AG Pool Owner in Montreal Canada

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jasonsandeman

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May 30, 2009
9
Saint Eustache, Quebec
Help!

That got your attention? :)

I am trying to locate a decent kit. I went to Club Piscine today, and asked for a CYA test kit. (I had purchased a Spa/Pool kit for 25$, but inside it says to buy another test kit for CYA.) The brand is Rainbow Spa and it comes in a blue kit.

The guy at the test counter looked at me as if I was an idiot, and told me that I needed it tested once or twice a year, and that most everyone puts too much in there.

Okay, so I tested the PH and Total Alk of the pool. I *think the TA is around 130 PPM, (Thirteen drops from the kit.) and my PH is sitting at 7.2

I followed the directions on canister of CYA, and it says to sprinkle around the pool.

Am I doing this right?

Also, I have a pail of clorine from last year, it is labeled 47%. This board is saying I should purchase for the 12%? Are the pails not more?

Sorry if I am not saying this right...
 
Welcome to TFP.

jasonsandeman said:
The guy at the test counter looked at me as if I was an idiot, and told me that I needed it tested once or twice a year, and that most everyone puts too much in there.
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Well, he's not totally wrong about the CYA. You don't have to test too often, and most people do put too much in. There are issues with test kits in Canada, but you should be able to order one here: http://piscines-apollo.com/english_taylor.htm I don't know if the store you are dealing with is affiliated with them or not.

jasonsandeman said:
Okay, so I tested the PH and Total Alk of the pool. I *think the TA is around 130 PPM, (Thirteen drops from the kit.) and my PH is sitting at 7.2
Click to expand...

Sounds like you are good there.

jasonsandeman said:
I followed the directions on canister of CYA, and it says to sprinkle around the pool.

Am I doing this right?
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I don't like to see it done that way, since it lands on the vinyl liner and is very slow to dissolve. I think it's better to either very slowly feed it into the skimmer with the pump running so it dissolves in the filter, or to put it in an old sock and hang it in front of a return or put it in the skimmer basket.


jasonsandeman said:
Also, I have a pail of clorine from last year, it is labeled 47%. This board is saying I should purchase for the 12%? Are the pails not more?

Sorry if I am not saying this right...
Click to expand...

The 47% refers to "available chlorine", which is a pretty unfathomable way of indicating the contents. 47% chlorine is usually calcium hypochlorite, which is a good choice for chlorinating if your Calcium Hardness is reasonable. The 12% refers to the percentage of sodium hypochlorite in the liquid form of chlorine.
 
I think you need to add a Taylor K-1721 so you can test the CYA at the least, but if your pool store can do it for you, you can probably get by.
 
Sweet! I am actually at the cusp of Two Mountains myself, 4 doors down actually. :)

I will look into getting a sample done by the store, and go from there.

As for the hardness test, the booklet says that you multiply the number of drops to get to yellow by 10, and that is you PPM. I am not sure about the 50 PPM per?
 
jasonsandeman said:
Sweet! I am actually at the cusp of Two Mountains myself, 4 doors down actually. :)
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Howdy-ho neighbour,

I must have a different test kit then yours then - I just checked and it's indeed 50 ppm/drop. Are you sure you're not looking at the TA test procedure ? What CP did you go to ? I recommend Alain Rioux on Arthur-Sauve for your sample.

Regards,

Paul
 
Is that the one right across from the IGA? I have never gone there because I am scared about the french. I can speak it, but it is not my mother tongue, and speaking about pools might not be too fun. Thanks for the tip, I will go there instead of the Club Piscine off the 640 there. ;)

As for that, I think I am looking at the TA procedure.

Today I tested the pool. The color was in between 7.4 and 7.6, no chlorine at all. I just put in chlorine granules. When is a good time to check for chlorine?
 
I wanted to follow up on this. I went to the pool place, and the guy just rocked. He tested my water, gave me a good advice, and even showed me the little bit of chems I needed.

Turns out my TA was super low, so he gave me some chems to put in there.

