Our first tftest results...a little confused

Jump to latest Follow Reply
S

stacy

0
Jun 13, 2009
14
S.E. Wisconsin
This is a first-time fill of a new pool. We finished filling it on Monday morning. I blindly added chlorine (64 ounces of calcium hypochlorite left over from a previous pool) while waiting for my test kit to arrive, because I had a bunch of kids swimming in it (at 55 degrees!) every day.

Here are this morning's test results...

FC - .5
CC - .5
TC - 1
***I did this test twice. The water did not turn pink when I added the DPD powder. The second time, I thought maybe my "heaping" scoop wasn't heaping enough, so I added a little more. It then almost had a pink cast to it (maybe).

pH - 7.4-7.3

TA - 510
***Yes it took 51 drops and 51 swirls to get the green to turn pink. Near the end, the drop would turn red when I added it, but shift back to green once I swirled it in. I assumed I was supposed to add drops until the whole solution changed colors.

CH - 280

CYA - 0(?)
***I filled the tube to overflowing and could still easily see the black dot at the bottom.

So, did I miss any details or tests? Where do I begin? The cover is on now, but I could still go out and add chems tonight....
 
You should do the TA test again, but this time wipe the tip of the dropper bottle with a damp tissue at the start and every couple of drops.

If you can still see the black dot, even when the view tube is full, then your CYA is zero. You need to add some CYA/stabilizer/conditioner. Right now, with CYA at/near zero you are losing all of your chlorine to sunlight each day.

You should add 2 or 3 ppm of chlorine tonight, and each night until the day after you add CYA, at which point you can start measuring your FC level and raising it to the appropriate target level based on your CYA level.

Your PH and CH levels are fine where they are.
 
Thanks very much to both of you. Chlorine is added, and I'll get stabilizer tomorrow. (And do another TA test...)

I'm guessing the amount of CYA I'll need is going to depend on the specific product I buy, so I'll be back to ask that question tomorrow.

Have a great night.
 
stacy said:
Thanks very much to both of you. Chlorine is added, and I'll get stabilizer tomorrow. (And do another TA test...)

I'm guessing the amount of CYA I'll need is going to depend on the specific product I buy, so I'll be back to ask that question tomorrow.

Have a great night.
Click to expand...

It should be close to 100% CYA. Probably wouldn't hurt to check the ingredient list to make sure, because I think FPM bought some stabilizer once that was a mix. If it's close to 100%, then you can use the calculator as is to determine how much you'll need.
 
Do you live out in the country? We just refilled our pool a few weeks ago, and our tap water TA was really high. I slowly lowered the TA with the pool school method, and it took 7 gallons of acid!! My TA was finally at 100 tonight, I was soooo excited. Good luck, and keep up the patience
 
jefeyessica said:
Do you live out in the country? We just refilled our pool a few weeks ago, and our tap water TA was really high. I slowly lowered the TA with the pool school method, and it took 7 gallons of acid!! My TA was finally at 100 tonight, I was soooo excited. Good luck, and keep up the patience
Click to expand...
Yes, we do live in the country. I know our water has a lot of calcium and lime in it. It leaves scale everywhere. When we moved here, I noticed the ice from our new fridge left white flakes when it melted.

Is that why the TA test came back so high?
 
Not necessarily. Try wiping the dropper tips with a damp cloth in between drops first.

Static buildup has been reported many many times on the forum and the bottle supplier has acknowledged the problem. Usually wiping the tip is all that is needed - you still probably have high TA but I doubt it's as high as you reported. :wink:
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
I'll test again with the damp cloth method shortly, and be back soon.

My dad just threw his 2 cents in. He say I should mention we have very "hard" water coming from the garden hose because it bypasses the water softener. Does that mean anything here?
 
I just tested TA again, while continuously wiping the drip nozzle. The results changed a lot, but not enough I suspect.

At 32 drops, the green solution turned grey
At 33, it turned red.

So, the TA level is 325?

Dear pool gurus, what next?

(I've not yet added the stabilizer to deal with the CYA at 0 issue...)
 
you need to do it until the color stops changing. if your test is anything like mine, it will go greyish then red then brighter red. so my bet is you're at 340.
as JasonLion mentioned yesterday, you need cya. you're asking for algae the longer it's not in there because it's extrememly difficult to keep any chlorine in the pool otherwise. the cya protects the chlorine from being burned off by sunlight.
 
Okay, I've got "hth stabilizer & conditioner".
With a current level of 0 and a goal of 40, the pool calculator tells me to add 29oz by volume.
The package tells me to add it to the skimmer. I thought I'd better check with you guys first though.
I've got a "skimmer basket" on the side of the pool. Is that what they mean? Won't it clog the thing?


Also, my sons have friends over, it just stopped raining, and they want to swim. How long should I make them wait after I add the stabilizer? Or should I just wait to add it until they are done?
 
The usual recommendation is to load up the CYA in an old sock or stocking, tie it off, and then either put that in the skimmer (as long as it doesn't block the flow) or hang it in front of a return jet, and leave the pump on 24/7 until it's gone. After a day or so you should start using chlorine levels that assume you've made it to your CYA target number, but don't actually test until it has been a week. It can take that long for all the CYA to dissolve.

It is no problem to swim while the CYA sock is sitting there. Might be safer in the skimmer, actually, nobody will accidentally knock it around or break it.
--paulr
 
Based on your description, your TA is 330.

Instructions for lowering TA.

You will likely have some questions - no worries. :wink:

Now, you can go about lowering the TA as described in the article OR you can do it slower. Testing the PH daily, every time it creeps up to 7.8, you would lower it with Muratic Acid to 7.2. This acid addition will also lower the TA. Eventually both levels will be in range...
The article gives you instructions that basically just speed up the process. It is up to you.

Tis okay to swim while CYA is dissolving, Paul gave you good advice.
 
Thank you very much, again, and I'm ready with my next question. :-D

Since CYA takes a week to dissolve, and it's acid, won't my Ph fall daily for the next week without the addition of muriatic acid?

Should I wait the week before I begin this whole process?

Or should I figure out how I'm going to aerate and begin the process by combating the daily change brought on by the dissolving CYA?
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
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