New to BBB just tested my water - also have a large stain

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J

jswechsel

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Jun 11, 2011
8
Hello! Just fired my pool guy last week for various reasons not the least of which was to save money and now I'm a DIYer. I just tested my water with a TF 100 Kit and the results below. Also below I've outlined a large staining problem. Any help with that would be appreciated.

FC - 10
CC - 3
PH 6.8 (might be a little lower it was very light)
T/A 150
CH 400
CYA 100
Temp 78
Borates - I don't know what these are....

So the chlorine is too high and the PH is too low and the calcium is way high. The pool store where I used to test my water always said my calcium was high and wanted me to use one kind of shock over another. Here's what I have in my 'arsenal':

Triclor 3" silk tabs - (2 in each skimmer total of 4)
Balancer/ Scale Inhibitor (Have not used this year)
Inhibit/algae 60 (have not used this year)
Muriatic Acid - used two weeks ago to get PH down as it was almost 8 (guess we overdid it!)
DE Powder
Burnout 35 shock (haven't used for a few weeks as I was trying out the Clorox)
Clorox -used 1/2 gallon this AM as the test strips (before TF 100 arrived) showed zero chlorine after a heavy rain last night
Remedy/Pool Magnet Plus (Pool Guy sold me and he used it a few weeks ago to supposedly get rid of the stains - I just put an ounce in this AM after rain increased water level maybe 1/2 inch or so)
Improve /polysheen Blue (used just this AM - ditto above)

The water is really clear - crystal- and really nice. However, the clearer it got the more a large stain looking like dark tire tracks on a light pavement appeared. I have had these stains before and they are in the same spot and now getting worse. The pool guy said they were metal stains because we have well water. Not sure about that as the water in the pool is mostly rain and snow water. I never have to fill the pool up when we open the pool. Most years I have to drain some off. Would a picture of the stains help?

Thank you very much!
Joan
 
Re: New to BBB just tested my water - also have a large stai

Welcome to TFP Joan :wave:

With CC at 3 and CYA at 100, the pool may need a partial drain and fill, followed by a shock. Most importantly though, you should raise your PH to 7.2 asap, using borax to avoid pool surface damage. You say the water is crystal clear? With CC of 3, I would think you would have a strong chlorine odor around the pool area :scratch:
 
Re: New to BBB just tested my water - also have a large stai

pH is your first priority. With your high-ish TA, I think some serious aeration will raise that up without having to add anything.

Next, stop using those tablets - your CYA is too high, which leads us to..

You have too much CC. You need to shock, and CYA that high is going to make it very difficult.

TA will work itself out in time. And even if it doesn't, that's a low priority

CH isn't all that high, and in reality, it's going to go down, because you're most likely going to need a partial drain to lower that high CYA so you can shock.

Before doing anything, though, you might want to re-read a few sections in Pool School, and repeat your tests. When you do the CYA test, you might want to dilute your sample water 50/50 before mixing with the CYA reagent. After mixing, get your reading, pour it back and mix some more, and take another reading. Take several, until you are confident. Then double that reading. If it's still 100, okay. But it might show up as 150, 160, 200? You never know when you're at the max. You need to know what it really is so you can figure out how much to drain.

You can aerate now while contemplating the retest, the drain, the weaning yourself from pucks. It doesn't cost anything, as you'd be running the pump anyway. To aerate, turn on any water features you have - spa spillovers, fountains, whatever - and point your return jets at the surface.


My two cents
 
Re: New to BBB just tested my water - also have a large stai

Thanks! Nope, no chlorine smell. A few questions - I can run the pump over night and turn the jets to the surface. I don't really have any water features. Would running a hose spray over the water do the same thing? (Aside from filling up the pool after a while - I could always drain it off) How long do I do this before I retest?

And just pull the silk tabs out of the skimmer and toss? Will I ever use the rest?

I can aerate tonight and retest the CYA tomorrow after reading through the directions again. When you say dilute 50/50 I'm not sure what you mean. Use only 50% pool water 50% regular water or only run 1/2 the pool water required through the test? Sorry I'm a little dense.
Joan
 
Re: New to BBB just tested my water - also have a large stai

Let's say your CYA is 100. It will read as 100. If your CYA is 120, it will still read as 100.
But if you mix pool water with tap water (tap water has no CYA in it) 50/50, then use that for the test, you will read half, more-or-less, the actual value. So, CYA 100 will read as 50; CYA 120 will read as 60. Since you halved the sample, double the result.

What you're actually pouring into the test tube is 25% pool water, 25% tap water, and 50% R-0013 reagent.

