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Senior Golfer

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Jul 15, 2017
11
Victoria, Ks
I'm very new to TFP and so far I have been very impressed with the knowledge of the members and the willingness to share and help others. Right now I am one of the 'others'. This is my 2nd full summer as a pool owner. This pool is approx. 30 years old and was left empty for two years before we bought this place. We filled the pool last summer after sandblasting and repainting with well water. I have been using pool store chemicals since the beginning, but I have grown tired of leaving the pool store with a sack full of stuff and leaving behind a lot of money every time I had my water tested. I just received my LaMotte ColorQ Pro 7 kit. I know 'now' that this kit is not endorsed by TFP, but I hope to get something that is endorsed in the near future. Here are my results from the first test:
FCL: 5.90
PH: 7.8
TA: 152
CH: 431
CYA:120 (Got this number from the pool store)
I entered this information into PoolMath and this is some of the recommendations: Add 34 oz. of muriatic acid. It suggests I replace 40% of water because of the high CH and to replace 67% of the water because of high CYA. Under Suggested FC Levels it says nonSWG minimum:9 target 13-15. Shock: 47 Mustard Algae Shock: 64. I am not sure about these last readings. I guess I need to know about the minimum FC and target as well as the shock number and the algae shock number. Thanks in advance for your help.
 
Welcome to the forum.

Any reason why the CYA reading is from the pool store? Sadly that is the one they get wrong the most. I assume the ColorQ can measure it. Let us know what it reads. You might have to dilute the pool water sample by half with tap water to get a reading and then double the result.

Most likely it would be advisable to replace some of the water based on what you get with your CYA test.

In the mean time, use 10% of CYA for your target (daily) FC reading. Use 40% of CYA for a shock (SLAM) level. Though you will not want to attempt a SLAM with that high of a CYA.

Keep reading Pool School. And asking questions. Take care.
 
Welcome to TFP!

The two numbers that stick out to me are TA and CYA. Yes, the CH is high, but if your water is hard, you'll always need to monitor CH as it will climb over time.

The CYA is very high - a partial drain and fill is going to be the answer. In the mean time, you're right in that the CYA affects your free chlorine levels - you'll need to maintain higher FC to keep your pool clean and clear.

The chlorine numbers you have listed mean the following:
Minimum FC - this is the number you should never go under for any amount of time.
Target FC - when adding chlorine, you generally want to try to add enough to hit the high part of this target. That will give you a buffer for the 2-4ppm loss a clean pool without many swimmers will experience in a single day. Higher than the target, you lose more FC to sun than you would otherwise, but it's ok to add chlorine to get higher than this in anticipation of a swim party or during seasons when a lot of organic material (leaves, etc) may be getting into the pool.
Shock - This is the level you must maintain when you have algae or other sanitation problems. 47 is very high - you can see why CYA is so important to keep under control!
Mustard Algae Shock - This level is used in the rare event you get a specific type of algae - it is only held for 24 hours at the end of a SLAM to ensure you get all of it. If you suspect Mustard, talk to us before trying this. :)
 
Thank you mknauss and triplex for the quick response and welcome. My ColorQ Pro7 kit measured my CYA as 'HI'. I am going to stock up on bleach and muriatic acid and for go my trips to the pool store. If I understand correctly I should shoot for a FC of 12 on a daily basis. PoolMath did not suggest to add any bleach based on the numbers I entered. Right now my water is a little cloudy. The last time I went to the ps they suggested I shock with 4 lbs. of their shock. The pool was clear before that, now its cloudy but not as cloudy as it was the day after the shock. also, we are on water restrictions here and it would be extremely expensive to drain and replace my water.
 
If you have cloudy water after a 'shock' then you most likely have a low level algae bloom. And you will not be able to manage that with your high CYA.

I would suggest going to TFTestkits.net and at least purchasing a CYA test kit. You need to know it more accurately than 'Hi' or pool store results.

You might want to investigate just how much a 50% water exchange would cost. A full on algae bloom will cost alot too.

Take care.
 
Howdy neighbor! I assume you travel to hays for pool stores and I would avoid them, kleerwater is massively overpriced and they don't know what they are doing and the other on main St has a ok price for 31% muratic acid at $9 a gallon, rest of the store is solid forms of clorine. Use bleach at Walmart it is very fresh and often is stronger then 8.25% at $2.64. I buy cya there for $14-$16 as well.

My water is filled from a well and ta and ch are over 200, the ta makes the pH stick right at 7.8 which will be very bad for scaling, so stop with solid forms of clorine.

I would have thought that Victoria would have eased the water restrictions with all the rain this year. If you have some of those totes to capture water, you can use that to top up or drain/refill your pool, every little bit helps.

You need to get either a tf 100 or Taylor 2006c test kit for perfect water. I have 1 cya test left in my kit and I could test your water for you for the time being and give you a gallon of 34% hydrocloric acid(same as muratic just stronger).
 
Right back at you cfherrman! Good to have someone so close to learn from!! I tested the water this morning and the results are:
FC: 2.89 tCL: 3.18 (not sure what this means) TA: 160 PH: 7.8 CH: 432. I ran a CYA test with diluted water and this time it came back at 94 (47 x 2). Plugging these numbers into PoolMath it suggested 2 1/2 gallons of 5.25% bleach and 33 oz. of muriatic acid. Plus I should replace about 60% of my water. Where I live we are not allowed to use city water to fill pools. We can water trees and shrubs but not yards. Anyway trucking in 11000 gallons of water is pretty high priced but I will have to do it eventually. I did go to Orscheln's this morning and picked up there store brand 5.25% bleach for 1.79 a gallon, their muriatic acid was 8.99. I will check Walmart for a higher % bleach. I would like to get together with you and show you my pool and maybe compare water tests. I really do like this forum.
 
