Cautionary Tale of a Pool, Fed Up, Frustrated, Lost & Sinking In The Deep End!

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Re: Cautionary Tale of a Pool, Fed Up, Frustrated, Lost & Sinking In The Deep End!

NO!!!!!!!!!!!! Bet that ground rat is going to be sorry he messed with YOU! Are you booted? Did you have to have surgery? Those knee scooters are the best thing ever for getting around!

Come on test kit! This man needs to have something to kill! Algae will work!

Kim:kim:
 
Re: Cautionary Tale of a Pool, Fed Up, Frustrated, Lost & Sinking In The Deep End!

kimkats said:
NO!!!!!!!!!!!! Bet that ground rat is going to be sorry he messed with YOU! Are you booted? Did you have to have surgery? Those knee scooters are the best thing ever for getting around!

Come on test kit! This man needs to have something to kill! Algae will work!
Kim:kim:
Click to expand...

Yeah, Ive been patiently waiting for that lil ground rat to show his head, I purchased a gamo air rifle thats got a golden BB with his name on it!
Yes, currently booted, got an air cast on it. I tried to get the army to hook me up with that cool little knee scooter deal, but no dice. Im pretty sure they know me and know that by the time it was all said and done, it would have been uparmored, painted multicam, and have at least 1 rocket launcher attached to the handlebars. Silly government people, do they have no sense of humor?
 
Re: Cautionary Tale of a Pool, Fed Up, Frustrated, Lost & Sinking In The Deep End!

OKAY Folks! My TEST SET CAME IN!!!!

So... heres the deal, we are in Wisconsin and just had a major storm pass thru a hour or so ago. Lost a tree in the front yard, but Im pretty danged determined to put this pool test kit to the test! So armed with my trusty ankle air cast, I hobbled out to the pool, positioned myself by the pool, and went to work! Dipping, mixing, swirling, dumping and rinse and repeat... I get my numbers!

2.0 FC
1.0 CC
35 CYA
7.0 or less PH (couldnt get the test kit to read that low, the water was a yellow-ish color)
150 CH
20 TA



So... where do I go from here? Did I do this correctly?
 
Re: Cautionary Tale of a Pool, Fed Up, Frustrated, Lost & Sinking In The Deep End!

I would say first thing to do is raise your pH and TA. You can raise TA with baking soda and get it to around 70. Use PoolMath to help you calculate how much baking soda you will need. To raise pH you can point the returns up so the water churns the surface. Aerating the water brings up the pH without adding chemicals. When the pH is around 7.5 you can re-adjust the returns to stop the aeration.

Poolmath will also tell you how much FC and other chemicals you need for your pool.
 
Re: Cautionary Tale of a Pool, Fed Up, Frustrated, Lost & Sinking In The Deep End!

You need to raise the TA up with baking soda to about 70 PPM. After that is mixed in we test the pH to make sure it is in the 7s. Then you need to follow the slam process.

By the way next time you're going to test take a cup outside get a sample of water and then bring it inside and do all your testing there no need to stand out by the pool.
 
Re: Cautionary Tale of a Pool, Fed Up, Frustrated, Lost & Sinking In The Deep End!

jblizzle said:
You need to raise the TA up with baking soda to about 70 PPM. After that is mixed in we test the pH to make sure it is in the 7s. Then you need to follow the slam process.

By the way next time you're going to test take a cup outside get a sample of water and then bring it inside and do all your testing there no need to stand out by the pool.
Click to expand...

Ok, so I thought that all serious pool testing happened by the pool?!?!? There I was, sitting down straddling my diving board with my test kit and laptop and a heavy thunderstorm 5 minutes out and a tornado 35 miles away.... nothing could go wrong there obviously. Point well taken, will bring pool water inside from now on!
 
Re: Cautionary Tale of a Pool, Fed Up, Frustrated, Lost & Sinking In The Deep End!

You still have to test cya outside. It is a light sensitive test. It sounds like voodoo but you have to have your back to the full sun, not overcast nor cloudy, vial at waste level.
 
Re: Cautionary Tale of a Pool, Fed Up, Frustrated, Lost & Sinking In The Deep End!

Stormy..........NOTHING was going to get in the way of your testing! You go DUDE!

Everyone has you covered with the what to do. You can buy baking soda in a big bag at Walmart or Sams.

For the PH testing I have found standing at my stove with the hood light on (60 watt bulb) with a white plate behind the tube helps me match the colors better. If you have a bright light over your table it would work as well.

Oh for a pic of Stormy on the diving board with tools with the storm clouds as a backdrop! LOL

Kim:kim:
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Re: Cautionary Tale of a Pool, Fed Up, Frustrated, Lost & Sinking In The Deep End!

Okay, so let me get thsi straight, sometimes you gotta write it in crayon for me to get it...

The first thing I want to do is raise the TA by adding approximately 282 ounces of baking soda. Correct?

Then I want to raise the PH by pointing my return nozzles up. Correct?
 
