Can I swim yet?

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abc789987

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Jun 16, 2016
14
West Lafayette, Indinana
Current readings as of this morning...

5 ppm FC, 0.5 ppm CC
300 ppm CH
8.0 pH
340 TA
30 cya

I filled up pool just two days ago so trying to get this under control.

I think my numbers are okayish? pH is high because I'm trying to lower the TA values... But if I get that down to under 7.8 is my pool okay to swim with the TA number high? I also have a green tint in the water, which I think is from iron content. Water is clear, I can see the bottom though. But is water being green tint safe to swim?

I also had thread in the "The TFPC method" page but I should probably stick to the "Just Getting Stated" for a while...
 
Safe to swim criteria:

1- Can see the bottom of the pool clearly.
2- pH between 7.2 and 7.8
3- FC less than shock level for your CYA (12 in your case)

You're good to go for swimming, TA will come down as you continue to maintain pH. Probably high acid demand, fast pH rise for a while.
 
Cool! So the green tint isn't bad since it's not algae?
Click to expand...
Well, it is certainly safe to swim. That said, if your green tint is algae it is a lot easier to get rid of than if it is iron.

A pic and posting complete test results would be very helpful. Enjoy your swim and we'll work on the green when you are ready.
 
Those look like relatively good test results with the exception of the elevated TA you are already aware of. So if we now assume the green tint is metals/iron, you'll want to see if you can capture as much of that as possible while it's active and precipitated out in the water. Have you tried adding some paper towels or cotton material to the skimmer? If it's iron, the material/towels should begin to change to a brownish color as it grabs the iron. If you've ever added algaecides, it's possible the tint is from copper. With either metal, replacing with non-metal water is the most ideal, but we know that's not always feasible. So you try to remove as much as you can physically, then move-on to chemical treatment. Keep the FC on the low end, and also keep the pH in the lower 7s as well. (That one is tough right now while you try to lower TA though).

Your next and most reliable method of metals management is to add sequestrant to the water and replenish it periodically. Sequestrant is a chemical that binds to the iron in the water so that it can't form stains or turn brown. Sequestrant breaks down slowly, so you need to add more regularly. ProTeam's Metal Magic and Jack's Magic the Pink Stuff (regular) are some of the top sequestrants. You can also find other brands with similar products, some of which are noticeably less expensive. Sequestrants based on HEDP, phosphonic acid, or phosphonic acid derivatives are the most effective.

You might also want to review the TFP Pool School - Metals in the Water and Metal Stains page for more info.
 
I don't have a skimmer, but I did put a microfiber towel over one of the two water outlets. I was tempted to do both but was worried about burning up my pump. Curious to see what the towel looks like when I get home from work.

When I rinsed out the filter cartridge this morning it was icky brown... My city water is gross. The pool fill water even went through my whole house water filter... which now that I've put 5000+ gals though it probably needs to be changed again...

The sequestrant stuff looks interesting... Will have to hit up the pool store and see if I can pick some of that up. I didn't see anything like that at the HDs, Lowes, or Menards around me...
 
I too am new to all of this, but i have been fighting with iron for weeks now. We did the towel over the intake parts, covered both, and changed the towels out every hour for DAYS. It helped some. But really, until you let the iron settle and vacuum it out, it will stay green.
0797e3f35b630ba21e1e30deeb722468.jpg


That is my pool 48 hours ago after my first round of vacuuming.

23d35f871178c28415c1bbcec10554de.jpg


This was this morning after about 5 vacuumings. This afternoon, it was clear! I couldnt believe it! Get a vacuum! It truly is what makes the difference with iron!

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
 
Yup. Let it sit over night. In the morning, the water will be crystal clear, but all the iron will sit on the bottom like dirt . You have to vacuum out into the yard, not into the filter. Then fill the pool up, and do it again, and again, and again. Today (day 4) i could finally vacuum into the filter and then backwash it. So i didnt lose so much water.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
 

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