New Member - Dallas Area

[parisvienna]

Hello Everyone –

I’m new to the forum from Plano, TX. I had the pool installed in 2004 and am just now getting TFP-religion. I’ve read through all of the pages in Pool School, and am ready to use the TFP program. Here are my numbers per a visit to Leslie’s yesterday…

FC – 1.5
CC – unknown
TA – 120
CH – 180
CYA – 30
PH – 8.0
Salt – 3000

I’m planning on getting a TF-100 test kit asap – is that sold at retail stores, or only via mail-order?

My current problem is that I’m getting yellowing on the walls of the pool. It started in late May – we had a fairly wet spring. Leslie’s kept telling me it was being caused by so much rain water displacing salt water. On the weekend of 6/1-2, I shocked it with 3 bags of Leslie’s Chlor-Brite, added CYA to get it up to 30, and added salt to get it to 3200 (pool mfg recommendation is 3200-3400). We had 40 13-year olds in the pool on 6/7 and it looked great – clear water and clean walls.

Went out of town on 6/13, pool still looked great. We returned on 6/24 to yellow walls. On 6/25, I brushed the walls and shocked again with 3 bags of Chlor-Brite. Water now looks great, but walls began to get yellow again on Friday 6/28.

Leslie’s told me the following yesterday when they gave me the test results – chlorine level is OK, add Muriatic acid to reduce PH (done – added 48 oz), add CYA (done – added four lbs of granules). Some of the info in the Pool School pages has me wondering – can you please calm my fears on the following –

The Target FC levels in the Chlorine/CYA chart are much higher than anything I’ve seen – will this make the water harsh on the eyes and skin? Also, will the SWG be able to maintain those levels (once they get that high) or will I need to regularly add chlorine?

Are there any potential problems with using bleach to shock, given the fact that I have an SWG (I noted that the “Recommended Levels” page in Pool School has separate levels for “bleach” and “SWG”)?

The Pool School page titled “Water Balance for SWGs” has some different info and figures on it compared to some of the other pages – is this page the baseline for me to follow, given that I have an SWG? If so, should I try to work on all of the figures at once – or try to get each item to the correct level one at a time? Is there a particular order to follow? And how long should I expect it to take to get everything in balance?

Will it be difficult to get TA down to 60-80 while keeping the PH no lower than 7.5? And what is the best way to do this?

Should I wait to get my test kit before doing anything else?

Sounds like adding Borax would help, based on a couple of forum threads – do you agree?

I’m alarmed by how low my CH is – should I fix that right away? Is there a common hardware store chemical that I can add for CH, or do I have to get this at the pool store?

Thanks!

 

[257WbyMag]

Welcome to TFP!

The TF-100 test kit is only available from tftestkits.net. It ships VERY quickly.

For salt pools, we recommend a CYA level between 60 and 80. You will eventually need to get this up. Don't raise it though until you are finished shocking your pool.

Lower your pH to 7.2 to 7.4 and begin the shock process. Use bleach to shock, rather than your salt cell as this will save wear on your system. There are no problems with using bleach to shock. The vast majority of folks here do it because it is cheap and works great. I chlorinate my pool exclusively with bleach. It will not harm your salt system.

Do not worry about TA or borates at this time. Get your pool clean first.

 

[parisvienna]

I got the ph down to 7.4 (tested via a small test kit for chlorine and ph only-TF 100 scheduled for delivery on Monday). I shocked with 605 oz of 8.25% bleach on Wednesday - Pool Calculator told me to add 572 oz to take chlorine from 3.5 to 15. I used 15 per the cya/chlorine chart based on cya of 40, even though I have an SWG. Is that shock level high enough?

Since then, I've been brushing regularly and adding 121 oz of 8.25 bleach every day (saw that on another thread), since I don't have a reliable test kit yet. Should my daily addition of bleach be higher?

Water is crystal clear and yellowing on walls is 90% gone.

There are a couple of areas in the pool (steps and along bottom under waterfall) that have always gotten dirty / staining / black algae. Historically these spots come off with brushing but they are much more stubborn this year. I read in another thread that the best formula to attack these is elbow grease plus keeping chlorine level at 150% - 200% of target level in cya/chlorine chart. Did I read that correctly?

I'll plan on testing with the TF-100 on Monday and posting results and asking for feedback. Looking ahead, we are hosting a swim party on Thursday night. When / how should I start to ease or suspend the shock process so that the pool is swimmable?

Thanks, Pete

 

[Richard320]

Keep doing what you're doing until the kit arrives and you get some test results you can trust. DO note that the pH test won't be accurate if FC is over 10, so don't panic and start throwing stuff in the pool to fix it.

I would wait on the borates until the pool is completely free of algae, the water is balanced, the SWG is set right, and you're comfortable with testing and dosing. There's no reason to add another factor into an already confusing equation. Wait until it's no longer confusing.

You might want to see if you can aim a return at the areas that always get dirty.

 

[partypond]

Hey neighbor! Hang in there, get your test kit and follow the great info on this site. We built our pool a couple years ago and I have followed TFP advise ever since. Don't worry about your CH, in this area is will just be high. Mine runs about 500 but that is just the way the water is out here.

 

[parisvienna]

Hi - tF100 was here when I got home from work...here are my results -

FC 21.0
CC zero
TA 100
CH 340
CYA 40-45 hard to tell
Salt 320

Water is crystal clear. No yellowing on sides. Stubborn stains / black algae is improved in shallow areas following intense brushing over weekend with stainless steel. But the stubborn stains remain in deeper areas where it's difficult to brush with really hard strokes.

What FC level should I aim for now? I'd like for the FC to keep attacking the stains, but have a swim party on Thurssay night. My SWG has been running the whole time at 75% - is that the appropriate level? Should I turn that off to help get the FC down?

On CH, I was expecting a lower level since Leslies kept telling me it was 180-220. When I performed the CH test, the 340 reading was when only about 25% of the volume in the cylinder was blue - the rest was still red/pink. Is that to be expected or should I retest?