1st TF-100 test results, what to do next?

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M

mahman

0
May 3, 2017
26
Elk Grove, CA
Hey all! Got my TF-100 Test kit today and did my first test! Hopefully I did everything correctly... woohoo... Here are results:FC: 1.5CC: 1TC: 2.5CH: 675TA: 90CYA: 100CL: 1BR: 2PH: 7.2Have some questions on next steps:
  1. So seems like my first job is to pour a boatload of bleach into it pronto, yes?
  2. I currently have the 3 pack of Clorox Performance Blend Bleach bought from Costco, I'm guessing I might need to get some more?
  3. Is it okay if I mix a bleach brand from Wal-mart? any recommendations?
  4. Also, how much do I pour in at a time, and then how often after I pour that amount in should I wait to pour the next batch?
  5. About what RPM should I be leaving my pump on 24/7 during this process?
  6. After I get the FC at an acceptable level, is that when I start the SLAM process? Or do it the first night after I start pouring the bleach in?
Thanks all for any help with the basic questions! Really want to ditch the pool person and start to do my own chems to save some $$$ every month.
 
I hope you have not added anything yet. You need to drain 50-70% of your water, might as well vacuum to waste. Then fill back up and correct any PH back to 7.2. Then you can start your SLAM according to the FC/CYA chart in pool school.

Dont know what the Clorox performance blend is but it should just be plain bleach, if not dont use it.
You can pour the bleach in front of a return continouosly and retest after 10 minutes with the pump running 24/7 during the whole process.

Felipe
 
Nope, have not poured any bleach in it yet. Just did the test is all. And ugh, yeah I was afraid of having to drain it :(

To drain.. just have pump running, hook up hose to the little drain spigot I have right here after my pump and run a long enough hose to like... my garage big laundry sink? Can't drain to the storm drain here.

Thanks!

View attachment 61153
 
If you have a waste setting on the filter backwash valve, that would be better. It flows more water than the hose bib. Of course, if that's too much flow for the laundry sink to handle, forget it. If you have a sewer cleanout closer to the pool than the laundry sink is, use that. By the time you're done, any buildup in the pipes will likely have been washed away.
 
I wouldn't be in any hurry to waste water by draining. You can service that CYA level if it is really around 100. Use the chart and get your FC up and yes, the Clorox from Costco is what you need. In b time, with splash out, evaporation and adding water the CYA will balance if you maintain the levels and have patience. Took me just over a year and the water always looked great.
 
Frankhugus said:
I wouldn't be in any hurry to waste water by draining. You can service that CYA level if it is really around 100. Use the chart and get your FC up and yes, the Clorox from Costco is what you need. In b time, with splash out, evaporation and adding water the CYA will balance if you maintain the levels and have patience. Took me just over a year and the water always looked great.
Click to expand...
I disagree. If the water was clear, yes it can be maintained with 100 CYA. I did it with over 200 CYA my first year. But it wasn't easy and I don't recommend it. And in this case, the water is green, so it needs a SLAM Process.

When CYA tests 100, it may actually be higher -- much higher, as the graduations aren't equidistant. What may look like 110 could well be 150.

Let's say the CYA is exactly 100. Shock level is then 39. But what if it's really 120? Then shock level is 47. If it's 130 CYA, then shock level is 51. That's too high for any chlorine tester to work. Even at 100 CYA, you'll use so much reagent that you might as well buy the R-0870 by the bucket and the R-0871 by the gallon! New water is probably cheaper than all the test reagents. For that matter, the CH is already pretty high. From personal experience I can tell you that once CH hits 800, the wiggle room on pH and TA to prevent scaling gets very small. Why not just be rid of the high CYA and high CH right now, when there's plenty of water? What if the drought returns next year and water restrictions come back? Then it's too late.
 
Richard320 said:
If you have a waste setting on the filter backwash valve, that would be better. It flows more water than the hose bib. Of course, if that's too much flow for the laundry sink to handle, forget it. If you have a sewer cleanout closer to the pool than the laundry sink is, use that. By the time you're done, any buildup in the pipes will likely have been washed away.
Click to expand...
I have the Jandy CL580 cartridge filter so I don't believe it has a backwash. So I think that drain spigot is my only option. And with that.. do I move my valve on the bottom right of my photo attachment to turn the skimmer off so the water is being pulled from the floor? I think that's correct?
Richard320 said:
New water is probably cheaper than all the test reagents. For that matter, the CH is already pretty high. From personal experience I can tell you that once CH hits 800, the wiggle room on pH and TA to prevent scaling gets very small. Why not just be rid of the high CYA and high CH right now, when there's plenty of water? What if the drought returns next year and water restrictions come back? Then it's too late.
Click to expand...
And yeah, that was my thinking too. Take advantage of the time now when there is plentiful water. Thanks all! Now to get a hose extender to get my hoses to reach my garage....
 