Re: Cautionary Tale of a Pool, Fed Up, Frustrated, Lost & Sinking In The Deep End!

Stormfeather said:
Okay, so let me get thsi straight, sometimes you gotta write it in crayon for me to get it...

The first thing I want to do is raise the TA by adding approximately 282 ounces of baking soda. Correct?

Then I want to raise the PH by pointing my return nozzles up. Correct?
Click to expand...
Skimming the thread, I can't find your pool volume so I can't give you an amount of baking soda. But if you enter the correct pool volume, pH, and TA, the pool math number is safe to trust.

PH/TA are closely related, and adding Borax, Baking Soda, or Soda Ash will raise both numbers. Your pH is likely under 7, since the test is not accurate in that range.

Borax raises pH without raising TA as much. The common brand is "20 mule team", and is available in the laundry aisle.

Baking soda will raise TA without raising pH as much as Borax.

Soda ash will raise both TA and pH. This is also available in the laundry aisle.

Aeration will raise pH without affecting TA much.

Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals

Pool math will give you volumes of all 3 chemicals. I hope that didn't over-complicate. You are on the right track with baking soda + aeration.
 
Re: Cautionary Tale of a Pool, Fed Up, Frustrated, Lost & Sinking In The Deep End!

Hehe! I have crayons! Here we go! You are RIGHT!

You can do both at the same time.

The only two things you should not add at the same time is muratic acid and chlorine/bleach. They do not play well together. Everything else plays well together.

:hug:

Kim:kim:
 
Re: Cautionary Tale of a Pool, Fed Up, Frustrated, Lost & Sinking In The Deep End!

pinguy said:
Skimming the thread, I can't find your pool volume so I can't give you an amount of baking soda. But if you enter the correct pool volume, pH, and TA, the pool math number is safe to trust.

PH/TA are closely related, and adding Borax, Baking Soda, or Soda Ash will raise both numbers. Your pH is likely under 7, since the test is not accurate in that range.

Borax raises pH without raising TA as much. The common brand is "20 mule team", and is available in the laundry aisle.

Baking soda will raise TA without raising pH as much as Borax.

Soda ash will raise both TA and pH. This is also available in the laundry aisle.

Aeration will raise pH without affecting TA much.

Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals

Pool math will give you volumes of all 3 chemicals. I hope that didn't over-complicate. You are on the right track with baking soda + aeration.
Click to expand...

Pool Volumn is 15k, so going by the Pool Math Calculator, and putting in my numbers from before, The aforementioned numbers was was it spit out at me. Im starting with those two ingredients Baking Soda & Borax 20 mule first, because that was the group here reccomended!
 
Re: Cautionary Tale of a Pool, Fed Up, Frustrated, Lost & Sinking In The Deep End!

kimkats said:
Hehe! I have crayons! Here we go! You are RIGHT!

You can do both at the same time.

The only two things you should not add at the same time is muratic acid and chlorine/bleach. They do not play well together. Everything else plays well together.

:hug:

Kim:kim:
Click to expand...


Thank you for the crayons, it helps! Now all I have to do is stop eating them!
 
Re: Cautionary Tale of a Pool, Fed Up, Frustrated, Lost & Sinking In The Deep End!

OH! QUICK QUESTION!!!! Do I want the pool on "filter", or can I just do "recirculate" for the boaking soda and borax? Reason being is that I think I have a broken lateral from all the sand I have thats came out by the jets, so I bought new laterals to change into it. I was hoping to empty out the sand filter and drain it for a day to have all the extra water out. I will obviously replace the laterals and then proceed to SLAM where I will have it on "filter" at that point.
 
Re: Cautionary Tale of a Pool, Fed Up, Frustrated, Lost & Sinking In The Deep End!

The general rule of thumb is to not add chemicals into the skimmer. Premix backing soda and borax with water before adding to the pool. Pour the premix solution into the pool. Your pump needs to be running and ok to use recirculate if you are having issues with your filter.


Pool School has details on how each type of chem should be added: Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals
 
Last edited:
Re: Cautionary Tale of a Pool, Fed Up, Frustrated, Lost & Sinking In The Deep End!

kcindc said:
The general rule of thumb is to not add chemicals into the skimmer. Premix backing soda and borax with water before adding to the pool. Pour the premix solution into the pool. Your pump needs to be running and ok to use recirculate if you are having issues with your filter.


Pool School has details on how each type of chem should be added: Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals
Click to expand...

Yep, followed those to a "T", just wanted to make sure I was doing it right. So how long do I have to wait now, or should I test maybe 24 hours after Ive done the chemicals?
 
Re: Cautionary Tale of a Pool, Fed Up, Frustrated, Lost & Sinking In The Deep End!

You can test as early as 15 mins after adding them if your pump is on and the stuff looks mixed in. If you brush real good you will be sure it is all mixed up good.

The only one that takes any time to show on the test is the CYA and that is only a couple/few hours once it is all dissolved.

Kim:kim: (so THAT is where all my red crayons went!)
 

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