Here are my readings, what next?

Jump to latest Follow Reply
I

internet

0
Aug 22, 2016
36
Martinez
New-to-me pool owner, came here and did the following: bought a K-2006 test kit, set up a spreadsheet, tested my water basically every other day for the last week.

Here's where I'm at after a few days:
FCpHCCTACHCYA
1.67.6N/A100~220~45-50
11 (shock)7.6N/A (shock)100
3.0 (pool guy didn't come for a few days)7.60100250/26060
10.4 (pool guy came again)7.6~0100260

So, with this info in hand, and with the PoolMath tool, I'm still not 100% sure what I should do next. The different goals on the tool have me wondering what I should tackle first, or if I'm good as is.

The big fluctuations in FC are the result of two things. (1) some algae (I think) growing in the shallow beach access (gets the most direct sun) and on the top step. The water never clouded and nothing grew any where else deeper than about 10 inches. (2) The salt cell may be going bad, so it is shut off and the pool is being treated as a regular chlorine pool with trichlor (I think) tablets in the skimmer. I am not 100% sure when the pool guy added the trichlor, or exactly when they added additional chlorine for the shock, but I assume it's correlated with the large FC increases.

I have not added any chemicals, but I am hoping to get to the point where I can manage this pool on my own with regular testing and a good understanding of how to triage issues.

Any guidance? Thanks.
 
Where is Martinez? Does your SWG work?

If there are tabs in the skimmer you should remove them immediately. They are very acidic and can damage your skimmer / equipment. You should add liquid bleach to keep your FC above the minimum level if you are sorting out SWG problems.

edit: Nevermind I see your SWG is off. In that case treat it like a non-SWG pool and test and manually add bleach every day until you get the pool's appetite down. Your CYA is already very high for a non-SWG so I would stop all non-liquid chlorine now.
 
Well,

I believe that the first thing you need to do is decide if you, or your "pool guy" is going to be taking care of your pool. The main TFP principle is testing the pool water on a regular basis, just like you did above, but then taking whatever action is necessary to keep the chemicals in balance. You just can't do that with someone else in the picture.

One main reason that you may have algae is you allowed the FC level to get so low. I see your first test shows an FC of 1.6 ppm when with a CYA of 50 your absolute lowest FC allowed would be 4 ppm.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Ditch the pool guy and we'll teach you how to manage your pool.

Now that you know how to test, you should learn what the results mean and what you should do about them.

read "The ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" up in Pool School......that'll teach you what you are testing for, what's normal and how to get it to normal if it's not.

What does your water look like?
 
duraleigh said:
Ditch the pool guy and we'll teach you how to manage your pool.

Now that you know how to test, you should learn what the results mean and what you should do about them.

read "The ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" up in Pool School......that'll teach you what you are testing for, what's normal and how to get it to normal if it's not.

What does your water look like?
Click to expand...

Water is crystal clear. And to the above, the algae issue started after the pool guy missed a week and, as you guessed, FC got really low. I'm in the Southeast, and the pool gets a lot of direct sun so I imagine algae loves it.

I've been over the ABC's but I'm wondering, based on my tests, what issue I should treat first and in what order. I noticed folks saying to get rid of the tabs immediately. However I've also read that they are fine. Any guidance as to which advice is "best"? Thanks!
 
More or less. Where I'm a little confused is in knowing whether there is a proper order to fix things. I want to avoid chasing my tail by correcting one thing that throws another thing out of whack, that throws another thing....etc.
 
FIrst step is keeping Chlorine/bleach in the water, so its is both safe to swim, and not developing any algae growth
I would rank managing pH second, as that too affects swimmer comfort.
CYA can be lower for non-swg pool, but that would mean draining it. Maybe with Hermine rain coming you will get some dilution and have to drain it off, that might help. High CYA = high chlorine level = more $$ spent.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Looking at your latest number, the only thing I would concentrate on is keeping your FC above 4 or 5 ppm at all times. It does not matter if it is a little high at times, just don't let it get low.

This assumes that you have removed the pucks...

You "think" you have an algae outbreak, but your CC tests are zero which indicates maybe you don't have algae.

I suggest you do the following test... Overnight FC Loss Test

If, overnight, you lose less than 1 ppm of FC then that would indicate no algae.

Please run the OCLT test and get back to us with your results. Remember, it has to start after sunset, and yes, I'm sorry you have to get up early, but you have to check again before sunrise. :D

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Jimrahbe said:
Looking at your latest number, the only thing I would concentrate on is keeping your FC above 4 or 5 ppm at all times. It does not matter if it is a little high at times, just don't let it get low.

This assumes that you have removed the pucks...

You "think" you have an algae outbreak, but your CC tests are zero which indicates maybe you don't have algae.

I suggest you do the following test... Overnight FC Loss Test

If, overnight, you lose less than 1 ppm of FC then that would indicate no algae.

Please run the OCLT test and get back to us with your results. Remember, it has to start after sunset, and yes, I'm sorry you have to get up early, but you have to check again before sunrise. :D

Thanks,

Jim R.
Click to expand...

BEFORE SUNRISE!!! I'm selling the pool.

Nah, not a problem. I wish I checked this more often or I could have done it last night. The pucks have definitely come out. We are currently experiencing some heavy rain on the tails of this tropical storm. I assume (though without any validation whatsoever) that this might affect the test...but I am probably wildly overestimating how much new water is getting into the pool.

The rain should be over by tonight, so I will make it a point to do the test tonight and then first thing tomorrow morning.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply