New and clueless, please help! -UPDATE uh-oh!

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sarahelaine

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May 17, 2010
21
JOLIET, IL
I've been reading over the site for about a week now and have decided to attempt the BBB method. I've used bioguard for the past few years and it just seems crazy to spend all that money. I've ordered the TF-100 kit and expect it to arrive in the next couple of days. We opened the pool over the weekend and it was slightly green and cloudy. We went ahead and shocked it and added our last 4 pool pods. It is no longer green but is still slightly cloudy. We took a sample in today and had it analyzed.

pH - 7.1
TA - 89
FC - 1.6
TC - 1.6
CH - 103
CYA - 40

I'm confused by the difference between their recommended levels and the recommended levels posted here. Such as their FC says ideal 1-3 and here it says 3-7.

They said everything looks fine except our alkalinity. They recommended 10 pounds of their balance pak 100 which we did not buy. We instead went to the store and bought some bleach, borax, and baking soda. Now the question is how much to add? I've been playing around with the calculator but the difference in recommended levels is huge. If I put in their recommended levels (130) I need to add 143 oz baking soda and if I go by the levels listed here I add nothing.

So.....I'm scratching my head as to what I need to do next.

Also, we've been thinking of hooking up the pool heater but I'm curious to know how we get the copper out that it will add to the pool?

Thanks for the help!

UPDATE-
Got our test kit in the mail today. Wow...these numbers.
(We've had a lot of rain!)

pH 7.2
FC .5
CC 1.5
TC 2
TA 140
CH 160
CYA 20

Looks like I need to add all kinds of stuff. I will need to buy some of this as I've only got the BBB so far. Looking for advice since the calculator doesn't give me anything for TA.
 
Re: New and clueless, please help!

Your TA is fine don't add anything they will sell you. Your PH is a tad low, you can use Borax from Walmart's laundry aisle to raise that to 7.5. Cost you maybe $3.

You need to get your FC up to your recommended level according to the CYA chart. The 1-3 recommendation is "old school" based on pools with no CYA, before the relationship between CYA and FC became understood. Most pool store employees don't understand it and just repeat what they have been told.

I'm not convinced you are done shocking but I think if you just keep adding liquid chlorine to maintain your target between 5-7 until your kit comes, then you can do an overnight FC loss test to confirm if any organics are dead.

Pool heater doesn't equal copper.

Low PH + heater could = copper. Has copper been a problem in the past? It also gets into the pool via pool store algaecide...

What's a "pool pod"?
 
Re: New and clueless, please help!

Oh, never heard that name before :)
Is it trichlor? If so that raises your CYA level, so keep that in mind.

We don't advise pucks in the skimmer unless the filter runs 24/7. Trichlor pucks are acidic and the high concentration of chlorine and acid accumulating when the filter is off can wreak havoc on the skimmer parts and pump equipment.
 
Re: New and clueless, please help!

Well I hope to not need to buy the pucks anymore as they were quite costly. It seemed like we were at the pool store every other week buying $30-50 worth of stuff each time and that was only if we didn't need more of the pucks. I believe they would be trichlor but I'm not up to going out in the cold rain to check. :)
 
bumping for help.
I'm adding your update to this post....I had to go find what you were talking about! :lol:
For future reference, instead of editing the original post, just add the new info to the new post. Butterfly

sarahelaine said:
UPDATE-
Got our test kit in the mail today. Wow...these numbers.
(We've had a lot of rain!)

pH 7.2
FC .5
CC 1.5
TC 2
TA 140
CH 160
CYA 20

Looks like I need to add all kinds of stuff. I will need to buy some of this as I've only got the BBB so far. Looking for advice since the calculator doesn't give me anything for TA.


Last edited by sarahelaine on Wed May 19, 2010 6:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Click to expand...
 
Your pH, TA, and CH are just fine for now.

You need to continue to shock your pool using bleach/liquid chlorine. Your shock level is 10.

Have you read How to Shock Your Pool in Pool School?

Have you used the Pool Calculator yet?

Any questions, just let us know.
 

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See the CYA/Chlorine Chart in my sig. It shows the shock level for a CYA of 20 is 10.

Using the pool calculator, enter #gallons of your pool and enter your currect FC in the "Now" column and 10 in the "Target" column.
Hit calculate & it will let you know how much bleach/liquid chlorine to add.

Have you read How to Shock Your Pool?
 
I'd probably start by bringing your FC up to 10 to shock... holding it there until your FC does not drop over night.

I'd raise your pH by aeration as much as possible. Your TA is rather high, and I wouldn't want to add anything that would raise it.

Get some stabilizer, and shoot for around 40.

Note that as the stabilizer increases, your shock target will rise too. If you don't want to use calculous and stuff to figure your target shock levels as your CYA rises, you can just shock at your target CYA level of 40... I.E. shock at 16.
 
sarahelaine said:
Thanks. We will aerate and get some stabilizer and a boat load of chlorine tomorrow. :)
Click to expand...
There is no reason to aerate. Your pH of 7.2 is actually rather ideal for shocking your pool.

Yes, stock up on the bleach/liquid chlorine.

I suggest you do not add any CYA/stabilizer/conditioner until AFTER you are done shocking your pool.
A higher CYA level creates a higher shock level which creates a need for more bleach/liquid chlorine, more hauling jugs, and more $'s.

You are done shocking your pool when you meet this criteria:
A. CC is 0.5 or lower;
B. An overnight FC loss test shows a loss of 1.0 ppm or less;
C. And, if you don't have a FAS-DPD test kit, the water is clear.

Let us know if you have any q's. :wink:
 
Well I added the 2 jugs of bleach I had last night. Just tested the water once I got the baby down for a nap and was disappointed to see that our new numbers are:

FC 1
CC 2.5

It doesn't seem to have made hardly any difference. I'm thinking maybe when I go to walmart today I need to buy a box of their shock and a whole bunch of bleach?
 
added the 2 jugs of bleach and saw little change

Well after getting yesterday's readings of:

pH 7.2
FC .5
CC 1.5
TC 2
TA 140
CH 160
CYA 20

I added 2 jugs of bleach in an attempt to get my shock level near 10.

I tested it this morning and instead I got:

FC 1
CC 2.5
TC 3.5

I thought it would have changed more.
 
added the 2 jugs of bleach and saw little change

Well after getting yesterday's numbers of:

pH 7.2
FC .5
CC 1.5
TC 2
TA 140
CH 160
CYA 20

I added the 2 jugs of bleach I had in hopes of getting my shock near 10 and was quite disappointed this morning when I tested the water.

My new numbers are:
FC 1
CC 2.5
TC 3.5

Why did the chlorine hardly change? I'm thinking I need to buy a box of shock at wal-mart and a lot of bleach.
 

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