Our pool has been set up for a little over a month (5500gal, AG vinyl, 1500gph, SWG). I've been reading this forum and website since I purchased the pool- and you guys have been a huge help- thank you!
Things have gone pretty well with the pool so far. With all the reading I've done, no big surprises yet. But here's my dilemma- my water is clear, no smell, very little or no irritation to the eyes- but the local pool supply told me to add more acid (which I figured to lower pH) and 1 lb shock or superchlorinate/boost (which I'm questioning).
My wife works right next door to the pool business and they do my water analysis for free. I've had the water analyzed weekly since I put the pool up, and I supplement this with daily testing with a cheap $20 Wmart kit (which so far has seemed sufficient with the weekly pro analysis). So here are the latest results from a water sample taken at 7am:
pH - 8.2
TA - 217 (they list it as "Alkalinity w/ stabilizer correction")
FC - 4.7
TC - 5.3
CH - 130 (listed as "Hardness")
CYA - 10
Salt - 3100
I have some concerns about following the pool supply recommendations, since the water seems fine as it is, other than the high pH. With my daily testing, the TC is usually around "5" or off the chart high in the morning, and ".5" or off the chart low in the evenings. I want to add stabilizer to hopefully help with this swing in TC, but the pool supply has told me not to add it until I get the water "under control". I'm not sure what that means, I thought that's what the stabilizer was for...
Here are some more notes I've made, which will hopefully provide you with enough information to help me or offer some advice. Thanks so much in advance for your help!
-The pool is in direct sunlight.
-The SWG is on from midnight to 8am.
-The pump is on a timer and runs 15hrs a day with two breaks (mid morn, evening).
-I've added two gallons of acid (one each the last two weeks).
-I've added 1 box (4lb 12oz) of 20 Mule Team Borax.
-All of the "pro" testing was taken from water sampled early in the morning.
-I don't cover the pool, and have added very little new water so far (it's getting a little low now, but my city water supply is high in Alkalinity, so I've tried to wait until absolutely necessary).
Oh, one other question while I'm at it. Has anybody had problems with BATS around their pools, and if so, is there anything to do about it? I've got three or four that love to swoop down over the pool, and may even skim the water. Interesting, but my wife and kids don't like it one bit!
Thanks again for any advice you can provide!
Things have gone pretty well with the pool so far. With all the reading I've done, no big surprises yet. But here's my dilemma- my water is clear, no smell, very little or no irritation to the eyes- but the local pool supply told me to add more acid (which I figured to lower pH) and 1 lb shock or superchlorinate/boost (which I'm questioning).
My wife works right next door to the pool business and they do my water analysis for free. I've had the water analyzed weekly since I put the pool up, and I supplement this with daily testing with a cheap $20 Wmart kit (which so far has seemed sufficient with the weekly pro analysis). So here are the latest results from a water sample taken at 7am:
pH - 8.2
TA - 217 (they list it as "Alkalinity w/ stabilizer correction")
FC - 4.7
TC - 5.3
CH - 130 (listed as "Hardness")
CYA - 10
Salt - 3100
I have some concerns about following the pool supply recommendations, since the water seems fine as it is, other than the high pH. With my daily testing, the TC is usually around "5" or off the chart high in the morning, and ".5" or off the chart low in the evenings. I want to add stabilizer to hopefully help with this swing in TC, but the pool supply has told me not to add it until I get the water "under control". I'm not sure what that means, I thought that's what the stabilizer was for...
Here are some more notes I've made, which will hopefully provide you with enough information to help me or offer some advice. Thanks so much in advance for your help!
-The pool is in direct sunlight.
-The SWG is on from midnight to 8am.
-The pump is on a timer and runs 15hrs a day with two breaks (mid morn, evening).
-I've added two gallons of acid (one each the last two weeks).
-I've added 1 box (4lb 12oz) of 20 Mule Team Borax.
-All of the "pro" testing was taken from water sampled early in the morning.
-I don't cover the pool, and have added very little new water so far (it's getting a little low now, but my city water supply is high in Alkalinity, so I've tried to wait until absolutely necessary).
Oh, one other question while I'm at it. Has anybody had problems with BATS around their pools, and if so, is there anything to do about it? I've got three or four that love to swoop down over the pool, and may even skim the water. Interesting, but my wife and kids don't like it one bit!
Thanks again for any advice you can provide!