry about TA right now? Perhaps if I pass my OCLT, then some of this will resolve as the FC drifts down to target? Wishful thinking? :rolleyes:

Thanks (and wow, I can't believe I just wrote all this and it *almost* makes sense... lol)!
 
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Re: Ridiculously excited - TFT-100 arrived today!

That's better! :)

Ok, so your CH can never be lower than the CH of your fill water (without doing something really expensive). That means if you drain half of your water, and fill it with new fill, well, it will be some calculation I'm not talented enough to figure out to get your new CH. Draining three or four inches of water probably won't make an appreciable dent in your CH levels. That said, I believe 425 is pretty manageable as long as you use PoolMath to calculate your CSI number and keep it religiously in the zone by carefully maintaining your pH and TA values.
 
Re: Ridiculously excited - TFT-100 arrived today!

It's like Christmas in July when a TF-100 arrives. We're like little kids. :p You have the right idea about your FC. As long as your water is crystal clear now and you have no CCs, if you pass the OLCT let it sink. I wouldn't worry about your CH right now. Adding water will not lower it (only water exchange), but by properly managing pH and TA you can compensate for an elevated CH.

Eventually you'll probably want to follow the Pool School - Lower Total Alkalinity page which will help lower TA and should help pH remain more stable. In addition, a lower TA will help compensate for the elevated CH. You're doing well!
 
Re: Ridiculously excited - TFT-100 arrived today!

Thanks, all! It is indeed Christmas in July. So I'm gonna watch that FC like a hawk (I will NOT have FC 0 again!!! Do you hear me??), and I will concentrate on the TA/pH trick in Pool School.

FWIW, this plaster is OLD. We're making our rookie mistakes on it this year, and budgeting to re-do plaster/tile/coping next spring.
 
Re: Ridiculously excited - TFT-100 arrived today!

Kiv558,

Please be careful! I think you are contracting sparkylpoolitis.....there's no cure.

You have grasped the TFP concepts very well. Nice work! :goodjob::goodjob:
 
Re: Ridiculously excited - TFT-100 arrived today!

kiv558 said:
Thanks, all! It is indeed Christmas in July. So I'm gonna watch that FC like a hawk (I will NOT have FC 0 again!!! Do you hear me??), and I will concentrate on the TA/pH trick in Pool School.

FWIW, this plaster is OLD. We're making our rookie mistakes on it this year, and budgeting to re-do plaster/tile/coping next spring.
Click to expand...

LOVE it ALL! :sun: Wait until you see just how clear it will be now that you have the test kit. You just think it is clear now. Wait until you need to wear sunglasses to look at it!

Kim:cat:
 

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Re: Ridiculously excited - TFT-100 arrived today!

Uh oh... so I did lose FC overnight. Fail! But to be expected, since I was doing this blindly.

FC 7.5, which means a 2 ppm loss overnight.

According to PM, I added 3 gallons of my 10% Walmart bleach to bring it up to shock level of 16. Turned on the pump and went back to bed. Two hours later, FC is 21! Whoops!

So I played around in PM trying to figure out why I overshot it. Maybe PB told me my pool is bigger than it actually is? I was using 35k gallons. If I take that measurement down to 22k gallons, then my 3 jugs of bleach would have taken me up to FC 21. (It's a sort of kidney shape, so not an easy measurement -- but I will get out there today with my tape and see what I can do). Is there anything else that would have made my FC jump that high?

So now just test it a few times today and let it drift down to FC16? Scrub it well all around, obviously (wire brush)... Another OFCL test tonight?

That sneaky algae is going DOWN.
 
Re: Ridiculously excited - TFT-100 arrived today!

35K is a pretty big pool......maybe even REALLY big.

Post a pic with something relevant (like a pool lounge chair) and we can help guesstimate but you should measure and do the math. Knowing your gallons is extremely important.
 
Re: Ridiculously excited - TFT-100 arrived today!

Yeah, it seems big to me, but what do I know? Trying to measure it -- roughly 40' x 20'. Shallow end is about 3.5', and deep end might be 8'? So the calculator seems right. Pool guy said it's 35-37k gallons...

Hmmm, so why the jump in FC? User testing error?

IMG_20160709_093329423.jpg
 
Might my CYA be off? Back to user error... but I think that would just affect the level of FC I want to get to for SLAM, not how much it increases the FC. Hmmm... off to go test again and see if it's coming down. It's cloudy and cool here today, so we'll see.
 

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