Hi. I just joined yesterday but have been reading through the forum for about 2 weeks now. Since that time, which is about when we opened our pool, we've spent over $500 at the pool store and still have 0 FC. So we are ready to pull the trigger on BBB. After reading all the info on here, I'm pretty sure our problem is CYA - last pool store reading on Fri 6/5 was 100. (Their "Ideal" range is 30-200 so of course this isn't an issue in their minds.) I won't go into the BS "recipe" they gave me to try to correct the FC problem. I just took my reading and left without spending another dime.
Anyway, I ordered our TF-100 test kit yesterday. My original plan was to try to manage the pool until it got here and we could do our own reading and go from there. But I'm wondering if we should go ahead and start replacing water to get the CYA down rather than waste anymore bleach. I put the rest of the bags of shock we had in yesterday (6 bags) because the water was getting cloudy and a little algae was coming back. This morning, I am actually getting a reading w/ my cheap-o drop kit. It just reads Chlorine so I don't know if it's FC or TC, but it's reading about 2.0-3.0.
Here are the readings from the pool store on Friday:
pH - 7.8
TA - 149
FC - 0
TC - .2
CH - n/a
CYA - 100
Should we wait to start replacing water until we get our test kit, and keep adding bleach until then?
Also, when I tested pH yesterday with the cheap-o drops, it looked to be about 8.0. We purchased some Muriatic acid at Lowe's yesterday but haven't added that yet. I was going to hold off on that as well. Thoughts?
Thanks, can't wait to get rid of this throbbing Pool Headache we've had for the past 6 years!
Laurey
Anyway, I ordered our TF-100 test kit yesterday. My original plan was to try to manage the pool until it got here and we could do our own reading and go from there. But I'm wondering if we should go ahead and start replacing water to get the CYA down rather than waste anymore bleach. I put the rest of the bags of shock we had in yesterday (6 bags) because the water was getting cloudy and a little algae was coming back. This morning, I am actually getting a reading w/ my cheap-o drop kit. It just reads Chlorine so I don't know if it's FC or TC, but it's reading about 2.0-3.0.
Here are the readings from the pool store on Friday:
pH - 7.8
TA - 149
FC - 0
TC - .2
CH - n/a
CYA - 100
Should we wait to start replacing water until we get our test kit, and keep adding bleach until then?
Also, when I tested pH yesterday with the cheap-o drops, it looked to be about 8.0. We purchased some Muriatic acid at Lowe's yesterday but haven't added that yet. I was going to hold off on that as well. Thoughts?
Thanks, can't wait to get rid of this throbbing Pool Headache we've had for the past 6 years!
Laurey