Pool Conditioner VS Total Alkalinity

[CJacksonLASD]

OVERVIEW: New home owner for the past 6 months. Had a pool man, but learning to maintain pool myself.

CURRENT POOL CHEMICAL VALUES: FC=3.0, PH=7.6, TA=200, Conditioner=150, Pool Size=25,000 Gal outdoor pool.

(Had some of rain over past 2 weeks without any adjustments to chemicals, added 1lbs of shock last night, these readings are from this morning explaining the high FC. FC was .5 prior to adding shock. The pool pump was also off for 5 days being repaired during the 2 week period of not adding anything to the pool)

I currently use poweder shock, and 3inch tablets in a floating basket in the pool to maintain chlorine levels.

QUESTION: I went to the pool store today and had them check my chemical values. They recommended to get the TA lower. To do that they told me to not use any Chlorine Tablets for 2 weeks and that will lower the TA. My question is I thought that Chlorine Tablets release conditioner and it lowers TA, so by removing the tablets wont it raise my TA even higher??????

Any opinions appreciated

 

[Bama Rambler]

Welcome CJackson. The first thing you need to do is read Pool School. and then read it again. Then go buy one of the recommended kits so you know what the values really are. See my sig for the one I recommend.

A) Let us know where you're from.

B) Let us know what the construction of the pool is (vinyl, plaster, etc.).

C) What does the water look like?

Now to dive in, so to speak.

1) Your TA may be a little high but that's not your biggest concern. Your conditioner (aka Stabilizer, CYA, Cyanuric Acid) is. At 150 it's way too high. You need to drain and refill about 2/3rds of your water. I suggest doing it in increments so you won't have water table problems. This in turn will lower your TA unless your fill water has high TA.

2) Throw the powdered shock and the 3' tablets away. Now repeat 20 times "shock is a process not a product"!!!

3) Go buy many many jugs of Liquid Chlorine or Bleach. Depending on how quickly you can get your conditioner level down will determine how much you'll need.

4) You need to add 6 gallons of 6% bleach immediately to get the FC where it needs to be given you CYA level.

Check back with any questions you have and we will help take control of your pool and make it a "Trouble Free Pool".

 

[duraleigh]

Just for reinforcement, bama is right on the money.

Stabilizer is by far your biggest issue.

The test results look like results from test strips......often they are highly innaccurate.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Your TA won't get higher, but your PH will. Your CYA (stabilizer/conditioner) will certainly increase.

I agree with the above, a partial drain and refill is in order and consider switching chlorine sources unless you plan to have routine water replacement.