First testing with TF100 tester..now what

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Poodles65

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Jul 4, 2015
21
Findlay, Ohio
This is my first test results..

CYA 30 (just barely)
PH 7.3
TA 60
FC 3.5
CC 2.5

I'm not sure if I missed testing anything & what I should be doing next..my water is crystal clear but I keep having some alge pop up on the bottom of the pool..just small amounts..when I started out I had no CYA.. I put in 6 1/2 lbs plus 4 cups.. should I bring that CYA number up more & if so how much more should I add..on my chlorine I only have 3 gallons at 10% then the rest is 12 1/2%.. I am so totally lost as to what I am doing.. I have been brushing my pool.. running my pump 24/7..not sweeping or back washing pump.. I think I will put the robotic sweeper in tomorrow but it doesn't run through the pump.. I don't mean to be a pain in everyone's tush but I am having a hard time comprehending all of this..thanks in advance
 
Okay, you need to SLAM your pool. Your PH and CYA are fine for that. Use PoolMath to figure out how much and bring your FC level up to 12. Check it frequently for the first couple of hours and continue to bring it up to 12 and maintain it there. MAINTAIN is the key. And run your pump and filter 24/7 and brush thoroughly.

After re-reading your post I realized that you have added CYA. When did you add this? It takes a little while for it to show up on tests is why I ask
 
Your numbers look good, except the CC. That should be less than 1, better to be zero. That's from the algae you arenseeing. A SLAM is in order, and any strength of bleach will do just fine. Of course the stronger, the less you need.

Good luck and keep us up to date on your numbers.
 
I finished adding my stabilizer 1 day before I checked my numbers.. I will try putting my numbers into pool math to see how much chlorine I need to add..to be truthful I seem to be intimidated by pool math.. I'm not sure what I need to put in for my goals
 
Due to me having a terrible back problem I have had to start from scratch..here are my new test results

CYA. 35
FC. 1.0
CC. 1.0
TA. 50
PH. 7.3
Chlorine 4

I am using 12.5 pool chlorine.. I am a little confused on what you set your goals at in pool math..CYA, CC, PH I understand that what those goals should be but I don't know how you figure what your FC goal should be or your TA.. I put my test results in pool math but that only gives you what you need to add based on what you put in for your goals..if your goals aren't right then none of it's right.. I know I still have a small alge bloom & I want to get it under control..thanks in advance for your help.. I also realized I had my pool gallons to low
 
So I have been performing a slam the past couple of days..here are my latest results

CYA 30
FC 18
CC 0
TA 80
PH 7.8
Chlorine 5+

I added about 6 lbs of baking soda to bring my TA up so I figure that's what raised my PH.. I will check my PH after my slam is done & adjust it if necessary..if I pass the test tonight & tomorrow morning I will be done with my slam & will keep check on my levels..is there anything else I need to do that I am overlooking?
 
Poodles65 said:
So I have been performing a slam the past couple of days..here are my latest results

CYA 30
FC 18
CC 0
TA 80
PH 7.8
Chlorine 5+

I added about 6 lbs of baking soda to bring my TA up so I figure that's what raised my PH.. I will check my PH after my slam is done & adjust it if necessary..if I pass the test tonight & tomorrow morning I will be done with my slam & will keep check on my levels..is there anything else I need to do that I am overlooking?
Click to expand...

yesterday you reported FC=1 today FC=18 - it's hardly SLAM where it supposed to be as steady as possible at 12 ppm or it will drag forever. I wouldn't bother with any other parameters besides FC and may be CC during SLAM. pH is invalid at these levels anyway and the rest can wait.
 