So just started the draining process, and oh man, this will take a long time... One question. So there is still water going back to the returns in the pool and for the life of me, I cannot figure out how to stop it. You can check out the pump/plumbing photo from my previous post . Looking at the plumbing, I've shut the bottom valve of the photo off and there is still water going back. It seems like there is no main off valve for ALL the returns, and just the bottom one for one of the returns. Any ideas?
 

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mahman said:
So just started the draining process, and oh man, this will take a long time... One question. So there is still water going back to the returns in the pool and for the life of me, I cannot figure out how to stop it. You can check out the pump/plumbing photo from my previous post . Looking at the plumbing, I've shut the bottom valve of the photo off and there is still water going back. It seems like there is no main off valve for ALL the returns, and just the bottom one for one of the returns. Any ideas?
Click to expand...
You can't. You're just drawing maybe 1/4 of the flow off the pump before it gets to the filter. If you shut it all down, the garden hose couldn't handle the volume anyway.
 
So pool is almost drained! Now the issue is, there are some green algae spots on the bottom that for the life of me I cannot scrub off no matter how hard I push. There are the big ones like in the photo, but near the deep end there are some small little circles with the green/yellow algae stains there too.. And since I'm not draining the pool the entire way, how in the world can I get these off? Or when I start to fill it back up and put bleach in, eventually these algae stains will come off?


IMG_20170519_085005.jpgIMG_20170519_085015.jpg
 
Some of those may be metal stains. Set a cheap Vitamin C tablet on one and keep it wet. Remove it in a couple minutes. If you have a white spot where it was, it's metals.

If that doesn't work, the next step is to set a trichlor puck on it for a minute or two and see if it started fading. If so, it's organic and will fade in time assuming you maintain the pool FC levels.

Or the black ones could be black algae. Can you scrape it with your fingernail? If you wipe it off on a sheet of white paper does it look dark green?

Report back. If it's metals, you could get lucky and be able to lift them and then pump that water out right now. Halt on the drain until you get the answer.
 
it was just algae, i actually hopped in the 60-70%% drained pool and used a stiffer brush and was able to scrub it off with some elbow grease. The bad thing is I went to my pump to set a schedule to run instead of late at night since the returns of the water coming down were pretty loud and didn't want to bug the neighbor. And after I turned it off..... learned that the water level was so low the pump wouldn't prime AND the returns pumped back some algae-fied water :( So lessons learned... don't stop the pump, and clean the filter before trying to turn it back on. bummer!

So since I couldn't turn on the pump to drain it anymore, and the closest home depot that rents out a sump pump is ~40 min away, I'm going ahead and refilling the pool since it got 60-70% drained. Hopefully now my CYA levels will be lower. Already went and bought some Pool Essentials chlorinating liquid from Wal-Mart (better price/oz than the great value bleach) to be ready after the first test also! Hope this will make it easier now when it's all full to keep it clear!
 
Awesome!

Filled up pool (I got anxious and added 3 jugs of bleach when I was filling up cause it was still green, I know I should've waited til pool was filled, but.. impatient..). Anyway, took new readings:
FC: 4.5
CC .5
TC 5.0
CH 250
TA 90
CYA 40

CL 5
PH 7.5

Talk about lowering my CYA by a lot!

So looks like from Poolcalculator.com, I simply need to add.. 34oz of my 10% bleach to get to a good 6 (in the middle) target FC? And everything else seems to be on target?

Pool is still a light green, but I'm guessing now just run the pump for a good 48 hours, clean the filter daily, keep checking my chems daily for the next week or so?

EDIT: just realized I need to get the FC to shock level of 16 because it's light green, not Target FC
 
By keeping the FC at 6, no more algae will grow for the moment, but if your water is still green then you need to SLAM! Please follow the instruction on pool school and get your PH to 7.2 and start the slam once your pool is full. Pump has to run 24/7.

Felipe
 
Flying Tivo said:
By keeping the FC at 6, no more algae will grow for the moment, but if your water is still green then you need to SLAM! Please follow the instruction on pool school and get your PH to 7.2 and start the slam once your pool is full. Pump has to run 24/7.

Felipe
Click to expand...

Haha, just remembered this before your post and added the appropriate amount of bleach in to reach shock level. Will start SLAMing throughout the day checking levels and stuff!
 
Looking good so far. Pool is definitely clearing up, just slightly white cloudy, but can't see any more green anywhere. I think I measured my CYA at 40 the first time, and put in a shock value of 18 FC... but then the next day I measured CYA, it came up 30 (probably need to do the CYA test like 3 times to make sure I can triple check it)... so dropped down on my shock level to 12.I remembered yesterday to run my waterfall also so that the bleach would mix in there also as there's some algae I couldn't scrub away in the crevices. Should I turn my solar heater on also so that the bleach can go up and down those pipes to help clear up any algae in there also? Or leave the solar off for now?
 

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