I finally did it!!!

Jump to latest Follow Reply
W

waterbug

0
LifeTime Supporter
Mar 28, 2007
182
Richmond, Va
Yup, I did it, I actually used my Taylor K-2206 kit and it made sense - man am I slow at this........
Here are my numbers, the TA seems high to me and I don't understand how to lower that one - it's been low according to the pool store and I have been adding baking soda...

FC 4.5
CC 1
TA 200
CYA 85
PH looks like in the middle of 7.4 and 7.6

CC - I need to shock perhaps? I have been doing my regular stuff with the Simplicity tabs (gonna use em up) and then when we shock (rarely) it has been with CalHypo.
I looked at Jason's calculator but it doesn't seem to say how to lower TA or how much to shock.
Appreciate your advise folks.............but i am so excited to have actually given it a try!
 
waterbug said:
Yup, I did it, I actually used my Taylor K-2206 kit and it made sense - man am I slow at this........
Here are my numbers, the TA seems high to me and I don't understand how to lower that one - it's been low according to the pool store and I have been adding baking soda...

FC 4.5
CC 1
TA 200
CYA 85
PH looks like in the middle of 7.4 and 7.6

CC - I need to shock perhaps? I have been doing my regular stuff with the Simplicity tabs (gonna use em up) and then when we shock (rarely) it has been with CalHypo.
I looked at Jason's calculator but it doesn't seem to say how to lower TA or how much to shock.
Appreciate your advise folks.............but i am so excited to have actually given it a try!
Click to expand...

Waterbug,

Yes, your first priority is to shock your pool. You need to bring your FC up to at least twenty for it to be effective. You don't post a Calcium Hardness number so I have to assume shocking with Cal-hypo is fine.

The tabs are causing your CYA to be driven to high which will, in turn, cause you to use more and more chlorine. I suggest you give them to a neighbor or someone who's CYA is low. I know noone likes to waste money, but continuation of the tabs is gonna' cost you a lot more, sooner or later.

pH is perfect. Alk is high (stop adding baking soda...it increases Alk) but focus on shocking and keeping your CYA low before you try to adjust Alk
 
With a CC of 1 you should shock the pool. For your pool that means bringing the FC up to 20.

After you take care of the CC: You lower TA by lowering PH to between 7.0 and 7.2 with acid and then aerating the pool. When the PH gets up to 7.8 you repeat as many times as needed to get TA where you want it. The acid lowers the PH and the TA, and then aerating raises the PH without raising the TA.

With a CYA of 85 you want to keep FC between 5 and 10, so you are a little low.
 
thanks for the help! I will go shock the pool - cal hypo should be okay as the calcium hardness is on the low side at 180.

Now ifor the stupid newbie questions, if I should lower the CYA by dumping at least one third of the pool and then adding water, would this lower the TA as well?
 
Yes, your TA will be lowered as well IF your fill water is lower in TA. If it's from a municipal water source, then the fill water is probably not high in TA, but it might not be that low. My tap water has a TA of 80, for example. Your Calcium Hardness (CH) will get lower as well -- again, assuming that your fill water is low in CH. If it's not well water, then it is probably low in CH -- mine is 50 -- but this varies across the country.
 
YOu might want to test the TA of your fill water. I have seen fill water with TA as high as about 250 ppm (well water) in this part of the country (N. Fl.)
 
Well our water is TA of 50 so we emptied a bit more than 1/3 of the pool this morning. Currently refilling and then will let everything circulate and then redo testing tonight or tomorrow.

Can someone tell me if the return SHOULD be breaking the surface of the water or if it should be aimed down below. I've been told two different things and am, as usual, confused!

Thanks much.
 
For a round or oval pool the return would most commonly be aimed to the side and down. If you were trying to lower the alkalinity you might aim the return up towards the surface to aerate for several days. In general, you want to promote as much mixing of the water as possible and cause the water to circulate so that surface debris is pushed into the skimmer. For irregularly shaped pools that can be more complex.
 
okay latest numbers after duming 1/3 of the pool yesterday:

FC 11
CC .5 but this was very light and probably only needed half a drop so .0025 ?

CYA 60
TA 170
PH 7.6

I shocked the pool the other night with cal hypo - perhaps a bit too much, I meant to put in 24 oz. but ended up with 32 instead.

Is 11 too high to swim in today?
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
duraleigh said:
I suggest you give them to a neighbor or someone who's CYA is low. I know noone likes to waste money, but continuation of the tabs is gonna' cost you a lot more, sooner or later.
Click to expand...

When I switched to BBB I just saved the pucks for vacations. It's a lot easier to have a friend drop a puck in the floater than try to "school" them on BBB.

Unfortunately, I have more pucks then vacation days. :(
 
Quote: FROM THE POOL FORUM - CARL D.
"Thank you so much for explaining this. I have been aerating my pool for days trying to lower my alkalinity (is about 150 ppm) and it did nothing. My PH is at 7.5 and maintainig that. I will lower the PH and try it again.


Yup. That's why it didn't work. BTW, if you have a vinyl pool and don't have a heater or SWG system there's no reason to lower T/A. With vinyl pools the absolute max for T/A is 200ppm, not the 120-125 normally recommended. I like to think of the max as 180ppm, because it gives room if pH goes up or down.

So if your pool is vinyl, don't bother lower T/A. If you have a heater (gas or heat pump) and/or an SWG, or if you have concrete/plaster then you do need to lower T/A."
__________________

The discussion centered on aerating to lower alk. and I believe they are saying that you lower PH first, because the aeration then makes PH rise, which in turn lowers the ALK. So I am aerating, but I didn't lower my PH which is 7.6......do I need to lower PH and then aerate or just stay with 7.6 and 170 alkalinity?

thanks, waterbug
 
If you want to lower your TA (and I cannot say whether you need to or not... beyond my realm of knowledge) you will have to get your pH down to about 7.2. As the pH rises, knock it down again. When your TA is where you want it, let your pH come up a tad, and stop aerating.
 
waterbug said:
Can someone tell me if the return SHOULD be breaking the surface of the water or if it should be aimed down below. I've been told two different things and am, as usual, confused!

Thanks much.
Click to expand...

Making the return stream break the surface will enhance the motion of surface debris toward the skimmer.
 
Yes, that makes sense to me now, didn't understand what the connection was and therefore did not lower my ph. I will now if need be.
Is 170 too high on TA - especially given that we are due for a couple of storms this week - do I mess with it now, or wait till after the storms have finished and retest everything then?
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply