Fill Water Test Results - What next?

[SteveMac]

Just setup and filled a 14' Summer Escapes metal frame pool. Added the 3700+/- gallons from town water using a garden hose. Used an HTH 6-way test kit on the fill water. (I'm waiting for a better kit that I ordered online) Here are the results:

Fill Water
---------
FC: ?
CC: ?
TC: 0 ppm
PH: 6.8 or less
TA: 20 ppm
CH: 20 ppm
CYA: 0

Ok, where to start... The HTH kit tests for "Total Chlorine" and does not specify results for FC or CC. Seems a little silly, how do I test just for FC? I guess I'll have to wait for the better test kit.

The pH test was close to the 6.8 low end, but the color didn't quite match. I suspect that I'm lower than 6.8. pH obviously needs to be raised.

TA and CH both at 20. I didn't bother testing for CYA at this point since there shouldn't be any.

So my question is, what's next? I'm going to be following the advice from Pool School of using Dichlor for the first four days. I thought I've read that I need to get the pH under control before adding the Dichlor. I'm sure the low TA will have an affect on the pH control. So what should I attack first?

I need to raise pH, TA and CH, so I should add Baking Soda, Borax and Calcium Chloride. Should I tackle one at a time or all three at once? I assume I can use pool calculator to determine how much of each to add. What is the best source of calcium chloride to add for CH?

 

[jblizzle]

bump TA up to at least 60ppm
Get pH into the mid 7s
Start adding CYA and FC
Ignore CH for your vinyl pool

Posted with Tapatalk ... sorry if I sound short ... hate typing on phone

 

[jblizzle]

oh keep an eye on the pH as the dichlor may lower it.

Posted with Tapatalk ... sorry if I sound short ... hate typing on phone

 

[kplaster]

? Ph City water supply will not be low..I would get some clorine in the pool...Read Pool School&you will get the hang of it..Work with the Pool Calculator..I would go to Wally World..You need some 6% bleach..Great Value work's for me."non-Scented'Need to start shocking it.Your Ta/ph will rise some by just doing that..You also will need to get some Stabilizer in there to for your CYA..You can get that at Wally World to..I would stay away from the Clorine Tablet's.No easy way of telling you how to take care of water.But,the thing is educating yourself in pool school.You also can get you some baking soda for raising T/a.Wouldn't hurt to pick uo a box of Borax in the detergent isle to..You really will need to invest in a really good full test kit like the tf-100.Good luck

 

[SteveMac]

bump TA up to at least 60ppm
Get pH into the mid 7s
Start adding CYA and FC
Ignore CH for your vinyl pool

Posted with Tapatalk ... sorry if I sound short ... hate typing on phone

Thanks! I just ran some numbers through Pool Calculator. Should I aim for 6ppm FC (as directed by Pool School) or should I aim for shock level, 12ppm? Again, I'm using dichlor at this time, not bleach... if it makes a difference.

Ok, so it doesn't matter what the CH is reading? Ever?

 

[jblizzle]

Your water should be pretty clear now. Certainly would not hurt to bump up the FC to about 10ppm initially to start off clean. Keep an eye on it as the sun may consume the FC quickly until the CYA builds up.

CH only matters in vinyl pool of it gets very high ... You seem to have nice low levels making scaling a lower possibility.

Posted with Tapatalk ... sorry if I sound short ... hate typing on phone

 

[kplaster]

I alway's Shock first..You want to kill off anything..Alway's better to go high than not enough.plus with the heat,clorine will not stay in pool long till the Cya start's working..

 

[kplaster]

bump TA up to at least 60ppm
Get pH into the mid 7s
Start adding CYA and FC
Ignore CH for your vinyl pool

Posted with Tapatalk ... sorry if I sound short ... hate typing on phone

Thanks! I just ran some numbers through Pool Calculator. Should I aim for 6ppm FC (as directed by Pool School) or should I aim for shock level, 12ppm? Again, I'm using dichlor at this time, not bleach... if it makes a difference.

Ok, so it doesn't matter what the CH is reading? Ever?

I would not use the dichlor now..Put straight bleach in to get the level's up now.It will take a while for tablet's to work..Like I said before there is no easy way of getting by with the pool water..Easy come's after you have figured out how to maintain the water..Read,Read&Re-read pool school..

 

[jblizzle]

dichlor is listed for the start up procedure for small/temporary pools in Pool School ... it is an acceptable method although slightly more complicated as you need to keep track of exactly how much you add to track CYA and FC.

Posted with Tapatalk ... sorry if I sound short ... hate typing on phone

 

[Smykowski]

Again, I'm using dichlor at this time, not bleach... if it makes a difference.

Nope, pool caclulator works with all types of chlorine. Just change the drop down.

Ok, so it doesn't matter what the CH is reading? Ever?

Ever is a pretty strong word, but it is correct that with a vinyl liner, you can worry much, much less about it.

 

[SteveMac]

Ok, read the guide for seasonal pools again. I went ahead and grabbed some 6% Clorox to shock the pool for starters. Based on my fill water results and the amount of water, Pool Calculator had the following to say:

(FC)
Now: 0, Target: 12 shock level = Add 93 oz of 6% bleach.
The bottle was 96 oz, so I added the whole thing

(pH)
Now: 6.8 or less, Target: 7.5 = Add 12 oz Borax
I mixed 6 oz in water and added to pool. Will test and add remainder in one hour.

(TA)
Now: 20, Target: 80 = Add 42 oz Baking Soda
I mixed 21 oz in water and added to pool. Will test and add remainder in one hour.

When I added the bleach, the water took on a green tint. I assume this is because the bleach has a yellow tint which appears green against the blue pool liner. Tonight, I will start adding the Dichlor per Pool School instructions. I'll use the Dichlor until I reach a CYA of 40. The Clorine/CYA chart shows that at a CYA of 40, I should maintain FC of 3-5. Does this sound about right?

 

[jblizzle]

Sounds like the right idea ... be sure to track how much dichlor you add.

Also, the green water when adding bleach could be a sign of metals in the water. Review the article about metals in Pool School. The water sometimes looks clear but kind of green, you may need to use a sequestrant if it continues to happen.

 

[SteveMac]

Sounds like the right idea ... be sure to track how much dichlor you add.

Also, the green water when adding bleach could be a sign of metals in the water. Review the article about metals in Pool School. The water sometimes looks clear but kind of green, you may need to use a sequestrant if it continues to happen.

The water only appears green when in the pool. I scooped some out in a clear bucket and the water is clear. That's why I figured it was an optical illusion against the blue liner.

I just tested the water after adding the bleach, borax and baking soda. (Let circulate for 1 hour)

FC is obviously off the charts high.

pH is now showing around 7.2. I only added half of the borax initially and have 6 oz remaining. I reran Pool Calculator with the new pH reading and it's telling me to add 8.3 oz. I think I'll stick with the 6 oz and see how it goes.

TA is now reading at 60. I added half of the baking soda earlier and have 21 oz remaining. Pool Calc is suggesting to add only 14 oz to reach target TA of 80. I guess I'll add 14 oz and see how it goes. Can always add more later if needed.

 

[kplaster]

Look's like you catching on there.Pool Calculator is the best thing to use..

 

[SteveMac]

Sounds like the right idea ... be sure to track how much dichlor you add.

Also, the green water when adding bleach could be a sign of metals in the water. Review the article about metals in Pool School. The water sometimes looks clear but kind of green, you may need to use a sequestrant if it continues to happen.

The water only appears green when in the pool. I scooped some out in a clear bucket and the water is clear. That's why I figured it was an optical illusion against the blue liner.

I just tested the water after adding the bleach, borax and baking soda. (Let circulate for 1 hour)

FC is obviously off the charts high.

pH is now showing around 7.2. I only added half of the borax initially and have 6 oz remaining. I reran Pool Calculator with the new pH reading and it's telling me to add 8.3 oz. I think I'll stick with the 6 oz and see how it goes.

TA is now reading at 60. I added half of the baking soda earlier and have 21 oz remaining. Pool Calc is suggesting to add only 14 oz to reach target TA of 80. I guess I'll add 14 oz and see how it goes. Can always add more later if needed.

Ok, tested again. Here were the results:

- FC still reading higher than tester, which tops out at 5ppm.
- pH still holding at 7.2 even after adding the remaining 6oz of Borax. Will test again this evening before adding Dichlor. More Borax in the future if needed to bring to 7.5.
- TA increased from 60 to 90 after adding 14oz of Baking Soda. Based on the charts I've seen, 90 is a good number to hold. Work here is done for now.

The water still has a slightly green hue to it, but based on the numbers above, I figured it was safe to swim. The family and I enjoyed the pool for about an hour this evening. There is a slight chlorine/bleach odor to our skin/suits, but nothing too terrible. To be expected I guess with FC somewhere between 6 and 12?

