Suggested chemical levels

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swimmingfool

swimmingfool

0
Nov 12, 2010
46
Nokomis, Florida
Mike5150 said:
Hey all, something I've been wondering about for a while is what the "ideal" numbers are to shoot for. When using PoolCalculator.com, and selecting the the TFP suggested levels there are some pretty wide ranges that the chemicals can fall into. Unfortunately for me it bothers me to no end that I don't have a specific number to shoot for! So with that in mind, I'd love your opinions on this.

FC - Goal 3-7 - I have algae problems quite often, so I try to keep it around 5+
pH - Goal 7.5 - 7.8 - This is actually a pretty small range so I like it!
TA - Goal 70 - 90+ - Is it better to go higher or lower?
CH - Goal 50 - 300 - This is a HUGE range! Where to aim?
Cya - Goal 30 - 50 - I understand that Cya effects chlorine and shock levels, so I've been shooting for 40 with this.

I would be happy for a list of numbers, but I would be thrilled if you could explain to me why you came up with the numbers you did.

Thanks a lot!
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I'm glad you started this thread MIke, I have been wondering the same thing. Now I understand it a little better. IF I am understanding properly, I can play around with the "goal" numbers - keeping them in range- until I get the water balanced in the CSI box and use those goals to shoot for. As long as the water looks right? Because I have still not found that sweet spot! And I really want to find it!!! When I do my tests the numbers look good. But the water just never really looks crystal clear. I have started to use 6 for FC, but now I'm thinking maybe 7 or even 8. Yesterday I had 10 people in my pool (5 kids 16yrs and younger & 5 adults) all day- and by the end of the day it was slightly green! I have tested the water twice yesterday during use and today twice and the CC is holding at .5 or less. What am I doing wrong? Normally I will have 4 or 5 people a day through the summer.
*my pool is in full sun all day*

my number today at 11:40am

fc 5.5
CC .5
TC 6
PH 7.8
TA 90
CH 440 -the water here is really hard. I did a partial drain of the pool and use filtered water to replace it but this is where I find myself most of the time-including now.
CYA 50

I am thinking I will shoot for these numbers: Because they balance and I think I might need FC at 7

FC 7
PH 7.5
TA 90
CH 350
CYA 50

Any help is greatly appreciated!!!

edited to add I am using the BBB method. liquid bleach not a SWG
 
You don't normally need to worry about CSI at all. If you can keep your levels in the recommended range, CSI will take care of it's self. It is only if you can't possibly keep your levels in range for some reason that you need to start thinking about CSI.

You want to keep FC between 4 and 8, and never below 8. Adjust your FC target based on what level keeps FC at 4 or higher the next day. If you raise FC to 7 and it is still 7 tomorrow, then you don't need to raise FC as high today.

You can manage higher CH levels by keeping PH and CH lower than the recommendations. With CH around 440, you should be fine if you keep PH below 7.8 at all times. If CH goes up from there, or if you want more "head room" in case PH goes up further, you can lower TA to compensate.
 
Report how much FC you are consuming in a 24 hour period. i.e. test again tomorrow @ 11:40 (or anywhere close) and let's see how much chlorine you have lost. The report of turning green is troublesome.
 
Yesterday I was out of Muriatic acid and the pool store where I get my liquid chlorine and acid was closed. My PH was high but I couldn't do anything about it. I now have muriatic acid and 10.5% liquid chlorine. This morning my pool looks worse. So I decided to start from scratch this morning. I am going to try to upload some photos to go with my numbers. Then shock. And continue from there with guidance from here. I need to get a full understanding of doing this right. At this point I plan on vacuuming, clean my filter (new cartridge of about a month old), putting the numbers in the pool calculator with my goals, add my acid to raise PH, brush, then add my Chlorine to a shock level. wait an hour and test for my numbers, unless someone here tells me differently in the next half hour or so while I'm vacuuming. Thanks in advance for your help! I test my chlorine daily with the drop test because of this stuff. My cc usually is 0 or maybe .5. If it goes over .5 I shock. I have been keeping my FC at 5. I am going to move that up to 7 and work from there. Normally my pool is almost Chrystal clear but never really clear. And this stuff is always hanging around!!!!!

Here are the numbers I got this morning:

FC 6.0
CC 0.5
TC 6.5
PH 8
TA 90
CH 440
CYA 50
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You need to shock that pool. Please wait for someone with more experience than me to chime in, but that first picture looks like mustard algae to me. It is hard for me to tell from just the picture though.
Make sure you understand the shock process before you get started, it's not going to be a one-time hit to get rid of that stuff! Whether that is mustard algae or not, you are still going too have to go through the shock process!

Oh, and don't use Cal Hypo to shock with at this point, your CH is high enough already.
 
BTW: this stuff is in my pool ALL THE TIME. Everyday. For the past 6 months, with the exception of about 2 weeks after I shocked at mustard level. I shocked at the mustard level in the pool calculator. It took a week to get my numbers to look good and cc to stay a 0. The stuff keeps coming, but my numbers are good.
 
I agree w/Robbie. Sounds & looks like mustard algae. Your shock level is going to be higher for the mustard.

It is important to brush everywhere, wash bathing suits, and clean pool toys with diluted bleach solution or soak them in the pool for a few hours at the extra high shock level. Mustard algae can hide out in various places, even if they are dry at the moment.

Since you said you always have this problem, after the mustard is completely gone, you might consider using Polyquat 60 on a regular basis and maintain the higher end of your recommended FC level.
 

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Before shocking, adjust your PH down to 7.4.

I can't say for sure that it is mustard algae from the photo, but it is certainly looks like some kind of algae. CC can be low even when you have algae.

Mustard algae tends to first appear on the walls and floor only on the shaded side of the pool even when FC levels are appropriate. It will go away when FC is at shock level, only to come back as soon as you go back down to normal FC levels. You can get rid of it permanently, but it is a project.
 
JasonLion said:
Mustard algae tends to first appear on the walls and floor only on the shaded side of the pool even when FC levels are appropriate. It will go away when FC is at shock level, only to come back as soon as you go back down to normal FC levels. You can get rid of it permanently, but it is a project.
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Mine started on the shaded walls. Since I didn't know what I was doing, it spread. It looked green on the walls, but made pretty yellow clouds when I brushed over it.

Shocking didn't get rid of mine. Shocking hard at and even a little above mustard algae levels until the water was very clear did the trick for me. It took over a week. CC levels were within range, but the water still had a green tint so I kept going. It took a crazy amount of cal hypo to go through the process (remember, my CH was low, so it was OK in my pool).
 
.....then I started thinking about Paula Deen, you know, the southern "...honey, you can't get too much butter in there lady..."

@butterfly, yes I know her, her food is dangerous!

ok, I vacuumed, cleaned the filter, added acid to lower the PH to 7.4, Numbers were as follows at 1:35pm:

FC 6.0
CC 0.5
PH 7.4
TA 90
CH 440
CYA 50


brushed the pool, added Chlorine to shocking level, brushed, waited an hour and retested. Numbers are now as follows:

FC 27
CC 3
TC 30
PH 8.2

TA 90
CH 440
CYA 50
water temp 83 - sprinkling

so if I'm correct I now have to add all these numbers in the pool calculator and re-adjust the ph to 7.4, brush, add chlorine back to 29, and brush again. recheck in an hour. so unless I hear differently pretty soon, that's what I'm going to do. :-D
 
[attachment=1:1kmnxqsu]improving.JPG[/attachment:1kmnxqsu]

third day of holding the Chlorine at 29-mustard level. Overall pool is improving but the cloud is still there.

4:40pm yesterday:
FC 23
CC 1.5
TC 24.5

8:08 am today:
FC 24.5
CC 1.5
TC 26

4:08 pm today
FC 22
CC 1.5
TC 23.5
TA 90
CH 440
CYA 50
[attachment=0:1kmnxqsu]still got the cloud.JPG[/attachment:1kmnxqsu]
 

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