New to forum and owning a pool with a few initial questions

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fvanskike

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Apr 25, 2017
12
Phoenix
Good afternoon,

We bought our first house two months ago complete with the first pool we have ever owned. I have dabbled here and there on this site for various items, namely testing of the pool chemistry. We have an 18,000 gallon plaster pool that am so far very happy with. I use a Taylor K-1005 test kit that I use almost daily for the chlorine and pH. With that has come a couple of questions so far. I live in Phoenix and from my water results and what I have heard, we have pretty hard water. Using pool math, I have been unable to lower the pH with muriatic acid (in the 7.8-8.2 range) and also the alkalinity. Also, it seems I am adding a lot of Clorox bleach to maintain the chlorine level (at least a 64 oz bottle a week, plus a float that has chlorine tablets already in it). Or is this a pretty standard amount?

Finally, any tips on removing calcium deposits on tile? I have tried a pumice stone and chemical/brush combination and it's not doing a whole lot.

Excited to be here and to learn about pool maintenance!
 
Hello and welcome to TFP! :wave: Sure, the southwest region has some hard water, but it is manageable to a great degree. You mention pH and going through some bleach, but it would help to see full set of test results as follows:
FC
CC
CYA
pH
TA
CH

One problem is I believe the K-1005 won't have the R-0870 & R-0871 (powder & drops) to test FC above 5ppm correct? If that's the case, you want to order this product ASAP: FAS-DPD

From there we can help you with all of those questions, but the full, accurate test results will be very important to help. Very nice to have you find us.
 
FC: 1-2
CC: 0 ? (see below)
CYA: 53
pH: 8.2
TA: 160
CH: 430

For FC, I thought the reading was closer to 1, my wife thought closer to 2. Either way, both FC and TC were in the 1-2 range, which gives you a CC of 0....am I doing that correctly?
The acid demand test had 5 drops to get to a pH of 7.5 and 7 to get to 7.2.

You are correct, the kit does not include the FAS-DPD.....what is this used for? Look forward to hearing your answers, thanks!
 
If the CYA test was above 50, you should round up to 60. In that case your target FC would be 7-9. Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart That is why you need a FAS-DPD test!

You mentioned adding a gallon of bleach a week. That isn't enough, it will be more than that. Probably around 2 gallons per week, or 1/4 every day (of 8.25% bleach).

Could you add your pool info to your signature please :)

Please follow the link in Texas Splash's post and get a FAS-DPD test as soon as possible :)
 
FC: 1-2
CC: 0 ? (see below)
CYA: 53
pH: 8.2
TA: 160
CH: 430
Click to expand...

Based on those initial results, you have a couple things to watch closely:
1 - Keep your FC in that 6-8 range. Your CYA is high enough to protect the pool/swimmers from that chlorine, and it needs that much FC for sanitation and prevent algae.
2 - Lower pH ASAP (muriatic acid). With plaster, you want to watch pH so it doesn't go below 7.2 (corrosive), but also ensure it doesn't get too high (scale). Anything over 7.8 is not good, especially in the SW region where CH is typically high. If I were you, I'd keep that pH around 7.4-7.6, and never above 7.8.

- Your TA is a bit elevated which also allows pH to rise a bit faster. At some point, you might consider lowering TA by following the TFP Pool School - Lower Total Alkalinity page.

If you ever find that the FC drops more than 4ppm over a 24 hr period, let us know. It may be time for an overnight (OCLT) test. Bookmark the links below in my sig and you'll do very well. Hope that helps.
 
Quick update with an additional question. Got my additional test kit and got my FC up to 6.8 ppm, up from 1.6 ppm, so check one.

Here's my question, using pool math, I added 60 oz muriatic acid to get my pH from 8.2 (on 5/2) down to 7.8 (on 5/3). Then I added another 30 oz to lower to 7.5. Unfortunately, we were out of town for 5 days so I was unable to retest until I got home on 5/8. The level was already back to 8.2. Is that normal or expected to fluctuate that quickly?
 

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Your pH appears to be jumping-up quickly, possibly from the elevated TA. What you might consider doing is using the link I provided above in post 8 (Lowering TA). Your last TA was about 160, so try bringing it down to 120. If the pH still climbs quickly, try 100, then 80. That should help reduce the quick rise in pH. If not, or if you have questions, let us know.
 
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