First pool...First test...need help

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bowyorang

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Mar 31, 2008
11
Hey everyone. Introduced myself in the new guy room the other day and finally got my test kit in today. I am sure needing some help on what to do. Like the title says, this is my first pool so I am trying to get through the learning curve.
My pool is an above ground, 15ft round that holds aprrox. 4600gal. The test kit that I am using is the Taylor 2006
Here is what results I came up with.
.8ppm FC
.2ppm CC
7.0 ph units I tried to get it to be the right color, but it didn't seem to matter how much of the R-0005 I added. It just stayed yellow. In fact, it seemed to get even more so instead of turning pink. Am I doing something wrong?
40ppm CH
20ppm TA
The CYA test did not get cloudy at all. Saw the black dot all the way to the top.
Approx water temp is 58deg.
I would prefer to use the BBB method. But whatever it takes.

Id appreciate any advice. The water looks great right now, of course I just filled it at the first of the week, so I am sure it will go down hill if I don't get it right now.

Thanks!!!!!
Micah
 
You normally add drops of R-0005 to figure out how much acid to add to lower your PH to the desired PH. Since you are trying to raise your PH you would use R-0006, base demand, to figure out how much soda ash/washing soda to add to raise your PH. Since your TA is low, and raising TA will also raise PH, I suggest raising the TA first without worrying about PH for now. Then when the TA and PH come up retest to see where you are and adjust from there.

First step is to maintain a FC level. I suggest adding 2 1/2 cups of 6% bleach each evening until your CYA level starts to come up.

Second, you need to raise the TA. I would start with 2 lbs of baking soda, give it a day to mix in and retest to see where you are. That will raise your TA a fair bit and raise the PH a little, both of which are good right now.

Third, you need to get some CYA in the pool. I would start by adding 20 oz (by weight) of CYA, often sold as stabilizer at pool stores and places like Home Depot, Lowes, and WalMart. This should be put in an old sock and then hang that in front of a return or toss it in your skimmer basket. It can take CYA up to a week to dissolve, so don't retest for a week. After a week test again and see where you are and adjust to between 30 and 50 from there (unless you have a SWG, in which case 60 to 80).

24 hours after adding the CYA, you want to stop adding a fixed amount of bleach each evening and start testing the FC level and adding enough bleach to bring FC up to 4 ppm.

It would be nice if you could put some basic pool specifications into your signature. That would give us more context for figuring out the answer to future questions.
 
JasonLion
Thanks a BUNCH for the advice. I will definantly everything you said. Going to go get some supplies in just a bit to start!
And I will definantly put my pool info in my sig.
Thanks!
 
As another alternative for getting CYA in the water, you can purchase Dichlor powder/granules which dissolve quickly and add both chlorine and CYA to the water. For every 10 ppm FC added by Dichlor, it also adds 9 ppm to CYA. This might be easier for you than putting CYA in a sock hanging over a return. It's roughly comparably priced when accounting for chlorine cost as well as CYA. The Dichlor will make the pH drop more than the pure CYA (after accounting for chlorine usage from the Dichlor). In either case, you'll probably need to have something to make the pH rise -- 20 Mule Team Borax is the BBB approach to this.

If you use pure CYA, it will take about 18 ounces weight in your 4600 gallon pool or around 2-1/2 cups to increase the CYA from zero to 30 ppm. If you use Dichlor instead, it will take about 37 ounces weight or around 4-1/2 cups to increase the CYA from zero to 30 ppm but you wouldn't add it all at once since it would raise the FC by 33 ppm (but could add, say, 10 ppm the first day and then add more as the FC drops until you get to the cumulative amount).

It's a personal choice which way to go. I need to add some CYA to my pool I've just started to get going for this year so I'm going to buy some Dichlor for that purpose. I have an electric pool cover I keep closed most of the time so hanging a sock or panty hose over a return isn't a great option for me (though I could put pure CYA in a sock or panty hose into the skimmer and keep the pump running assuming it doesn't "cake up").

Richard
 
chem geek
Thanks for the alternative. However, I had already left for the store before your post. So, for now I will try the CYA and see how it goes.
Got it all started so we'll see how it goes!
Thanks!
Micah
 
second test

Just took my second test. What do you think?
4.6ppm FC
0 CC
7.2ph
60ppm TA
30ppm CH
30ppm CYA

I guesss the CYA could still go up? I just added it 2 days ago. All of it has been desolved from the sock that I put it in.
 
You are looking very good. CYA will be fine, the goal is 30 to 50, so even if it comes up a bit more you will be fine.

You still want to bring the TA up a bit more, aiming for 70 to 90. I suggest adding another 1 to 1.5 lbs.
 
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