7 year itch..Taking things into my own hands...

Jump to latest Follow Reply
poolgirl22 said:
I am 100% convinced I know more than the guy now.
Click to expand...
My bet is that you do; aw heck, we can tell that you know; look at the water!

poolgirl22 said:
The stairs are out, as are the sand bags. That's where they will stay for now. They really don't seem bad..but I will give em a good scrubbin. Thanks again..
Click to expand...
Your idea on using the bleach bottles was probably a better idea if they fit (just fill with inexpensive play sand?), unless you REALLY sanitize the sand bags.

You are getting there, fast! :whoot:
 
...I don't have any way of testing accurately over 10...
Click to expand...
In a pinch, you can dilute the sample water with distilled water to increase the scale.
For example, mix half pool water and half distilled water, test, and multiply your result by two. That will increase your measuring range to 20.

But be aware that, while the range goes up, the accuracy goes down, so the test will only be half as accurate. And given the accuracy of strips, it could be way off. Just sayin'.

It's just so hard to beat a good FAS-DPD test kit, as you'll find out.
 
great idea...I'll keep it in mind.

As of right now, 445 it's cloudy outside and just beginning to rain. I haven't added any chlorine since noonish? and it was sunny then and continued to be until about half an hour ago.

My strips show the same color purple--very dark-- as within an hour or so of the last application. Water appearance is same as it was when I posted pics. The total chlorine on my OTO drop test is showing the same very intense dark yellow beyond the 10 level.

My best educated guess with the tools I have available is that if it's not changed that much if at all during daylight hours due to loss to sunlight, that likely I've also killed the nasties. I may hit it one more time with the two quarts recommended last time for a good boost. Comments?

I read about the Overnight FC Loss test....and adapted it to what I have...I will 6 way strip test for FC after sundown, OTO drop test TC and note. Then retest same way in the morning before the sun hits pool. If there's an obvious decrease in FC without a similar decrease in TC then I'm not finished yet. If all looks to be coming down in tandem then I'll let it come back to normal and maintain at target normal FC level until my good kit gets here...sound reasonable?
 
If the FC is still very high, then I would not add more bleach right now. Perhaps try the dilution method with the OTO... to see how high you are.

My only concern is your vinyl liner... fading/bleaching out if the actual FC is very high for an extended period of time.

Other than that your plan for testing does sound reasonable.
 
frustratedpoolmom said:
If the FC is still very high, then I would not add more bleach right now. Perhaps try the dilution method with the OTO... to see how high you are.

My only concern is your vinyl liner... fading/bleaching out if the actual FC is very high for an extended period of time.

Other than that your plan for testing does sound reasonable.
Click to expand...

Ok. I did that dulution method. It came up half between the 5-10 range on both the FC strip test and TC OTO drop test. I'm calling it shocking complete. I wondered about that high FC and the liner. Such a delicate balance. I'll let it rest and enjoy my trouble free pool evening...the hot tub looks VERY VERY nice right now... :party:

:cheers:
 
poolgirl22 said:
Good morning John and anyone else still with me! :wave:

I just went and got some popcorn for breakfast :goodjob: and they had the 10% liquid shock there in the pool section. Got it 4 for 15.00. Still better than buying at the pool place and our Walmart is a pain right now with the remodel. I used Clyde's for years then last year my main guy moved to a place in town. I haven't gotten into open and closing myself (yet). I've never been exactly sold on the entire chemical issue...always thought it was a racket, but didn't really know any better how to fix. Now I do. I'm still trying to convince myself that this first shocking process is the worst and it gets easier from here...Got 2 years (since new liner) of mistakes to correct...

Just got back and retested:
FC: 8-10
TC: 10+
CYA: was 10 at the pool place yesterday, and looks to be slightly more toward the 30 range on the strip, so I'm going to continue the shocking process today (not sunny) using 20 for CYA cuz I swear I can't deal with the pool place today. I shoulda paid for fed ex on that test kit...

128 oz (1 gal) of 10% at 915 am)
My gut tells me I'm doing what I'm supposed to even though looking at these bottles...yikes... And I'm gonna pull the stairs. Brrrrrrrr.....
Click to expand...


Poolgirl...not a bad price for 10% or 12% for that matter...where did you score that deal. I am from Indiana too...what part of the state ya from...NW Indidana here?
 
You'll have to venture where not many NW Indiana 'regioners' dare go...Rural King, BIG R :mrgreen:

I'm only teasing you as I'm originally from St. Joe County...

I live SW. A trip to Rural King is a date around here...they have free popcorn. (The inner country girl in me secretly LUVS the place)...Where else can you buy red licorice and baby chicks in the same place?
 
Checked this morning.
TC and FC seem to be coming down at about the same rate. Looks to be between 5-10 for both. So, I'm calling it 7. Will recheck toward this evening and maintain at around 4-5 until my kit comes in.