I also found out that the vacuuming works better when you shut everything except the intake for the vacuum.

Thanks!
 

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Hmm..

He gave me a big Rear bottle of something, I think it is for TA. I put the whole thing in. Then he gave me a canister of conditioner that he told me will help soften the water a bit, as my hardness was really up. Then he sold me chlorine that he said was way concentrated... like 100%. 7 KG for 39$. He told me that the stuff that I bought at Walmart/Club Piscine was making my water too hard.

Okay, did I get taken a little bit here? I was reading the pool school, but I was not sure about the TA thing. I will take the chems back if I don't need.
 
The only "100% chlorine" is chlorine gas; I'm sure it was 100% something, but what? Let's hear some ingredients....

What's the conditioner/softener stuff? Reducing hardness by putting something in the water sounds like a good trick.
--paulr
 
reebok said:
sodium bicarb which is baking soda. but it costs a lot more at the pool store.
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Canada's a very different market than the US. The stuff is actually cheaper at the pool store. I just tested a gallon jug of "10% bleach" for another member here (was actually about 5.6%), it costs about $4.90 US here. And borax, last time I looked, was $4.45 US a box.

Bought a 3/4 gallon jug of Clorox "Ultra Concentrated" (advertised as 6% sodium hypochlorite, tested as 6.72%), for $2.40 US.
 
jasonsandeman said:
Hmm..

He gave me a big *** bottle of something, I think it is for TA. I put the whole thing in. Then he gave me a canister of conditioner that he told me will help soften the water a bit, as my hardness was really up. Then he sold me chlorine that he said was way concentrated... like 100%. 7 KG for 39$. He told me that the stuff that I bought at Walmart/Club Piscine was making my water too hard.

Okay, did I get taken a little bit here? I was reading the pool school, but I was not sure about the TA thing. I will take the chems back if I don't need.
Click to expand...

Just guessing here . . . That bottle for TA was probably something like SomethingPak 100, Balance Pak 100, 200 or 300 or whatever from BioGuard. The conditioner was probably BioGuard Optimizer (borates), works out cheaper than buying the borax and acid up here in Canada (and much simpler and quicker and zero hassles). Well worth it, especially in the 8 kg format. The warning about chlorine, he was probably advising to keep away from the 47% cal-hypo sold the the big stores, so he probably sold you trichlor based on the concentration you say.
 
You are right, it was from BioGuard. The conditioner is indeed BioGuard Optimizer, which he asked me to put in three stages.

He did tell me that the 47% was scrap, and to stay away from it. The stuff that he sold me... I will have to take a look and see just what it is.

My pool should be looking better.


Question all, I am searching, but I am lost for a "green" way to heat the pool? A search says that the terms are too common. :p
 
jasonsandeman said:
Question all, I am searching, but I am lost for a "green" way to heat the pool? A search says that the terms are too common. :p
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I think solar cover and/or solar panels. The cover is totally passive and footprint-free except for what's consumed in manufacturing the bubble-wrap. Panels are made of whatever they're made of, and consume some electricity for pumping.
--paulr
 
I don't know if you'd find any results for that, but in the very bottom left of every page there is a google search. use it instead of the forum search. I also would recommend a solar blanket and panels if they would be effective for you up there.
sorry for the confusion of what I said earlier.
 
reebok said:
I also would recommend a solar blanket
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I certainly agree with that, try to find either the fleece-lined model, or the down-filled solar blanket that is certainly available for colder Canadian climates. The electric solar blankets however are no longer available to due recent changes in bylaws, homeowners would forget to turn down the thermostats and wound up having to top off their pools too often due to evaporation.

Finally while you're at it I would strongly recommend getting the "Therm-O-Savr" product to help protect pool thermometers from plumetting nighttime temperatures, a Canadian invention.

I've attached a "before" picture:

berthe_1.jpg


And an "after" picture so you can appreciate the protection brought on by the handy product:

berthe_2.jpg


Warmest regards,

Paul
 

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