New pool owner trying to stay on top of things.

[Rafzilla]

Hello I am have had a new pool since the month of August. So far I have not had any major issues. One of my neighbors mentioned this site and decided to check it out myself. I think they information and overall site experience is great. It really gives enough information to keep things simple but you also have to opportunity to get into more advanced topics. My goal is to have a better understanding of pool chemistry and help other down the road as I get more experience.

My first step was to get a decent testing kit. Based on some of the comments from this forum and other sites I purchased the LaMotte 2057 ColorQ Pro. The Test kit is easy enough for me. Here is the first set of result a got from today's tests:

Water Temp 83 F
Test Target
FCL 1.05 3
TCL 3.55 (Calc does not account for this)
PH 7.5 7.4
ALY 102 70
CH 120 270
CYA 13 75

Based on what I've read on this forum, I was planning on increasing my FCL, CH and CYA.

I stopped at Walmart on my way home and this is what I purchased:

Hth 10pk Super Shock the label states it has Calcium Hypochlorite 54% https://www.walmart.com/ip/Hth-10pk-Spr-Shock/121465989

hth Stabilizer (cyanuric acid) http://https://www.walmart.com/ip/hth-Stabilizer/116322343

The first product I thought it would help me rise FCL and CH.
The Stabilizer would rise my CYA.

Can I use the Shock just to raise my FCL, or just I just stick with liquid bleach and address the other values with different chemicals?

Should I raise my CYA to target prior to increasing my FCL ?

Most of the time I keep my pool covered (Auto cover) so I don't think evaporation or sunlight should be a huge factor here. On a good day pool gets about 4 hrs of sunlight.

Please let me know if I am off base here.

Thank you.

 

[AftonJeeper]

I'm not familiar with your test kit but it appears it doesn't do the FAS/DPD chlorine test. This is a much more accurate test than the DPD test for chlorine. Here is the one most of us use. TFTestkits.net

Worry about pH and FC daily, the rest are guides to aim for unless you have a plaster pool. You also want to keep track of your CSI score, that is the likely hood that the pool will have scale build up.

If it were my pool I would worry about the low FC and the TCL which I am guessing is FC + CC. So if your CC is 2.5 that is of concern and you are likely battling algae right now. Raise your CYA to 30 and start the SLAM Process process. Once you pass the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test let your FC drift back down to 4-7 before you turn the SWG back on and raise your CYA up to 70 or so.

You might want to look into getting a salt test like this one as well. TFTestkits.net

 

[YippeeSkippy]

The comments on this forum are that the LaMotte ColorQ is not one of our recommended test kits. Too troublesome to keep calibrated if I recall? Inaccurate at times.
The TF-100 would have cost much less and performed better. TFTestkits.net

Based on those questionable results- how does your water *look*?? Do you have algae?? Your TC minus the FC seems to suggest there is something in the water which needs to be addressed. Liquid chlorine (aka "bleach") is what we recommend using to slay the green beast.

Using single ingredient chemicals tends to be easier for new pool owners, IMO. How much CalHypo did you buy???

Maddie

 

[Rafzilla]

Thank you for your comments. I will get the test kits recommended above. The water looks OK. It looks somewhat cloudy but not terrible. I will try to use bleach and go through the SLAM process as soon as the test kits arrive. Otherwise I feel I will be wasting my time and trying to go through the SLAM process without having an accurate reading of FC.

 

[AftonJeeper]

While you are waiting for the test kit I would add 1 gallon of regular 8.25% bleach each day. That will help get you ahead of the algae. Make sure it is not the spashless or scented stuff, they are not good for your pool. Walmart normally has Great Value brand bleach in their laundry aisle, that is what I am using right now.