Tonight, I'll test and adjust pH if necessary and start adding the Dichlor. The beginners guide at Pool School stated to bring the FC to 6ppm if we wanted to swim right away. I instead had the FC up around 12 to shock the water since we were just getting started. Because of this, I wonder if I should add less Dichlor than instructed by Pool School? Assuming a FC of 0, the guide instructs you to add 1oz of Dichlor for every 500 gallons of water to increase FC to 8 and CYA to 8. I obviously have chlorine in the pool, so I wonder if I should use half/quarter as much Dichlor initially?

 

[kplaster]

If it was me&my 2 cent's doesn't count.But,I would just leave Ph along for now&alk to...Let the water settle..You want really know what you have to you get a good drop test kit..I believe you said you was waiting on it.Don't trust those stick's.About Dichlor use.That's the problem with them on CYA..Just alot easier to add Stabilizer itself&you don't have to worry about the chlorine..you can get your CYa where it need's to be within 24 hour's instead of waiting on the usage of the tablet's.You need to get CYA to at least 30.With the heat &Sun you may want to shoot for 50 now..Less chlorine use.Good Luck..

 

[kplaster]

If it was me&my 2 cent's doesn't count.But,I would just leave Ph along for now&alk to...Let the water settle..You want really know what you have to you get a good drop test kit..I believe you said you was waiting on it.Don't trust those stick's.About Dichlor use.That's the problem with them on CYA..Just alot easier to add Stabilizer itself&you don't have to worry about the chlorine..you can get your CYa where it need's to be within 24 hour's instead of waiting on the usage of the tablet's.You need to get CYA to at least 30.With the heat &Sun you may want to shoot for 50 now..Less chlorine use.Good Luck..

The main thing you just want to stay clear of overdosing.Then you have the extra expense of getting level's down.Me,I would rather be low than high.With the smaller pool's it is more likely to overdose real easy.Didn't mean to sound bad in earlier post..But,For me the less work for me the better...Test my ph&Chlorine every couple day's&full test one a week..Got mine down to a tea every season..Had 96 oz. every night & we alway's good to go..Alway's try to shock atleast every 2 week's with liquid chlorine only.I have deal'd with the pool store way of taking care of it 8 yrs of spending"wasting"money..till I was inform'd by a co-worker about General household product's&watch'd him the first yr. before switching myself..Love it&less work for me.

 

[SteveMac]

Couple of clarifying points... 1) The test kit that I'm using is drop based, it's not paper/stick and 2) The Dichlor that I'm using is a fast dissolving granule, not a tablet.

Since my chlorine tester doesn't read above 5ppm, I used the color to estimate that my TC is around 8ppm. I punched that value into Pool Calc and set my target at 12ppm. Since my water has a green tint right now and is the very tiniest bit cloudy, I figure I'll hold the chlorine around shock level just in case I have an algae issue developing. Pool Calc told me to add 3.6 oz of Dichlor. My measuring cup isn't that precise, so I added 4 oz. I'm going to let the pump run overnight.

It's weird, the water is clear up close, but has the green tint when viewed at a distance. The cloudiness became apparent tonight when I shined a flashlight at angle through the water. What are the odds that I actually might have an algae issue developing? The pool was filled on Thursday and Friday and it wasn't until today (Saturday) that I started chlorinating.

I suppose the green tint could be the result of metal in the water as well. As for the cloudiness, I have added a good amount of borax and baking soda to the water. The cloudiness looks more like undissolved solids/particles suspended in the water. Does any of this sound consistent with algae? I just want to be ahead of the game if that's the case.

BTW: My pH is up to 7.8 following the last addition of borax. I'm done playing with the pH. I'm aware that the pH will decrease as CYA is added.

Also, is it considered safe to swim in the pool with TC at shock levels? 10-12ppm or more?

 

[kplaster]

So you really don't know what your FC is then.You want to you get a good test kit..TF-100 is the best...Then you will be able to know to a tee what your Fc,cc is..When there is combined chlorine showing which this test will show then you will know if you need to shock&when you have got it all clear'd up.Don't have the link to Dave for the kit.But, it's on here..Someone else will post..Plus,about the cloudness.Those Index pool's don't have a really good pump&filter.So you will need to run 24/7&get you some extra filter's..The one in there now maybe dirty.