For the aeration, I'd say point the jets up and leave it run. Typically, pH goes up fast when it starts low, then slows down as it gets higher. It's very hard to predict how fast it will rise; every pool has a unique personality. But I'd think you'd see some change overnight.

The silk tabs can be put on some cardboard or a plastic bag, anything disposable, to keep from bleaching something by mistake, and dried out in the sun, then put back in the bucket. Later in the season, once the pool is under control, you may need a little CYA to replenish what's been splashed out and backflushed. You can use them then.
 
Re: New to BBB just tested my water - UPDATE

Hi
I 'aerated' with a hose spray and kept draining water off as it filled. I drained it down maybe a total of two inches. I put a total of 230 ounces of Borax in and ran the pump for 48 hours. I also pulled the trichlor tabs out of the skimmers.

Here' s my new results:

FC 2
CC 2
PH 7.3- not quite red enough for 7.5
T/A 210 (!)
CH - did not test again
CYA 80 - yippee! I tested as suggested and poured it back and forth several times. It was pretty consistent at 40 with half the pool water sample.
water temp - about 78

Should I get the CYA down even further before I shock? Any other suggestions? I'm not sure why the chlorine went down so quickly. I did a quick check with the a test strip and it appears to be correct.
Thanks!
Joan
Thanks!
 
Re: New to BBB just tested my water - also have a large stai

Chlorine is going down because something is alive in the water, which is why you still have a lot of CC. You're just at a stalemate, killing it off as fast as it's growing. To get ahead of it, you shock it. And at this point, I wouldn't worry so much about anything else but shocking. First things first, CYA will need to come down lower than that or you will need massive amounts of chlorine to raise it to shock level. With 80 CYA, that means going from 2 to 21 FC per Pool Calculator. The initial dose will be 7 gallons of 6% bleach! (The other chart shows shock level of 31, which would take 11 gallons just to start! :shock: )And you will need to replenish that a few times at least. If you can find 12.5% pool chlorine, it will take fewer jugs; less carrying.

It's your call, really. It can be done with CYA that high, and if the water's clear, maybe you'll want to. Maybe you're eager to get it done and don't want to wait for the drain and refill. If the CYA is at 80 now, it will still be 80 when you're done, and you'll need to maintain a minimum of 6 FC all the time, so it never gets below that before you add more. Which doesn't mean you'll use more bleach day-to-day, but it does mean you won't be using the color-matching test to check it, as it stops at 5.

If, indeed, CYA is at 80, you can stop diluting the sample and just get a straight reading from now on.

You have two things going for you right now: the right test kit, and the fact that the water is clear not thick and green. Whether you drain some more before shocking, or jump right into it, we're still here to hold your hand. Personally, I'd get CYA down to at least 60 first, then get real aggressive during shocking, and check/replenish every hour, just to get'er done.

:testkit:
 
Re: New to BBB just tested my water - also have a large stai

Ok here's what I'm thinking:
I'm going to aerate drain aerate drain til I fall asleep tonight.
But I think I should throw some bleach in there now?
Then I will leave the pump on again and test first thing in the morning. Hopefully the CYA will be down 10 or even 20 points
Then tomorrow I throw whatever is the appropriate amount of chlorine (clorox) in the pool to shock according to the Pool Calculator.
Can I just put it all in and go to work? What do you mean by check and replenish? I think you mean I have to keep the level at xxxx shock level until I don't lose more than 1PPM overnight? Or the CC goes to 0? And am I really testing every hour? If so, I'll have to wait til I get home from work tomorrow afternoon to start shocking.
Also presume I can't use Burnout 35 to shock? I have several packets on hand !! I 'hm sure it has something bad in it - calcium or SOYA either one is poison for my pool - LOLA
Thanks!
Joan
 

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Re: New to BBB just tested my water - also have a large stai

Hi! Thanks for all the help. I tested the pool tonight ( I had put my remaining 3 gallons of chlorine in last night):
FC 5
CC 2
CYA 60 maybe 65
PH 7.5 maybe a little lower
clear water

I then shocked with six gallons of clorox to get the free chlorine up to 24 ++ and tested after a few hours:
FC 31
CC 1.5
a tiny bit cloudy in the deep end and I did brush the whole pool

I tested again a few hours later and:
FC 24
CC 1 - maybe even .5 but it looked a little tinged with pink

My question is: 24 is what I need with a CYA of 60 so now if tomorrow AM I test (overnight chlorine drop test) and I've dropped more than one point I need to get 'shock' and get the free chlorine back up to 24 - correct?

And if it didn't drop more than 1 point then I have successfully shocked - correct? Can I swim in the pool at that point - say tomorrow night? Or is the chlorine level too high?

Great board - very helpful.
Joan
 
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