Help..first time water tests

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D

Dirt farmer

0
May 21, 2018
38
Ashkum IL
Got my K 2006-C kit and have done my testing. As stated on here it does appear a bit overwhelming. Pool is open and vacuumed and pump has been circulating for a good half a day. I’ve added nothing to the pool for chemicals at this point. Water is crystal clear and hoping I can keep it that way. I’m my own worst critic at times.
I wasn’t able to achieve some tests. I’m assuming it because I’m out of whack on some tests? Here’s an overview of what I was able to achieve...
FC - none detected
CC - none detected
PH - was below 7.0 ...Did the base demand test and after 30 drops no change in color from yellow. This is a test a I’m confused on.
TA - after 5 drops of indicator is was red. I’m assuming based on that there’s no correction needed?
CH - started out as a pink and went to a purple. Once again it took multiple drops to change. I stopped at 35
CYA - is above 100
I’m sure these results may not give a direction to go in to start treating. I have the app for the pool calculator. What do I put in for targets? Presently overwhelmed and confused but confident that will be overcome. If there are more numbers needed please let me know. Sorry if it appears I’m clueless but I kinda am at this point!
Thanks in advance for the advice. This forum to me is a must for every pool owner!!
 
Hi and welcome to TFP!

If at possible, you'll need to drain at least 50% of the water due to the high cya

Can you do a diluted test to try and find out your actual CYA level?
 
By you meaning diluted are you talking about a sample straight from my water source vs one from the pool? Hoping it’s not my well water that is creating that otherwise I will have to get water brought in since that’s my well is the only source available to me.
 
From a previos thread discussing CYA test dilution
mteator said:
When my CYA was up in the 3 digits, I would usually take a cup of pool water and a cup of tap water (or three cups when i was diluting 3:1) and mix them, then I put that diluted mixture into the test container up to the mark. This was easier to get the ratio dilutions I was looking for. My CYA was 400+, so 1:1 dilution wouldn't cut it down enough. It took a whole summer of partial draining and rain to get me down to a somewhat reasonable level. With 1:1 I'd multiply the answer by 2, with 2:1 multiply by 3, with 3:1 multiply by 4, and so forth.

Being that it was so high, I wasn't looking for absolute accuracy, but getting feedback that the number was going in the right direction made me feel better.
Click to expand...
 
So happened to be in town so stopped by the local pool store to double check my test results. All of the tests compared to the kit was spot on. Their reading for CYA was 76. Definitely a bit higher than the range but not as far off as my test was. PH definitely low as expected which as I stated previously I was unable to get the correct number which they said was 6.3. I will drain some of the pool and replace with new water and retest. The rest of the tests I will work on correcting based off of the pool calculator. Thanks again!
 
Get some liquid chlorine in there as well so nothing starts growing in the water while your draining and refilling. Stay away from the pool store. Their tests are notorious for being off, especially the cya test. Trust your kit, and do a diluted test. Use 50% pool water and 50% tap water, add your cya solution and run the test like normal. Then just double the result to get a better read on where your CYA is.
 
I'm not sure about what your pool surface is but my priorities would be to:

Get chlorine up to specs - 4.0 or so to prevent algae before it starts.
Get your CYA to specs to protect your chlorine.
Get PH in specs ~ 7.4 - 7.6 to protect your pool.
Then get your TA in line to protect your pool. ~ 80 is a good place to start

Then relax. Test daily until your numbers are steady.
 
I might think of shooting for 10 FC. Based on your tests resulting on a "minimum" of 100 for CYA. DEFINITELY do the diluted test ASAP. Because PH cannot be reliably measured with FC above 10, you might think about adding 1# of baking soda to bring up your PH (based on what you initially measured). Your TA won't be a problem. Hope this helps! Good Luck !!!
 

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Diluted CYA test completed....150 is the number. Pool store says 76��! Basing it off the test I will reduce it by half with draining the pool by half which still won’t be low enough of CYA or do I drain and refill periodically and continue to test? In the meantime keep my FC levels up? Is the pool safe to swim in with higher levels of FC?
 
Your pool is safe to swim in when your FC is at or below SLAM level based on your CYA; your pH is in the 7's, and you can see the bottom of the deep end.
 
Start with a half drain and refill and we'll go from there. How's the water? Is it clear, cloudy, or green? If it's clear, you could probably leave the CYA there if you want as long as your make sure to follow the CYA/FC chart and use the right amount of chlorine. If you have cloudy or green water, you probably should do another partial drain to get your cya down into the 40-50 range. The SLAM will be easier to do there and you won't use as much liquid chlorine to get the pool clear.
 
I’m working on a partial drain as we speak. The pool was crystal clear upon uncovering and vacuuming it. Added some chlorine which did turn a touch cloudy after that otherwise all is good! Do I go ahead and SLAM if after it’s refiiled or retest and go from there? Curious to what my next step is after refilling?
 
Once it's filled up, turn on the pump and circulate for at least 1 hour and then do another set of full tests and we'll see how it looks. Also, post a pic after refill so we can get a better feel for the actual clarity. TFP clear water is probably clearer than what you're used to seeing, so a pic would help a lot.
 
87584F50-531E-4C93-B8A1-DC0C866004AC.jpg

I drained the pool pool down at least 3/4 of the way and refiiled. Pump has circulated for awhile now and this is what it looks like. Test results...
FC-0
CC-0
PH-low...it took 25 drops of reagent to bring it to 7.4
TA-70
CH-450
CYA-85
Apparrenty the CYA is still up there but from where is started it’s a definite improvement in the right direction.
What is the next step from here? Thanks again in advance. The advice that TFP has provided me is priceless!
 
Last edited:
Your CYA is still quite high. If you can drain more, that would really be best. 50% would get your CYA in a nice range (40-50). If you don't want to drain again, you could try to just perform a SLAM, but realize that you will use a lot more clorine. A SLAM at CYA 50 requires FC 20, while one at CYA 90 (85 rounded up) requires FC 35.

If your pH is that low, definitely bring it up first with either soda ash, washing soda, or borax. I would suggest one of the first two if it's very low because it will take a lot of Borax to move it where you want it. Once it's 7.2-7.4, perform a SLAM with the corresponding FC level. Make sure you check FC several times a day (minimum 3) and redose FC back to SLAM level. The more often you do it, the faster the SLAM will go.
 
You need your pH up from where it is don't you? Didn't you say it took over 25 drops to bring it to 7.4? That means it's probably in the low to mid 6's. You want it 7.2-7.4 to perform the SLAM. Your CYA at 85 is still quite high. The recommended range for a non salt pool is 30-50. I keep mine at 50 so the sun doesn't burn off the FC too quickly. At 85, you will have even more protection against the sun, but the high cya will lessen the effectiveness of the chlorine and require you to run it a lot higher daily.

At CYA 90, your pool, when it is clean, will require you to run FC in the 10-12 range and never let it fall below 7. One other problem with that is the pH test is invalid when FC is over 10, so you'd have to wait for it to drop below that in order to take a valid pH reading.

A SLAM is more effective in the lower CYA ranges because more of the FC is active. It's up to you though.
 

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