I'm just getting started!

[Jug831]

Hi everyone. I just bought a house with a pool about three weeks ago and I have Ben learning how to care for it. So far everything has been great. The water is crystal clear blue with no issues. The previous owners took care of it themselves and seem to have done a nice job. My problem is, I am not an expert on pool care and now I have one to care for!

I recently took a water sample to the pool store to pick up some chlorine tablets for the chlorinator and below are the results:

TC 5
FC 5
P.h. 7.3
TA 110
CH 360
CYA 70
Water temp is about 85 right now

They recommended that I raise the TA with 13 lbs of what I assume is expensive baking soda, which will raise the ph too high and add muriatic acid (0.5 pt) to lower the ph and also add some very expensive scale inhibitor due to the high CH.

My questions are, how are my results? What would you do? I am thinking raise the ph slightly to 7.5 and maintain from there?

It is a Blue Haven built IG white plaster, 23,625 gallons. Hayward equipment, 2.0 HP pump, cartridge filter, heater (don't recall brand at moment) and some kind of oxidizer box (???) which I think adds ozone?

Thank you to all for having such a great forum!

 

[linen]

Welcome to tfp, Jug831

They recommended that I raise the TA with 13 lbs of what I assume is expensive baking soda

Your are right, baking sode is used to raise TA. With that said, your TA is fine if you use the trichlor pucks (which in general we do not recommend) anywhere from 100-120 ppm TA. If you use the pucks, they will continue to raise you cya level, which is already too high (we recommend 30-50 ppm cya). If your water is fine (clear and no excessive chlorine usage), then I would not do a drain/refill now, but if you get algae, then you may want to lower it. See: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/types_chlorine_pool

If that "box" does ozone, I would leave it off...there is no need for ozone in a typical outdoor residential swimming pool.

 

[Bama Rambler]

Linen beat me but we saying about the same thing.

That's not bad for pool store numbers.
Your best bet is to get a good test kit.

There's no need to raise the TA or the pH. In fact you should run your pH where it is now. That will help prevent scaling.
There's no need for scale inhibitor if you'll manage your pH.
You need to raise the FC according to the chlorine/cya chart.

 

[Richard320]

Welcome!

Let's see... the high CYA jumped out at me. It's too high, and will only get worse if you keep using pucks. The rest is fine. Take the money you could have spent at the store and invest in a proper test kit (TF100 is best value, although not the cheapest) and spend a few hours reading through Pool School. If you think your water looks nice now, wait until you've been treating it our way for about a week!

 

[blemaire]

I'm in the same boat you are in. And your lucky that your pool started off clear. I just got my house with an In ground pool and it was a swamp. I've put some time in to it and using the bbb method is paying off. I only go to the pool store for parts and CYA. The best thin I did was get the TF100 test kit. I'm a firm believer in the bbb method and I haven't even seen the bottom of my pool yet. For what I've spent thus far in bleach and test kit. Is only in the hundreds. What the pool store may have cost me is probably closer to almost a thousand if not more. Read pool school and also read many of the new pool owner posts. They may have asked the same question you have. That has helped me out a ton.

 

[PridgNYC]

The only thing I have gone to the pool store for is Filter sand. Ordered my CYA from amazon for $16 for 4 lbs. Everything else comes from Walmart or Tractor Supply (only place I have found that carries muriatic acid without all of those "safer" additives and an actual Baume number on it)

 

[blemaire]

Try lowes for muratic acid as well as cya I found my local one has both for decent prices. But they are definitely different in each region. I pretty much looked everywhere for everything I would need some in strange places as well.

 

[PridgNYC]

Unfortunately, the nearest Lowes is too far away. The pool is in Fallsburg, NY, so I would have to drive all the way to Middletown to go to Lowes. But since we are in such a rural area, Tractor Supply is close, there is also an Ace Hardware Trading Post that may have it, but I didn't go there yet as my online searches show that Ace only carries the "Safer" version online so I thought that might also be true of the store as well. (and I went to Tractor Supply first )