first water testing results

[fast1971chevelle]

i just filled my pool with city water it is a 18x52 round intex ultra frame pool that holds 6981 gallons of water with a 1600 gph sand filter and am going to get all the readings in order and am using the bbb method and then add my swg and i am waiting for my test kit to arrive so i took some water to the pool store for them to check and here are the readings.
cl=0
tc=0
ph=8.0
alk=130
ch=220

i have read pool school a few times and tried to use the pool calculator and still not sure what to do from this point please help...thank you Mike

 

[Isaac-1]

If it were mine I would do 4 things at this point,

1, go buy a cheap OTO/pH drop based test kit, these sell for about $10 at wal-mart, will be called something like 2 way drop test kit.

2, while there get some pH Down (dry acid), or if your comfortable handling it buy a jug of Muriatic acid (either one will work, pH Down dry acid powder is just easier to handle)

3, Get some bleach for chlorination, sooner is better than later, the big mistake people tend to make is fill their pool and NOT add any chlorine, this lets algae start to grow and then they have to start off on the wrong foot fighting it.

4, get some CYA stabilizer (you will want to hang this in an old sock in front of a return jet, as it disolves VERY SLOWLY)

Pool calculator says you will need about 28 ounces of dry CYA stabilizer to reach a CYA level of 30 ppm or (we suggest targeting 30-40 ppm to start with, I would say aim for 30 until your good test kit gets there), go ahead and add it first hanging it in the sock in front of a jet, kneeding it from time to time to help it disolve.

Once that is out of the way you will need to lower your pH (target 7.5-7.8 for now), do this by adding acid (dry or muriatic) about 2, or 3 ounces at a time, then testing after about half an hour while the water is circulating (note the common test only goes up to 8 for pH, so it may be even higher)

You will also want to get some chlorine in there, if using 6% bleach, you will need to add 50 ounces for an inital target level of 3.5 (which you can read on a cheap OTO test kit), test after a couple of hours and redose as needed to maintain 3.5 ppm.

that should have it for now, retest after a few hours and adjust as needed, try to do so in small steps, and stay away from any powdered chlorine products that may add CYA also.

Ik

 

[lightingguy]

If you do nothing else - just keep a little chlorine in the water (2ppm or so) while you are sorting out your test kit, etc.

If you are ready to tackle the whole thing - issac's got you covered.

1) Drop the PH to 7.5 ish with acid (that way if you overshoot it's no big deal)

2) Add enough CYA to target say 30ppm (that way if you overshoot it's no big deal)

3) Add the appropriate amount on Chlorine for your CYA - if you overshoot the sun burns it off - so it's no big deal

You can get all those amounts from Pool Calculator.

Ignore TA, CH, etc for now. You can tackle that stuff next week, or the week after - when you feel more comfortable.

 

[fast1971chevelle]

thanks guys i am going to use muratic acid and at the moment the pool is not completely full yet, you are suppose to add the acid in front of the return jet correct? also can i just pour some bleach in the water without the pump running? so i can atleast get some in there? i forgot to mention the cya was about 40 thanks guys.....Mike

 

[fast1971chevelle]

at lowes they have a couple different types of muratic acid one is green and the other says safer on it which one do i get and we are talking about the acid used to clean brick..? right?

 

[aa62579]

Not the green one. The one that is the 31.45% is probably the most common one used. You can get the green one, but you need to change that on the pool calculator to reflect the lower percentage. It will take much more of this product than the one with the higher concentration. Yes, it is used to clean brick.

 

[aa62579]

At 6981 gallons with a TA of 130, it will take 12 ounces of MA (31.45%) to drop your pH from 8 to 7.5 according to the pool calculator.

Honestly, I would feel comfortable adding this amount all at once (but I have to add MA multiple times per week and always need more than the calculator shows due to my high TA, so take that with a grain of salt). Even if you are off on your gallons (and your pool is only 6000 gallons), adding twice that amount of MA would only drop you to a 7.1. With only plugging in the numbers to drop to 7.5, I think that gives you plenty of bumper room.

 

[Isaac-1]

Tap water does not have CYA in it, so if you have not added any CYA stabilizer, dichlor or trichlor dry chlorine then the pool store test was WRONG.

 

[fast1971chevelle]

I have not added anything to the water except 6% bleach how do I get the cya to the proper level?

 

[Isaac-1]

As mentioned in my message above 28 ounces of 100% (some of the cheap stuff is 50%) dry stabilizer will raise your CYA level to 30 ppm, which gives you a target FC of 3.5 which can be measured on a basic OTO/pH drop based test kit. You will want to hang the powdered CYA in an old sock in front of a resturn so it does not touch the side of the pool, it will take a few days to disolve, kneed from time to time to speed it along.

Ike

p.s. you can find dry stabilizer just about anywhere that sells pool products, pool stores, big box stores like Wal-Mart, Lowes, etc. price should be around $15-$20 for 3-4 pounds, you may be able to find it in smaller 1 - 2 pound containers.