No hand grenade required, but still need some help. (leak?)

[LongbowFoSho]

Re: Stop me from putting a hand grenade in my pool (cloudy)

Called the PS back and asked about their testing methods. Everything is drop-based, but their FC is just like mine: a basic two sided pH and chlorine test kit that only goes up to 5.0, so my FC could actually be much higher and I wouldn't know.

Consequently, their CYA only goes up to 100 ppm, so ditto on what I said above about my current actual readings.

So, looks like I'll be ordering a kit shortly.

 

[Casey]

Re: Stop me from putting a hand grenade in my pool (cloudy)

lol. You are crackin me up Longbow.

You gotta get that CYA down by doing partial drain and refills. Please, DO NOT drain too much at once. Test the CYA after the 2nd drain refill and go from there.

 

[LongbowFoSho]

Re: Stop me from putting a hand grenade in my pool (cloudy)

The test kit should be here by this weekend (hopefully), so I'll post the uber-official test results and go from there.

 

[LongbowFoSho]

Re: Stop me from putting a hand grenade in my pool (cloudy)

Official TFT-100 test results are in!

Drum roll, please.......

FC: 6.0
CC: 0.5
TC: 6.5
pH: 7.5
TA: 180
CYA: 90-100 (I did the test twice)

So.....looks like I'm got some draining to do. :-x

I'm not comfortable with draining half of this thing at at time, so I'll probably siphon (no drain) out 1/3 or so and do that twice. I'll poop bricks if I float this liner.

Also, isn't 180 a tad high for TA? At least that won't be an issue with all this new water I'll be adding.

 

[duraleigh]

Re: Stop me from putting a hand grenade in my pool (cloudy)

lbfs,

Yeah, I like your idea of draining about 1/3. Doing that twice should get you really close to a very manageable CYA of around 50ppm or so.

If you still have that cloudiness, I'd boost the FC up to around 20-25 and hold it there until your water is back to crystal clear. Of course, you could go ahead and drain first, get your CYA around 50ppm, and then you would only need to put your FC up to around 15ppm, clear the pool and then let it drift back down to 3-6 for the rest of the summer. You are well on your way to a Troublefreepool!!

PS - Now, PLEASE put the pin back in that grenade!! I haven't been sleeping since your first post!

 

[JohnT]

Re: Stop me from putting a hand grenade in my pool (cloudy)

Also, isn't 180 a tad high for TA? At least that won't be an issue with all this new water I'll be adding.

A tad high, but easily livable. My fill water TA is about 480ppm, with a pH that I can't measure with my pool kit. The only issue I've ever had was regular muriatic acid additions. Stay on top of your pH and it won't cause you any trouble.

 

[LongbowFoSho]

Re: Stop me from putting a hand grenade in my pool (cloudy)

John T

How deep is your pool at the shallow and deep ends? All the estimates I've gotten show my 18x36 between 24-29k, yet yours is larger and listed in your sig at 20k. Not as deep, maybe? I ask because it affects dosing.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Re: Stop me from putting a hand grenade in my pool (cloudy)

Be sure to wipe the tip of the dropper bottle with a damp cloth in between each drop when you are doing the TA test - see if you end up with different results.

 

[LongbowFoSho]

Re: Stop me from putting a hand grenade in my pool (cloudy)

Be sure to wipe the tip of the dropper bottle with a damp cloth in between each drop when you are doing the TA test - see if you end up with different results.

I did this, but can you explain the "why" behind it? I is a noob.

 

[bk406]

Re: Stop me from putting a hand grenade in my pool (cloudy)

Sometimes static electricity can casue the drops not to b euniform. It can result in a slight difference in th test.

 

[Butterfly]

Re: Stop me from putting a hand grenade in my pool (cloudy)

Be sure to wipe the tip of the dropper bottle with a damp cloth in between each drop when you are doing the TA test - see if you end up with different results.

I did this, but can you explain the "why" behind it? I is a noob.

To remove the possibility of an issue with static electricity.

The solution (to remove the static electricity) is to wipe the dropper tip in between each drop (or every 2-3 drops) with a damp cloth or damp paper towel. This always seems to work. (The issue is documented in Taylor's website.)

ETA: bk & I type together

 

[JohnT]

Re: Stop me from putting a hand grenade in my pool (cloudy)

John T

How deep is your pool at the shallow and deep ends? All the estimates I've gotten show my 18x36 between 24-29k, yet yours is larger and listed in your sig at 20k. Not as deep, maybe? I ask because it affects dosing.

Mine is a Grecian, which makes it smaller.