I only added the amount of bleach it told me to add.. I just checked my numbers & they were

FC 6
CC 0

OK I now understand what you are telling me I need to do..could me adding the baking soda make my numbers go crazy..now that I have everything else at a stable number I will only concentrate on my FC & my CC.. I need to keep my FC at 12 & my CC at 0 correct.. won't the sunny hot days take my FC down
 
Poodles65 said:
I only added the amount of bleach it told me to add.. I just checked my numbers & they were

FC 6
CC 0

OK I now understand what you are telling me I need to do..could me adding the baking soda make my numbers go crazy..now that I have everything else at a stable number I will only concentrate on my FC & my CC.. I need to keep my FC at 12 & my CC at 0 correct.. won't the sunny hot days take my FC down
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this is what I'm talking about- your current FC is below target 12. I think, it's not the Sun consuming your chlorine, it's most likely algae. The point of maintaining shock level of FC during SLAM is to ensure all of it dies. Now it's crucial that you check your FC regularly and adjust it back to 12 or your SLAM will drag much longer. 'Regularly' here means as often as you need to keep FC at 12. At the beginning it could be every hour, you'll see yourself. Later into SLAM when most of the algae dies out you won't need to do this as often.

just for comparison- my pool loses only 1.5 ppm of FC during day here in sunny CA at the same level of CYA.
 

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Poodles65 said:
OK I just tested my water & my FC is at 17.. I only put in the amount of chlorine it called for to bring up to 12.. could I have my gallons of water figured wrong.. I'm at a loss what I am doing wrong..help me please
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nothing is lost- let it be. In terms of precision you need to make sure you testing FC correctly mixing the solution after each drop and using correct scaling multiplier. For FC=6 with 10mL sample you'd need to count 12 drops and for 12 ppm - 24 drops. Is this how you tested?

Your pool volume more like 33,000 gal and you were supposed to pour 2.2 gal of 10% bleach. My pool store chlorine is 12.5%, may be yours is also that way?
 
I think I have my chlorine at 12.5 in my pool math.. I know my signature says 10% because that's what I had when I put it in.. I will get it changed.. I am positive I am testing my FC correctly.. I will change my gallons of pool water to 33,000 also..so if I am testing OK & adding the correct amount of chlorine why is my FC high when I check it
 
Poodles65 said:
I think I have my chlorine at 12.5 in my pool math.. I know my signature says 10% because that's what I had when I put it in.. I will get it changed.. I am positive I am testing my FC correctly.. I will change my gallons of pool water to 33,000 also..so if I am testing OK & adding the correct amount of chlorine why is my FC high when I check it
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how much chlorine did you add and what was its concentration - was it 12.5%? For 12.5% it was supposed to be 1.6 gal (1 gal 2 qts 1 cup).
If we calculate this 'manually': having 33k pool it was expected to rise your FC by 1,600,000 / 33,000 * 0.125 = 6 ppm so PoolMath is correct :)

How did you get rise by 11 ppm is not exactly clear, one of the numbers in that equation must have been off or you miscounted drops during test for initial FC=6
 
I added 1.7 gallons of 12.5 chlorine.. I have been checking my samples 2 times to make sure I am doing it correctly especially if it is off so much farther than what I expected it to be..my pool size was at 35,900 in my signature when I figured this.. have edited my signature to reflect the pool size at 33,000 gallons & my chlorine at 12.5 concentration
 
I added 1.7 gallons of 12.5 chlorine.. I have been checking my samples 2 times to make sure I am doing it correctly especially if it is off so much farther than what I expected it to be..my pool size was at 35,900 in my signature when I figured this.. have edited my signature to reflect the pool size at 33,000 gallons & my chlorine at 12.5 concentration
 
Poodles65 said:
I added 1.7 gallons of 12.5 chlorine.. I have been checking my samples 2 times to make sure I am doing it correctly especially if it is off so much farther than what I expected it to be..my pool size was at 35,900 in my signature when I figured this.. have edited my signature to reflect the pool size at 33,000 gallons & my chlorine at 12.5 concentration
Click to expand...

Then your initial reading was supposed to be FC=11 (11 + 6 = 17) or your final FC=12 (6 + 6 = 12) - there's no way you got 24% concentration chlorine or pool twice as small as only in those cases your FC difference would jump by 11 ppm. I'm not trying to be hard or anything but FC increase is simple ratio between bleach volume and volume of your pool and with 1.7 gal it is supposed to be: 1,700,000 / 33,000 * 0.125 = 6.4 ppm, not 11 ppm as you measured.

TF100 kit has 10% error max so you prob need to work on your testing technique but the numbers must check at the end.
 

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