What does everyone else do?

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Shelley N

Shelley N

0
May 1, 2007
199
Denver, Colorado
I just did a full set of tests and here are my results:

FC 7
CC 0
PH 7.7 (adding acid weekly)
CYA <20
ALK 130 (up from 120)
temp: 80-86
Denver, CO
water looks good with a bit of daily silt on the bottom from nearby dirt construction.

I am definitely in the school of preventing a problem rather than dealing with one later. That being said....should I lower my Alk? Should I raise my CYA? The label on the stabilizer recommends 20-25ppm CYA with 1-4 ppm CL. Does anyone here really maintain those #s? Where is everyone the happiest? Thanks.

Shelley
 
Shelley N said:
I just did a full set of tests and here are my results:

FC 7
CC 0
PH 7.7 (adding acid weekly)
CYA <20
ALK 130 (up from 120)
temp: 80-86
Denver, CO
water looks good with a bit of daily silt on the bottom from nearby dirt construction.

I am definitely in the school of preventing a problem rather than dealing with one later. That being said....should I lower my Alk? Should I raise my CYA? The label on the stabilizer recommends 20-25ppm CYA with 1-4 ppm CL. Does anyone here really maintain those #s? Where is everyone the happiest? Thanks.

Shelley
Click to expand...

I have a CYA of 35 but at night I bump my FC to around 8, so by the time I get home from work, it's around 6

the sunny hot days in the south are burning off my chlorine, plus the pollen, and that's why I keep mine higher than the 3-6 FC for a CYA between 30-50.

my water temp is around 80 to 85, my ak is at 140, but it's a vinyl pool, and my PH stays at 7.4...and my water is crystal clear.
 
The most common CYA level recommendation is 30 to 50. It is difficult to measure low levels of CYA, I don't know of any tests that test reliably below 20, and the test is something like +-15. There is a huge difference between 5 and 20, so keeping it in the 30-50 range, where the testing is easier and any errors have less effect is more reliable.

Most people around here base FC levels on Ben's Best Guess chart, there is a link in my signature.

If you are adding acid reguarly I would expect the ALK level to go down slowly on its own. If you are using a SWG I would aim for TA 70-90, bleach TA 80-100, or trichlor TA 100-120. But I don't see any reason to be in a hurry to get there.

If you have a plaster pool you also need to know your calcium hardness number. If you have a vinyl liner calcium doesn't really matter.
 
It looks pretty good. I'd get the CYA up to 35 or so. The TA is not a big problem but I, personally have found if I can get my TA to 100 or below my pH is not as hard to control.

I like my TA about 90 and my pH at about 7.4. The water feels better to my skin.
 
Shelley N said:
I just did a full set of tests and here are my results:

FC 7
CC 0
PH 7.7 (adding acid weekly)
CYA <20
ALK 130 (up from 120)
temp: 80-86
Denver, CO
water looks good with a bit of daily silt on the bottom from nearby dirt construction.

I am definitely in the school of preventing a problem rather than dealing with one later. That being said....should I lower my Alk? Should I raise my CYA? The label on the stabilizer recommends 20-25ppm CYA with 1-4 ppm CL. Does anyone here really maintain those #s? Where is everyone the happiest? Thanks.

Shelley
Click to expand...

Not an expert by a long shot - this is my first season for BBB - I've noticed when the Ph slips up to around 7.6 I lose some of the sparkle. I check the water everyday and make adjustments after dark, especially FC levels.
 
I've been adding acid for about 6 weeks now and have only noticed a very slow rise in ALK. Just dropped the PH to 7.0 and added 6 boys to the mix to see if I can lower it.

8:30 this morning CL was at 7. Full, blistering heat and sun all day and now at 5:00 CL is at 4. That seems normal to me considering the low CYA and the high temps. Water is now 86.

My brother-in-law said that whatever I did since he swam in the pool yesterday ruined the water. The only thing was lowering the PH about .7.

I also think I'll add about a pound of CYA and get that up a bit.
 
I can't believe it.

Like I said, I can't believe that after lowering the ph to 7.1 and splashing around like wild people from 4 - 7 yesterday, the ALK is maybe down to 120 and the ph is already back up to 7.4.

Is this a normal drop in ALK with the process?
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Got it, Buggsw.

Another day...another 10ppm. Down to 110.

It's just a feeling I get, but I believe the PH rose slightly less yesterday than it did the day before.

I don't think I like the feel of low PH (7.2ish) water on my skin. I think my eyes are more irritated than at 7.7 also. Anyone else feel this way?
 
I find my pH seems to stabilize better when my TA is at 90 - 100. Myself, I like the pH at 7.2 - 7.4. To me the water doesn't feel as harsh or as itchy when I get out. It's actually closer to your own body pH. Your water may be different and it may have everything to do with the hardness in my water. We start out with fairly high hardness.
 
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