Last year was torture - This year? Much better!

[Guybrush3pwood]

Don't know if anyone remembers me from last year, but long story short, I had a heck of a time getting my pool in order. After much blood, sweat, tears, swearing, threatening to sell my pool, locked and deleted threads, I FINALLY got things in order. Just in time to be able to enjoy the pool for two weeks before we had to close it.

Well, being the n00b I was, I of course closed the pool wrong, which resulted in a broken pump and sand filter. No worries, it was old and kind of junk anyway, so it needed replacing. Thankfully, I was able to hook up a new system without much trouble. Within a month, I went from green swamp to clear blue water in no time. However, the weather has been cold here and we haven't been able to swim much. In the meantime, I wanted to share my numbers and see what you guys think. See anything troubling that I need to adjust?

CYA - 30
FC - 10.5
CC - 1
TC - 11.5
Ph - 7.8
CH - Didn't do it because we don't have calcium issues with our water here.
TA - 120 (I think, could be anywhere between 110 and 130, it says stop when it turns red, but is pink red? When does pink become red?)

I'm thinking I need to bring my CYA up, my CC down (not sure how to do that), my Ph down (not sure how to do that) and my TA down depending on your definition of red?



And while you're here, one other thing, the swamp appears to have stained the walls of my pool. Anyway to get that off?

Thanks everyone! Glad I had a more successful time at it this year. Hopefully I can close it down correctly this time around.

 

[kimkats]

Well hello there!!!! Glad to hear it is so good for you now! I am going to share a set of links I put together for new pool owners. It is quite a bit of info but since you already know the basics it should be easy for you. I forget what we have shared with you in the past so don't want to take a chance of leaving anything out.

Print these out:
Pool School - Basic Pool Care Schedule

Pool School - Recommended Levels

Bookmark these:
Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals

http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html

Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

Make sure to ask any and all questions you might have no matter how small! We have all been where you are at one point.

so glad you came back!

Kim

 

[Guybrush3pwood]

Thanks! Printed those out last year and keep them in a binder. It's been priceless for me this year.

What do you think of my numbers? Anything concerning?

 

[kimkats]

TA is a bit high as is your PH. Here is a link on how to lower TA:

Pool School - Lower Total Alkalinity

One of those links is what to use to do this. I am so glad they were helpful last year!

I am heading out. I will check in with you in the morning!

Kim

 

[Guybrush3pwood]

Ah ha, so I was right, I need to add acid. The weird part is, I actually have a jug of acid that I never used last year, but it doesn't say anywhere on it what % it is! Weird right? Thinking maybe I should swing by walmart and get some PH reducer since I think that's a dried version of the same thing.

 

[kimkats]

You can go ahead and use what you have. You will figure out the % once you use it and test for the results. You can get the powder stuff but why spend the money when you have that sitting around?

On the subject of acid.........where do you store it? It should not be stored by the chlorine as they do not play well (fumes mix and make bad stuff). Nor should it be stored by metal as the fumes can cause rust.

Kim

 

[heikejohn]

On the subject of acid.........where do you store it? It should not be stored by the chlorine as they do not play well (fumes mix and make bad stuff). Nor should it be stored by metal as the fumes can cause rust.

Kim

I have the rusted out metal storage cabinet to prove it

 

[Guybrush3pwood]

Yeah I read about that before I bought it. It just kind of sits by itself in a corner of my garage.

It's actually the same stuff this guy bought. Must have something to do with big box stores in NY all carrying the same nebulous stuff. Sounds like it may be 20% so I'll see if I can't best guess it.

Klean Strip Green Muriatic Acid

 

[kimkats]

After use it 2 or 3 times you should know how to adjust your numbers and make it work. Might as well use it up.

 

[Guybrush3pwood]

That did it! Didn't test my TA yet, but everything else looks good. CC is .5, PH is 7.5 and I added the right amount of CYA to bring me back to 40. Everything is looking good! Thanks for the suggestion. Now if I could just get some temperatures above 75 degrees!


Well, unless something goes horribly wrong, I'll see you guys come fall for tips on closing a pool properly.

 

[Guybrush3pwood]

Yup, TA is at 100.

 

[kimkats]

Guy do you keep a log of your tests? If not you should. That will help you see patterns and make your pool care even easier. What I want you to really watch is your PH. Does it jump up? Does it creep up? How often are you having to push it back down?

The reason I ask is that PH and TA go hand in hand. Each pool is so different. Some pools like their TA at 90 some like it at 60. So how do you know what your pool likes? You watch your PH. If your PH jumps up such you will need to lower your TA. Now if you PH stays stable then you are good to go.

Kim

 

[Guybrush3pwood]

You know, I don't, but that makes total sense. I should start doing so. I'll print off some charts that I can fill in and track my numbers. Thanks!

 

[kimkats]

I also make note of big weather like heavy rain, big wind so lots of stuff in pool, ect. After a while you will know what needs to be done just by looking!

Kim

 

[Guybrush3pwood]

Yeah, and I've got to make some big changes in line with that. Nearby pine tree has to go, liner needs replacing (got some sizable holes over last winter that need patching to get us through one more season), but once I get things in order, some good tracking of events and numbers should put me in that spot.

Still, huge improvement over last year - all thanks to you guys.

 

[pooldv]

Welcome back! Glad things are better.