A few questions while pondering a conversion
- Thread starter byebyebaqua
- Start date
Patti,
You didn't happen to get the speed stir device did you? I did, and the light in it really helped. You might be able to hold a flashlight up under the test tube. I didn't really see any yellow, but I did see some "not quite clear". The extra light really helped. you will see it when it is totally clear.
Also, rinse the tube out with pool water after each test.
The good thing is that when you get toward the end of the conversion the small test kit will work just fine because the FC will be at 5ppm or below ideally. At the doses that we have been working at, .5 isn't that big of a deal, as long as you stay over 15 you should be cool.
I did notice that my test was more accurate when I dripped the reagents in slower (drip 1 2 3 - drip 1 2 3) as opposed to DRIPDRIPDRIP.
You didn't happen to get the speed stir device did you? I did, and the light in it really helped. You might be able to hold a flashlight up under the test tube. I didn't really see any yellow, but I did see some "not quite clear". The extra light really helped. you will see it when it is totally clear.
Also, rinse the tube out with pool water after each test.
The good thing is that when you get toward the end of the conversion the small test kit will work just fine because the FC will be at 5ppm or below ideally. At the doses that we have been working at, .5 isn't that big of a deal, as long as you stay over 15 you should be cool.
I did notice that my test was more accurate when I dripped the reagents in slower (drip 1 2 3 - drip 1 2 3) as opposed to DRIPDRIPDRIP.
FC test is pink to not pink. Sometimes it isn't 'clear' like glass but the important thing is it should not be any shade of pink. Note: If you let it sit for a few mins after you do the test, it can start to pink up again, that is normal and can be ignored. Once the test is done, I dispose of the solution so as not to be confused.
CYA test is dot not visible. Like in you see no dot at all. It can be a little tricky so there are few hints I like to use. Make sure you hold the tube with just two fingers, at the very top. Drip in enough mixture to get to a line and the glance into the tube. So, fill 100, glance. Fill to 90, glance. Keep doing that until you don't see the dot, but only milky white fluid. Keep the thought in mind that you don't WANT to see the dot. If you think about seeing it, your mind/eye can trick you.
Hope that helps.
CYA test is dot not visible. Like in you see no dot at all. It can be a little tricky so there are few hints I like to use. Make sure you hold the tube with just two fingers, at the very top. Drip in enough mixture to get to a line and the glance into the tube. So, fill 100, glance. Fill to 90, glance. Keep doing that until you don't see the dot, but only milky white fluid. Keep the thought in mind that you don't WANT to see the dot. If you think about seeing it, your mind/eye can trick you.
Hope that helps.
This post got caught in the page change between page 2 and page 3, so I am reposting it.
Thanks for all of the support and information during the conversion! I would have been at a loss without all of your input. I have a few questions going forward regarding chemicals, and I hope that the questions would be answered here in this forum rather than in the chemistry forum so that others doing the conversion can benefit from the info.
1. I am having trouble with the CYA test in my TF100 kit, I don't understand the direction that reads" until you can no longer see the black dot".Is this to mean that the black dot is obscured so that you can only see a darker spot, or does it mean 'all I see is cloudy liquid". My son reads the CYA level at a shade over 30 ppm.
2. I see conflicting info on the CYA level. Some sources say 30 ppm and some say 40 ppm. Which is preferred?
3. My FC level was 4.5 on Saturday evening, and .5 on Monday morning. We have had partly cloudy to sunny days with about 3/4" of rain on Saturday evening. Is this a normal loss with a CYA level of 30 PPM? PH PH is up to 7.8 from a pretty steady 7.5 over the last few days.
4. I am thinking about an automatic chlorinator, specifically the Pentair Rainbow 320. I also understand that using the tablets will raise CYA over time. If I would keep my fc at around 3 ppm with the tablets in a chlorinator, how much of an increase in CYA could I expect over the next 3 months. Also, does CYA go away over the winter? My pool is generally covered for the winter from mid-September to mid-may.
Again, I realize these questions may be more in line with pool chemistry, but I am hoping this info can be kept in this thread for future conversions.
