NYMickey's Pool Testing

[YippeeSkippy]

(Posted for NYMickey, please respond directly to him) Maddie

Good Morning !

You folks seem like really friendly and knowledgeable people ... hopefully PATIENT too !!!

Also, I took the plunge and bought a Taylor K-2006 testing kit so I can avoid weekly trips to Leslie's. Here is what I got:

Free Chlorine = 2 (It took 10 drops of R-0871 to turn the sample from pink to colorless so 10 X .2 = 2ppm)
But then I added 5 drops of R-0003 to determine Combined Chlorine and it NEVER turned pink for me so I'm not sure what that means.

pH = 8 (could it even be higher because it was a dark pink)

TA = 90 (It took 9 drops of R-0009 to turn the sample from green to red so 9 X 10 = 90ppm)

Calcium Hardness = 260 (It took 26 drops of R-0012 to turn the sample from red to blue so 26 X 10 = 260ppm) NOTE: not to get anal, but it was more like a pink to blue conversion rather than a true red to blue conversion. Is that a problem?

CYA = 100 (I really only put a little of the mixture into the tube and the black dot disappeared. Could it be even more than 100? Again, not to be anal about this, but when they say the black dot is gone, does it have to be TOTALLY gone because if I looked hard enough I could see a slight indication of it but someone else would probably consider it not visible.

So ... I entered my results into the Pool Math Calculator Table and if I understand it correctly, I need to:
Add 62 oz of 6 weight % bleach
Add 140z of Muriatic Acid
Add Add 35 oz by weight of baking soda
Add Add 222 oz by weight or 177 oz by volume of calcium chloride - not sure what this means but I do have Calcium Hardness Increaser Plus on hand.

Lastly, if you are able to respond to this message (and possibly be willing to keep answering my dumb questions) then you have my promise of some fine, super-duper NY strip on the grill if you are ever in Marietta or if I am ever in Augusta, I will stop by with the NY strip steaks !!!

God Bless

P.S. I won't be offended if you add me to your ignore list so as to avoid so many questions !!!

Mickey
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15K gal / IG / Fiberglass / Installed Feb 2013 / Sand / SWCG / Filled via Public Water / Using Taylor K-2006 /
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[YippeeSkippy]

Also, I took the plunge and bought a Taylor K-2006 testing kit so I can avoid weekly trips to Leslie's.
Yay! Good start to understanding your water.

Free Chlorine = 2 (It took 10 drops of R-0871 to turn the sample from pink to colorless so 10 X .2 = 2ppm) No, you divide by .2.... or easier yet just halve that total drop number. So 10 drops = 5ppm of FC
But then I added 5 drops of R-0003 to determine Combined Chlorine and it NEVER turned pink for me so I'm not sure what that means. I take that to be zero. Yay!

pH = 8 (could it even be higher because it was a dark pink) So start with that assumption and treat it (using PoolMath) to get from 8 to 7.4 using muriatic acid. If after you do that and wait a bit while it mixes up, then retest. If it is higher than 7.4 you'll know it was actually higher than 8 to begin with.

TA = 90 (It took 9 drops of R-0009 to turn the sample from green to red so 9 X 10 = 90ppm) Yup

Calcium Hardness = 260 (It took 26 drops of R-0012 to turn the sample from red to blue so 26 X 10 = 260ppm) NOTE: not to get anal, but it was more like a pink to blue conversion rather than a true red to blue conversion. Is that a problem? Yeah, pinky red to blue.

CYA = 100 (I really only put a little of the mixture into the tube and the black dot disappeared. Could it be even more than 100? Easily! With long term puck use or granular shock additions, or just going overboard with the stabilizer. The way to tell is to take half pool water with half tap water and mix well. Then use this sample to perform the test again with this sample being the pool water. Then double your results.

Again, not to be anal about this, but when they say the black dot is gone, does it have to be TOTALLY gone because if I looked hard enough I could see a slight indication of it but someone else would probably consider it not visible. I find it easiest to actually fill the container to 100 and glance away and then look. I see the dot so....then pour to the 90 line and glance, is it there?? Then all the way to 80, 70, 60 and so on. AND most importantly look away and then look again quickly. The idea is to not stare at it hoping to see or not see the dot. And make sure you have the sun to your back and the tube held waste high.
Keep in mind you can re-do the test with that same sample by pouring it back in to the mixing bottle and back again in to the tube.

So ... I entered my results into the Pool Math Calculator Table and if I understand it correctly, I need to:
Add 62 oz of 6 weight % bleach
Add 140z of Muriatic Acid
Add Add 35 oz by weight of baking soda
Add Add 222 oz by weight or 177 oz by volume of calcium chloride - not sure what this means but I do have Calcium Hardness Increaser Plus on hand.

I'm not sure what levels you're striving for but please don't add any baking soda. Your TA is fine! Calcium is fine!

Your only concerns I see are the CYA and pH and making sure your FC is always in line with your CYA by using this- [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]

To lower your CYA to 80 you're going to need to drain a little water and refill, repeat as necessary. Fiberglass pools should *never* be emptied entirely so go no more than a couple feet at a time for safety. It may take a few times but better go slow and safe rather than risk floating that fiberglass tub.

<thinking about that steak... yummmmmm>

Maddie

 

[Jimrahbe]

Mickey,

Welcome to TFP... a great place to find the answers to all your "Cheesy" pool maintenance questions...

Glad you could join Maddie's little group, as she is very picky about who she lets in...

Three things stand out about your numbers to me.. Your FC is way too low and your pH is way too high... But the most important problem is your CYA is most likely way above 100.

It does not make sense to add a bunch of chemicals to your pool until you can fix the high CYA issue first. The only way to fix high CYA is to drain some or all of your pool water.

The first thing to do is run a diluted CYA test to determine just how high your CYA is and how much water you will need to drain... Here is how... See step 8 of this link.. Pool School - CYA

Once we get you CYA under control, we can get you pointed in the right direction with everything else..

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.

- - - Updated - - -

Sorry, I missed your math error on the FC..