Chemistry a mess

[orthofish]

After 12" of rain in 2 days my water chemistry has gone from perfect to awful. Not to mention my driveway Got it strightened out yesterday. But back to my water. Numbers this morning were:

Salt 2600 SWG mad and wants more
CYA 50
FC 2.5 Cause SWG not running :grrrr:
TC 2.5
TA 50
CH 150
I can get it straightened out but my question is this. Since I need chlorine and CYA can I add some of this: Sodium Dichloro-s-triazinetrione Dihydrate .99% :?: It came with the pool last year when I built and I've never used it. It says it is quick dissolving stabilized chlorinating granules.
How is it listed on the list of chems in Pool Calc.??? I only have 2 lbs. of it.

Thanks

 

[257WbyMag]

We're thinking about y'all up there in TN. You have definitely had a time of it up there.

You can use the dichlor to help your situation. It is listed as dichlor on the pool calculator. Dichlor will raise your CYA and your FC. I would use no more than what the calculator says you need to get your CYA up to where you would like it to be. You can dissolve it in a big bucket of water and then add it. Adding 2 lbs. will raise your CYA by 7 and your FC by 7.8 ppm.

What's your pH by the way?

I'd go ahead and get some more salt in there so your SWCG is happy again. :-D

 

[bk406]

Just use the pull down menu and set it to dichlor.

But...what level of CYA do you usually run in your pool? Reason I ask is because if you need a 20-30 ppm CYA (70-80 total) you're going to need to add almost 30 ppm FC. I'm not sure you are going to need that much FC before your SWCG gets running again. I use dichlor to start the season, but I dont start up my SWG for at least 3 weeks after i open. For your situation, I would just use good old bleach and add the CYA the old fashioned way (sock method).

BTW, you're not really supposed to dissolve dichlor in a bucket first. The way to add dichlor is to broadcast the granules on top of the water. If it settles in piles, brush it around a bit.

 

[orthofish]

I usually try to keep my CYA at 70-80. So that 2lbs will help some and also get the stuff used up.
The Pool Calc said I needed 100lbs. of salt to get to 3200 but I only added 40 this morning and will check it again later. I remember (I think) Jason saying somewhere that it could take my SWG 24 hours to recognize the salt. :?: It is dissolved so I will check it this evening when I get home.

I dumped 184oz of chlorine in just to help things out. Very sunny and warm here today.

I also added some baking soda to boost my TA up a little. My pH was at 7.5 before adding the baking soda. I checked it about an hour later and it was still at 7.5. I would have thought it would have gone up a little :?:
I am going to add Borates to my pool this year. I'm glad I hadn't already done that cause that would have been a waste of time and money :!:
If not for TFP I don't know what I would do I knew nothing about a pool until last year and alot of reading here. After many screwups I now feel like I'm getting a handle on this and it's all because of this forum

You guys and gals are the best

 

[orthofish]

One more thing. Should I turn off my SWG till I get my salt to where I need it???? Obviously it's not going to run until it senses enough salt, but I do have a red light on telling me to check my salt level.
Thanks 257WbyMag and bk406

 

[bk406]

Yes, add the salt back a bag at a time. You may not need all 100 pounds.

Adding baking soda to increase the TA will really not change the pH that much, or at all. Seeing no change as you did is not unusual, in fact normal, really.

 

[orthofish]

Thanks bk406.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Hey Lynn, sorry to hear about that mess down there - but I know you'll clear this up real quick!

 

[orthofish]

Thanks Ann.
It has really been a mess I was without running water for 2 days except what was running down my driveway.
If you remember my build thread, my driveway is about 1/2 mile long with a slight gradient to it. What a mess. I got my old John Deere tractor out(and I mean old) and got it pretty much straightened out. I can't complain though. I didn't lose my house or any family members or critters. My problems are just a small inconvenience compared to what some people are going through.
We'll get through this. Mother Nature can be harsh though.