Virgin pool - need help with BBB and test results

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cstewart27

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May 20, 2011
18
Our 27' pool is finally up. We filled it with city water by garden hose over a 24 hour period. Since then I've been waiting for my Taylor test kit to arrive to begin using the BBB method. During that time (~ 1 week) it has only been treated with the chlorinator.

Here are my test results which didn't quite work as I expected. Hope you can help and get me headed in the right direction. Our water currently is very, very clear with no cloudiness.

Chlorine Test (Free, Combined) FC =.2 ppm, CC = .2 ppm

pH test = 7.0 pH units

Acid Demand Test : This didn't work! I followed instructions and had added 125 drops of R-0005 dropwise before I quit trying. The only effect it had on the 7.0 pH color was to lighten it.

Base Demand Test: Not completed because previous test failed.

Total Alkalinity Test: 100 ppm total alkalinity (calcium carbonate)

Calcium hardness test: 140 ppm

Cyanuric Acid Test: Solution doesn't get cloudy and therefore the black dot on the bottom never disappears.

Tried to use the pool caculator , but wasn't sure what goals should be inputted.
 
Don't worry about the acid or base demand tests. poolcalculator.com will figure those for you. You don't need those bottles at all.

Is your chlorinator a tablet feeder, salt water generator, or what?

Your pH is a little low. You can either aerate, or add some Borax (yep, the 20 Mule Team stuff) to raise it up. poolcalculator.com again.

I recommend adding plain bleach to get your free chlorine level up to the right spot until the chlorinator (no matter which kind) can maintain the right level.

Select at the bottom "troublefreepool.com" as your source for goals.
 
OK, for now you can use Trichlor tablets in the chlorinator since your CYA shows to be at or near zero. If you want to get CYA levels up quickly, you can use dichlor powder (for chlorine and CYA) or plain stabilizer and bleach to get those two levels up quickly. So trichlor in the feeder, at least until CYA gets to about 40, bleach and stabiliizer, or dichlor powder, for now to get FC and CYA up to the right level immediately, I would shoot for CYA of 25 or so with whatever you do immedately then let the trichlor do the rest.
 
Ditto on the demand tests, the pool calculator is much easier.

CYA is low, but if you've used pucks or powdered shock (trichlor and dichlor) in the past you do have "some" CYA but it's likely less than 20 because you're not getting any results on the CYA test.

I'd pretend you have around 10-20ppm CYA right now, aim to add about 20ppm CYA (use the calculator) and get some cyanuric acid into the pool pronto. That will help with the chlorine demand a lot. If you have lots of sun and heat this summer, you may need a slightly higher CYA level than 30-40ppm but for now, raise CYA in small doses so you don't overdo it.

At that point, consider only using the chlorinator when you can't manage the pool daily (vacations), and switch to bleach or liquid chlorine so that you don't raise CYA levels too high. Pucks and powdered shock products all contain CYA. Cal-hypo tablets do not, but they do contain calcium.

You can't use cal-hypo tablets in the chlorinator previously used with tri-chlor. Apparently this can cause an explosion. Dangerous.
 
So it looks like I should add a gallon jug of bleach.

Is the bleach all added at one time or limited amounts over a certain time period.

Do I just POUR it in anywhere or near or away from the skimmer basket?

How long do I wait to retest?

If I add a gallon of bleach all at one time, should everyone stay out of the pool for a certain time period?
 
Just pour it all in at once near a return jet. Wait an hour to retest. But, you can put in the whole amount to take it to what poolcalculator recommends for the top of your range and just be done with it. You don't have to be too precise.

Did the calculator say one gallon?

If there's one thing I hope to pass along, it is that our pools are supposed to be fun. Relax and it will all be OK! :)

You can swim pretty much right away. No worries. Maybe wait 30 min if you are concerned.
 
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