Thanks for all of the support and information during the conversion! I would have been at a loss without all of your input. I have a few questions going forward regarding chemicals, and I hope that the questions would be answered here in this forum rather than in the chemistry forum so that others doing the conversion can benefit from the info.
1. I am having trouble with the CYA test in my TF100 kit, I don't understand the direction that reads" until you can no longer see the black dot".Is this to mean that the black dot is obscured so that you can only see a darker spot, or does it mean 'all I see is cloudy liquid". My son reads the CYA level at a shade over 30 ppm.
2. I see conflicting info on the CYA level. Some sources say 30 ppm and some say 40 ppm. Which is preferred?
3. My FC level was 4.5 on Saturday evening, and .5 on Monday morning. We have had partly cloudy to sunny days with about 3/4" of rain on Saturday evening. Is this a normal loss with a CYA level of 30 PPM? PH PH is up to 7.8 from a pretty steady 7.5 over the last few days.
4. I am thinking about an automatic chlorinator, specifically the Pentair Rainbow 320. I also understand that using the tablets will raise CYA over time. If I would keep my fc at around 3 ppm with the tablets in a chlorinator, how much of an increase in CYA could I expect over the next 3 months. Also, does CYA go away over the winter? My pool is generally covered for the winter from mid-September to mid-may.
Again, I realize these questions may be more in line with pool chemistry, but I am hoping this info can be kept in this thread for future conversions.
What do you use for CYA replacement?
I don't see you have received an answer to your 5/31 post. where do you stand now on your conversion?
I don't see you have received an answer to your 5/31 post. where do you stand now on your conversion?
I used a product called ProTeam UV shield. Pool Math called for 70 oz but I started out with 54 oz and just kept adding 8 ounces at a time until I got to 30-40 ppm. I put it in 2 tall white socks(like for your feet, not any special pool socks or anything) and hung 1 off my vac pole in front of the return
And 1 more 180 degrees away. Give the sock a squeeze every now and then to release a little more and to keep it dissolving instead of clumping.
I am considering it done, but my biggest critics will be swimming tomorrow (8 and 11 year olds) the 8 year old has been telling me that our water smells funny since she was 6. We'll see if she notices a change.
Yeah, nobody seems to want to answer the last questions...I would have thought that it would have just been an extension of the conversion, but maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree.
And 1 more 180 degrees away. Give the sock a squeeze every now and then to release a little more and to keep it dissolving instead of clumping.
I am considering it done, but my biggest critics will be swimming tomorrow (8 and 11 year olds) the 8 year old has been telling me that our water smells funny since she was 6. We'll see if she notices a change.
Yeah, nobody seems to want to answer the last questions...I would have thought that it would have just been an extension of the conversion, but maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree.
As to the last question I'll use easy numbers:
For every 3ppm CL, you get 2 CYA. So if you lose 3 ppm per day like the average pool, you get an extra 2ppm CYA everyday.
So after 30 days you've added 60ppm CYA. That's going to be a problem.
Now in reality you can't keep the FC at 3ppm as the CYA starts to go up, you need to increase your FC so then you are putting even more CYA in. So the increase is even faster than my simple example.
CYA does not normally decrease. There are some folks that have it go down over the winter but that is unusual.
For every 3ppm CL, you get 2 CYA. So if you lose 3 ppm per day like the average pool, you get an extra 2ppm CYA everyday.
So after 30 days you've added 60ppm CYA. That's going to be a problem.
Now in reality you can't keep the FC at 3ppm as the CYA starts to go up, you need to increase your FC so then you are putting even more CYA in. So the increase is even faster than my simple example.
CYA does not normally decrease. There are some folks that have it go down over the winter but that is unusual.
Thanks byebye....I'm sure your daughter will appreciate the fact her taste will no longer be 'off'. That was one of my biggest complaints from my kids and me. Although my YMCA swimmer said he doesn't like chlorine....dah...that is what the Y used...I didn't tell him that because you can't smell it like you did in the indoor pool.
Good luck this weekend. We were in last night, but our FC was nothing. Still working on that aspect. Think we are going to bite the bullet and replace the sand.
Patti
Good luck this weekend. We were in last night, but our FC was nothing. Still working on that aspect. Think we are going to bite the bullet and replace the sand.
Patti