 

[LongbowFoSho]

Re: Stop me from putting a hand grenade in my pool (cloudy)

New numbers after draining and refilling last night (all night):

FC: 3.0
CC: 0.0
TC: 3.0
pH: 8.0
TA: 160
CYA: 50

I could replace more to get the CYA down to 30 or 40, but I don't have the time to babysit it again tonight. I'm getting the pH down as I type this, and then put in the chlorine tonight. I won't be able to test the FC again until at least lunch tomorrow, so we'll see how it goes. I know that ideally I should be testing first thing in the morning, but my schedule doesn't allow that. Regardless, The CYA is manageable now and I know exactly what I'm doing to shock it. Wish me luck.

 

[chem geek]

Re: Stop me from putting a hand grenade in my pool (cloudy)

You're doing great! 50 ppm CYA is fine and very manageable. Depending on the amount of sun you get during the summer, that might be the appropriate amount anyway. Just follow the Chlorine / CYA Chart and try to not let the FC get below 4 ppm. You are adding more chlorine and lowering the pH which are the right things to do at this point. You've really got the hang of this now.

 

[LongbowFoSho]

Re: Stop me from putting a hand grenade in my pool (cloudy)

You're doing great! 50 ppm CYA is fine and very manageable. Depending on the amount of sun you get during the summer, that might be the appropriate amount anyway. Just follow the Chlorine / CYA Chart and try to not let the FC get below 4 ppm. You are adding more chlorine and lowering the pH which are the right things to do at this point. You've really got the hang of this now.

LOL. In my defense, I wasn't totally pool illiterate before coming here. I'd figured out a long time ago that pH and chlorine were the two biggest factors to worry about.

I didn't know, however, that dichlor (which I'd previously used to shock) and trichlor (which I religiously kept in my feeder) raised the CYA, nor did I know the relation between CYA and shock levels. I also didn't know about Borax for raising pH until I stumbled upon Ben's forum. I'd always used bicarbonate and never worried about alkalinity much.

Regardless, I'm confident that I will get better results now than before. I think I just got really lucky all the other times.

 

[LongbowFoSho]

Re: Stop me from putting a hand grenade in my pool (cloudy)

Well the pH is sitting pretty at 7.4, so I nuked it with four gallons of 10% hypo (prescribed by the Pool Calculator, of course) and my latest FC test puts it right at 20.0 ppm. Hopefully I'll have time to squeeze in a test before I fly in the morning, but if not I'll just have to do it at lunch or later on.

Here goes nothing.

 

[LongbowFoSho]

Re: Stop me from putting a hand grenade in my pool (cloudy)

I was able to check the FC this morning before I left and it was still holding steady at 20.0 However, only four hours elapsed between the two tests (I feel great, BTW ), so I didn't think much of it. The clarity was mostly unchanged and I really didn't have time to mess with it.

This evening, however, the numbers are pretty interesting:

FC: 13.5
CC: 0.0
TC: 13.5
pH: 7.6 (maybe a tad higher since the test was being difficult, probably because of the higher chlorine levels)
TA: 160
CYA: N/A (didn't test for it since I haven't introduced any more or vice versa)

So, which number is the most telling? The nose dive of the FC from 20 to 13.5 or the CC of 0.0? Anticipating a drop in FC, I bought four more fresh gallons of 10% on my way home today.

On a positive note, the clarity seems to be improving, although its hard to tell since my jackass lawn guy decided to blow every single grass clipping into the pool. I was skimming with the net for nearly an hour. :grrrr:

Regardless, I'm going to assume worst-case here and bump the FC back up to 20.0 and see if it holds tonight. At the least, maybe it'll only drop slightly. Regardless, I'm ready. THIS....IS.......OZARK!! :rambo:

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Re: Stop me from putting a hand grenade in my pool (cloudy)

The biggest clue will come from the overnight FC loss test. Let us know how it goes

 

[PaulR]

Re: Stop me from putting a hand grenade in my pool (cloudy)

I wouldn't be concerned about the daytime FC loss; like FPM said, another overnight will tell the tale.
The slightly high pH could be from the high FC, again not to worry.
--paulr

 

[LongbowFoSho]

Re: Stop me from putting a hand grenade in my pool (cloudy)

Well, I clocked the FC at 26.0 before I went to bed last night. I put in more than I actually needed, just in case I didn't have time to check it this morning.

Anyways, the FC dropped to 23.0, indicating that something is still living in there. Whether its actually algae or the chlorine is still fighting the leftover grass clippings from my lawn guy, who knows. I did a thorough brushing of the pool last night before bed, so the clarity has actually worsened a little since I stirred everything up. I'll probably do some vacuuming tonight since I don't have an automatic sweeper.

I put in another 3/4 of a gallon of 10% to bump it back up. Hopefully, the sun doesn't suck it all down and the FC will still be above 20.0 when I get home this evening.