very confused and please needing advice

Jump to latest Follow Reply
B

bluebeginner

0
May 25, 2009
13
I have repeatedly read all that I could about the BBB method and we are using it on the new pool we just bought. I am confused about many things and my husband and I are getting frustrated and don't know if this is the right method for us?I have several questions that I hope you can help me with. Since I have a vinyl pool, do I need to use calcium chloride?
Also, I am putting in 3 quarts of bleach a day but it is getting eaten up: here are the numbers for today (I use the test kit suggested here)
FC 0
CC 0
TC 0
ph 2
cya- not measurable with the kit---we are being really careful with adding cyanuric acid so have only added 2 lbs thus far- should I add more? or wait the 1 week?
CH 50
The water is very cloudy with maybe a teensy weensy touch of green.
I've put all the numbers into the pool calculator but don't know about the calcium chloride or the borax- do I add that or not?
For some reason I bought sodium hydrogen carbonate. Do I even need this?

Thank you so much for any help,
Claudia
 
Welcome to TFP! My response is in bold.

bluebeginner said:
I have repeatedly read all that I could about the BBB method and we are using it on the new pool we just bought. I am confused about many things and my husband and I are getting frustrated and don't know if this is the right method for us?I have several questions that I hope you can help me with. Since I have a vinyl pool, do I need to use calcium chloride? No, you don't need to worry about low calcium in a vinyl pool

Also, I am putting in 3 quarts of bleach a day but it is getting eaten up: here are the numbers for today

(I use the test kit suggested here) Which one, we recommend two...?
FC 0
CC 0
TC 0
ph 2 - This has to be a typo?

cya- not measurable with the kit---we are being really careful with adding cyanuric acid so have only added 2 lbs thus far- should I add more? or wait the 1 week?
2 lbs is not enough. You need to add 2 more. How did you add it? Wait a full week to retest it, but assume what you added is there. You have less than 20 with 2 lbs.

CH 50 - This is fine

The water is very cloudy with maybe a teensy weensy touch of green.

I've put all the numbers into the pool calculator but don't know about the calcium chloride or the borax- do I add that or not?

No calcium, not sure on the Borax. Confirm your PH level please.

For some reason I bought sodium hydrogen carbonate. Do I even need this?
This is baking soda. What is your TA level - you didn't list it?

Thank you so much for any help,
Claudia
Click to expand...

Don't worry Claudia, it's not uncommon at all to feel frustrated and overwhelmed because it is alot of information all at once. We will help you understand it.

Do you have any bleach on hand? What kind and what size are the jugs? You need more chlorine in there, tonight. Enough to reach a FC level of 10. I calculate about 3 small jugs of 6%, or 1 1/2 large jugs.
 
Thank you for your reply-
ph 7.2
TA 90

On the armer & hammer package it just said sodium carbonate (without the hydrogen which is why I was confused)

Added the cya directly to the pool. Should I have added it to the skimmer?- I thought chemicals should not be added near the skimmer and return?

There really is so much info on the site that I just have a hard time with what we are supposed to be doing.

My water looks a tad bit better this morning- certainly not worse.

Should I add more baking soda this morning?

I bought the TF Trouble Free test kit.
 
The CYA - we recommend you put it in a sock and let it dissolve in front of the return or in the skimmer. The pump should be running while it dissolves which prevents problems. You don't want the CYA directly on the bottom of the pool surface, so if it's dissolving there, vacume it up into the filter and it will finish dissolving there. Don't clean/backwash the filter while it's dissolving, leave the pump running for 24 hours. It's okay to add chems to the return flow of water, that's what we recommend.

Your TA is fine. The packaging on all this stuff is so confusing, intentionally so, I believe.

You can add a little Borax to raise the PH to about 7.5. Only adjust the PH when your FC levels are below 10 because high chlorine can throw the PH test off.

Keep your FC up to 10 until your FC holds overnight-instructions for performing the overnight FC loss test are in Pool School. After you add more CYA your shock level will be 12. :wink:

Post any other questions you have. :goodjob:
 
am I rushing it?

Threads merged for consistency.
My new numbers are as follows:

FC 10
CC .5
TC 10.5
TA 190
CYA 20
ph 7.8 (maybe a little higher?- still having a hard time with the colors)

This is after adding stuff last night and this morning. yesterdays numbers were:
FC 0
CC 0
TC 0
TA 80
cya<20
ph 7.5

Should I just give it some time before adding muriatic acid? I am paranoid about waiting too long and having a pool full of bad stuff happen but maybe I've just been going too crazy with everything?
I think I must have put in too much baking soda. The pool calculator says to put in muriatic acid, should I wait? Also, my pool is cloudy- I can't really see the liner on the bottom. The pump has only been on for about 3 days now so is this normal or should I be worried?
Thank you for being so patient with me- I would never have ventured to try the BBB method without the support on this site.

Thanks,
Claudia
 
Re: am I rushing it?

With the FC up at 10, the pH might be reading a little high. Tell you what; let it ride until this evening, the FC will surely drop and then you can be more confident about the pH reading. Fix that up if necessary and then get back to shocking.

You probably want some more CYA, 20 is really too low for an outdoor pool. But give it a week after you add before you test again, give it chance to all dissolve (it can take a few days).

Keep the FC up until things clear up and you don't lose more than 1ppm FC overnight.
--paulr
 
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