Another New Clueless Pool Owner

[jp5touring]

I,m the proud owner of a TF100 test kit so good to go there, The pool has yet to be opened from a Michigan winter. water under the pool cover looks decent
I can see the ledge in deep end appears to be lots of leaves in bottom of pool.
The pool cover has a good foot of water on the top of it and a hundred tadpoles or so.
I plan on draining water above cover first along with scooping out the wildlife population.
I can then test water first to see what I got.

Then after that I,m Clueless and so New,,,

So What due I look out for first ???
Thanks in Advance.. love the site and the idea of using BBB. Looking forward to get started. :-D

when not packing this weekend I will be reading all I can of this site..

 

[Richard320]

Scoop/vacuum as much of the debris out as you can while the filter is running for an hour or so to mix things up, then test. The test readings will decide what needs to be attacked first.

 

[jp5touring]

Thanks Richard320 makes sense, I was going to scoop/clean and test. Mixing things up I get
Is there a amount of bbb I should keep on hand to get started ?

 

[harleysilo]

Just bleach for the moment. Ph will probably be okay when you test it. CYA could be an issue, depending on how the pool has been chlorinated in the past.

 

[Richard320]

Thanks Richard320 makes sense, I was going to scoop/clean and test. Mixing things up I get
Is there a amount of bbb I should keep on hand to get started ?

Just the bleach. Just fill your car with it wherever you find a good price.

I have really hard water - I've never needed to raise my pH with Borax nor increase the Total Alkalinity with Baking Soda. I get plenty for free when I top off. If you've been using acid in years past, then grab a couple gallons. It keeps for years. Or if you were always adding soda ash instead, grab some of that.

Otherwise, wait for test results and then just make one trip to the store to buy whatever chemicals you need and maybe a new pole or leaf rake to replace the ones you broke!

 

[jp5touring]

Ok, Soo were have been in the new house a month. Moving totally sucks. Been crazy busy just tryin to get settled.
I ended up draining the pool cause part of the cover had fallen into the pool and no one bothered to correct that.
I will post some pics when i can.

The pool has been great so far needs to be hotter weather thou. Im in Michigan.
Water looks great and feels great. Water sparkles nicely,,,

My latest numbers

PH 8.4
CI zero
FC/CC zero
CYA 20
CH 250
TA 290

I have used the pool calcuator, like it alot,,,, thanks to whomever made it up,,
I added everything but Stabilizer, I didnt have any will buy tommorrow.
Im also adding a couple inches of water tonight to bring the level back up.

Thoughts ??? Recommendations ??

TIA
jp

 

[duraleigh]

You need to get your favorite beverage and sit down to read "The ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" up in Pool School.

You will find pH of 8.4 is a bad thing and you should lower it immediately to around 7.4

Even more important, you will find FC of zero is a VERY bad thing and you are goading your pool into turning green. Get chlorine in your pool ASAP.

Get those things accomplished and you can tweak the other parameters later.

 

[jp5touring]

Been adding bleach on a daily bases. I add it at night usually. Can I add it a couple times during the day ??

Like first thing in morning than again at night . How often can I add during the day ??

thx

 

[duraleigh]

The important thing is to understand why it is at zero now.

How long has it been since you added? How much did you add? What percentage was it?

You must keep a measurable amount of chlorine in your pool at all times. You can and should add FC as often as it takes to keep your FC up around 2-4 ppm.

Tell us how you got CYA of 20 as that may be an indicator of why you have no FC.

 

[jp5touring]

Has been 48hrs since i added any bleach. I add around 100-110 oz.. of bleach typically at a time . 8.25 % This is per the Pool Calculator recommendations.

I did the CYA test with my tf100 test kit tonight about 8 pm. I did the test a couple of times I had very little affect on blurring out the black spot on the tube.
I due all the tf 100 tests per the youtube videos. I feel I im pretty accurate and with most my numbers.

 

[JohnN]

Did you drain and refill the pool completely? If so, you started with a CYA of 0. I assume you did not add any solid chlorine, correct? That means your CYA is still 0.

 

[duraleigh]

That means your CYA is still 0.

That's my bet, too. With CYA of zero, you will lose all your FC to the sun VERY quickly...easily within 10 hours of sunlight.

I would suggest you calculate enough dosage to bring your CYA up to 40 and get it in your pool ASAP. Continue to add the chlorine as you have been and you will soon see the sun does not burn it all off.

"The ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" up in Pool School will help you understand the importance of CYA and the absolute necessity of keeping chlorine in your pool.

 

[jp5touring]

Yes, I did drain the pool completely. I added at first fill the following 1qt. of bottle shock,1 qt.algicide, 2 qt. Mineral Clear.
The pool was filled with Tap Water from my home City water not well water. the pool has been refilled maybe 18 to 21 days since i drained it.

I have only used bleach, Muractic acid and 2 pounds of salt. No other pool store chemicals..

Thanks for all the help..
jp

 

[jp5touring]

I have one of the pool chlorine floats that you put the pucks in. It was left with the house when we bought it. I have that in the pool. Is this good or Bad ??
Im on vacation this week and working on the new home so I can be on top of it all week. thanks for all the info,,

 

[JohnN]

Those pucks will add chlorine and CYA, and lower pH. How many of those have you used?

 

[jp5touring]

Only two maybe three pucks in three weeks.

 

[JohnN]

Assuming they are 3 inch pucks, which are either 7 or 8 ounces (I will use 8 for this) according to pool calc 3 of them raised your CYA to 5. So your CYA is still very low, and all of your chlorine is being lost to the sun each day.

 

[jp5touring]

This a.m. Ph stil 8.3. But CI is 2.5 wich is a increase from yesterday. Gunna b hot today. Will run ou and get some stabilizer today.

Is the sock method best/quickest way to add stabilizer ??

The puck are 3" 7oz. each. I put 3 pucks in and opened the sides a large as it will go.
I have been running the filter quite alot since the refill 6 to 12 hours a day. The water looks and feels great.

thanks everyone for the help.. Great site

 

[Richard320]

This a.m. Ph stil 8.3. But CI is 2.5 wich is a increase from yesterday. Gunna b hot today. Will run ou and get some stabilizer today.

Is the sock method best/quickest way to add stabilizer ??

The puck are 3" 7oz. each. I put 3 pucks in and opened the sides a large as it will go.
I have been running the filter quite alot since the refill 6 to 12 hours a day. The water looks and feels great.

thanks everyone for the help.. Great site

If you want quickest, spend the extra money on liquid stabilizer (probably only at the pool store) because it will be mixed within an hour. If you buy the
granular stuff, the sock method is best.

 

[jp5touring]

Monday 7/15 10:30 am

PH_ 8.3
CI_ 2
FC_ zero
CYA_ 20
CH_ 280
TA_340

Put in a gallon of liquid stabilizer
60 oz bleach
50 oz of muriatic acid