I'll have to test your cya or you will have to get a kit before you decide about the cya. The color q if properly mantianed is regarded to be pretty good, but since it's very easy not to mantain it and have inaccurate test results and is not recommended on here. The tf 100 or the Taylor 2006c is easy and super accurate.

If your water is clear, and we have a few months left, I would run 100 cya, cya will degrade 3-5 ppm per month and draining under the skimmer for winter will get you lower for next year, then each year after that untill it's down to 30-40. As long as you keep up on the pool and know the caveats it's doable. This would require keeping your free clorine at 11-13 and letting it drift down to around 8 weekly so you can test pH as you can't test pH over 10 fc. The problem with this, other than pH testing, is if you have problems your shock level 39! That requires a lot of bleach and a lot of drops testing. You will need the xl option on the tf100 or the 'c' version on Taylor 2006c

10,000 gallons trucked in my guess would be, 3 loads at 2 hours a load at $75 per hour, $450 for trucking and $120 for water. This could get you to 50 cya with much easier pool management. If your pool turns green I would plan on this and then to slam the pool after.

I did not check orscheln for bleach or acid, just make sure on the born on date is less then a month for freshness. Lower % bleach is okay you just have to buy more, it does stay fresher longer. Pool math link above I believe has a clorine cost caparison. I've been using one gallon a week on ma since my ta was over 250 but has finally started to slow down, I'm under 200 ta now.

Try to capture rain water for fill ups, or use softened water to keep your calicum from climbing higher, high calicum is manageable as well but it will require a drain when it gets too high.

I opened my pool, fresh fill, may 28, and have spent $25 on bleach and $25 on acid.
 
OK, I just added the bleach and the acid, how long until it is safe to swim? I set my goal at 7ppm for CL and added 121 oz. of 8.25% bleach. PoolMath suggested 7 as the minimum and the target of 10-12. After adding the bleach I was half expecting to see the water get hazy or cloudy but so far it hasn't. feels good to be free of pool store stuff. I did order the TF 100 yesterday
 
You can swim within 15 minutes of adding either bleach or acid as long as the pump is running and you pour it in the pool in a slow stream in front of a return.

You should be adding to your target, not your minimum. The target leaves room for the degradation of the chlorine due to sunlight or bather load until the next day you add chlorine.

Take care.
 

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We round up cya to whole tens, so you should use 100 cya untill we retest. Use this chart,

Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart

Remember you have to be under 10 fc to trust the pH test, minium fc is 8 so when your around that test your pH, hit it with a half dose of acid and retest 30 mins later, hit it again, and then bring fc up to 12.

Crazy about this system is that the cya/fc relationship has been developed from 40 years of science and your 12 fc at 100 cya is no harsher on the pool or swimmers than my 5 fc at 40 cya pool, it is even less harsh then 3 fc at 0 cya.
 
WOW it has been hot here, 109 yesterday and 105 so far today, I had to add about 275 gal. of well water today to bring the water line up to where it needs to be. Just did a water sample and here are my results with my ColorQ Pro-7: FC: 4.19, tCL: 4.28, pH: 7.8, TA: 148, CH: 409 and CYA is 100. And the pool looks crystal clear. I will be adding 2 gals. bleach and 70 oz. muriatic acid when the kids and grandkids get done swimming. I like the ColorQ testing system because I am slightly color challenged and it is hard to determine the different shades on the walmart test kit for CL and pH. But I did order the tf 100.
 
A lot of color blind people on here use the color q, mostly the operation is if the results make sense they trust it, if not they get a helper (wife, child) and get the tf100 out. Operation of the tf100 is taking pool water and adding power to turn it pink, add drops till it's clear. How many drops determine your fc level. The other tests operate in this manner but use blue or red. The pH test is the same as the Walmart test. Try to keep your fc over 8, it's still less harsh then tap water with 100 cya.

I just added 3" of water and it's gone already.
 
Meet up with senior golfer last weekend and tested his water. The color q came back with around 20% low to my results. I figured with a new unit it would be pretty close, but it's pretty far off. Most of this post is for future reference and to give a update. From my memory,

Fc 14
Cc .5
pH 7.5
Ta 200 or 250
Ch 450, see note
Cya diluted test, 140

My daughter was hilariously rushing me at the end and two drops on the ch test looked small, should have retested. The cya diluted test seems like it's not equal parts tap and pool water, I have yet to measure my cya bottle to double check, but I will.

He got his kit and got cya of 90 in the morning, hasn't got back if he tested in the sun yet.

Bleach at orchelins is 5.25% and is of random freshness, running the numbers comes out the same for Walmart bleach. I picked up 4 newer gallons of it and it's working great for me, good option when one doesn't want to head to Walmart if you pick through it.

Victoria has crazy water restrictions, the town is less than 8 miles from my house, and all pool water has to be trucked in. He hauls top up water in a 275 gallon tote. I recommended a RV water softener to treat the top up water so he lesson's the chance needed for a drain. This one is 1250 gal capacity for $200

Mobile-Soft-Water 12,800 gr Portable Manual Softener w/salt port RV-BoatCabin | eBay

Water was super clear and I wished I was in swimming shorts, I recommend being super careful and change water if a problem develops since water replacement is high.
 
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