Pool looks great this morning. Have to sweep up some particles on the bottom but otherwise I'm having a trouble free pool day. And painting the fence. New decking going in next month before someone falls through...
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Pool girl...the pool looks great... :goodjob: :party:

the royal king sounds a lot like a place we used to have up here in Valparaiso called Fetlas...It was what they called a trading post...You could buy groceries and a machette, socks and underwear or beer, They served Orville Reddenbacher Popcorn...what else...But I went to Valparaiso University and we (Pool Moms Hubby and I) used to go in there all the time...We'd mostly buy fishing lures but we would spend a lot of time there...and Yes I think you could get red liccorice there...but not baby chicks...You had to go to the Hobart CO-Op for the chicks...

It is a shame they don't have places like this anymore up here. Great place to kill a Saturday huh.
 
:party: :party: :party:

I'm am doing the happy dance FO SURE!!!

I got my TF 100 in the mail today...

FC:8
CC:0 (that's zero zip zilch nada)
TC: 8
ph: 7.4
TA:260 (mine never turned red, just a dark hot pink but it didn't intensify after 26 drops so I took that as the reading. Still too high but I know what to do to fix that once my FC goes down to target normal which will be 7 because I got:
CYA: 40 (this is much higher than the 10 yesterday at pool store)

I estimated it at 7 this morning and I was tickled to death that my CC came up zero...not bad for a noob.

So I'm off to paint the fence with hubby. I will test this evening for FC and CC and add bleach as necessary to reach my target or not at all. Then tomorrow if the FC is down to 7 I will start with the acid and aeration process to get that TA down.

I can't get over how easy this is going to be. Thanks so much pool mom and everyone else. Oh, incidentally, the spa is looking soooooo good too now!!!!

The other thing that is crystal clear (lol) is WHY I never had a sparkly pool like this...bottom line...not high enough chlorine levels for the amount of CYA...and the recommended 1-3 was never altered as CYA increased from those stupid tablets....

I went ahead and backwashed even though I added stabilizer 4/14--cuz I'm afraid that if I made any error on the black dot test that my CYA could be closer to 50-60. I'd rather no more CYA got absorbed...lol..That dot thing is tricky...Plus, my pressure had dropped, I had almost no skimming going on and hardly any output. Gotta aerate baby... :whoot:
 
You should do a double check on the TA result. Sometimes static electricity can make the drop size on the TA test be smaller, which causes incorrectly high readings. Wiping the dropper bottle tip with a damp tissue/cloth before you start and every four or five drops will solve this problem (if you have it).
 
JasonLion said:
You should do a double check on the TA result. Sometimes static electricity can make the drop size on the TA test be smaller, which causes incorrectly high readings. Wiping the dropper bottle tip with a damp tissue/cloth before you start and every four or five drops will solve this problem (if you have it).
Click to expand...

Thanks Jason. I did that and came out with the same results. I'm not surprised at it actually... I want to personally say to you directly how FANTASTIC this site is. The pool calculator, pool school, forum, everything. For the first time in 8 seasons, I'm truly understanding and I feel like I'm managing my pool and not the other way around. So, thank you!

I'm spreading the word to my pool owning friends. I just wish our pool places could grasp the basic concepts the site outlines in order to better serve their customers who wish to continue using the products they sell, because, let's face it..many people just want to be told what to put in. I mean, they sell the 10% stuff, but steer you away from it when you ask questions....

Oh well. My pool looks great, it all makes sense to me, and I guess that's all that matters. :sunny:
 
Good Sunday Morning:
I think I'm in good shape.
I tested FC last night and got 8.0 with .5 CC.

Then this morning I did all the tests again and:

FC:8
CC: .5
TC: 8.5
PH: 7.5
TA: 240
CYA: 55 (that's higher than yesterday but seems more logical given past use of tabs AND the 7lbs of CYA I added
Temp: 62 (brrrrr)

It still looks beautiful. And so does my fence! Can't wait to get the new decking next month. Will take before and afters of that.
Do you think I can stop the 24/7 filtering now and go to my usual 12-14 for this time of year?
 
Confirmation

I want to confirm this thought process in case anyone I've referred to this site is reading my posts, and for myself so I can stop obsessing that I'm going to kill my family :-D ....can a moderator/expert please thumbs up or thumbs down what I'm saying...?

Regardless of what we've been told by the pool stores that FC levels above 3 are DANGER: DON'T SWIM, appropriate FC levels are relative to the amount of CYA..in essence a FC 9 is fine so long as the CYA is 55...but it would be too high if CYA is say, 20..

A blanket recommendation of FC of 1-3 all season is completely inaccurate pool chemical management.

Thanks.
 

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