Hi Guys,
11,000 Gallon In-ground Pebble Tec Pool
Sand Filter
Phoenix, AZ metro area (i.e. High Summer Temps, Full Sun on Pool all day)
Recently discovered this site and have been trying to absorb all the great info.
It has motivated me to leave pool store testing and chemicals behind and move to BBB and a Taylor K-2600.
I've been practicing with the test kit and I think I've got it down ... even the challenging CYA test.
Prior to this, I'd been caring for the pool with Leslie's Tri-Chlor tabs, 73% Cal Hypo (Leslie's Power Powder Plus) for shock, Muriatic Acid, and Baking Soda.
It is on this site that I learned of the evils of CYA, and started seriously testing for it on my own.
On Aug 7, I got the following test results:
Water Appearance: Very Clear
FC - 1.0 (25ml test)
CC - 0.2
pH - 7.5
TA - 110
CH - didn't test this time
CYA - 120
My goals were to shock the pool to bring up FC and get rid of remaining CC, and to lower CYA via drain and refill. I backwashed down to the bottom of the skimmer level and refilled with fresh water to try to lower CYA, and added two 1lb. bags of 73% Cal-Hypo (Leslie's Power Powder Plus). I plan on switching to bleach/liquid chlor as part of BBB, but I've got bags of Cal-Hypo around so am using that for now (understanding that it will raise my pH, TA, and CH for now).
Aug 8 test:
Water Appearance: Very Clear
FC - 8.0 (25ml test)
CC - 0.2
pH - 7.7
TA - 110
CH - 320
CYA - 110
I guess I was expecting FC to go up by more after adding that much Cal-Hypo, but I figure my high CYA was to blame. So, this time I drained about half the pool via backwash and refilled with fresh water. I then added three more 1lb bags of 73% Cal-Hypo, and let the filter run over night.
This morning's test (Aug 9):
Water Appearance: Very Clear
FC - 10.0 (10ml test)
CC - hard to tell. 5 drops of R-0003 turned it a verrrrry slight shade of pink, cleared up instantly on one drop of R-0871.
pH - 7.7
TA - 120
CH - 360
CYA - 60
Yea! Aggressive drain and refill got the CYA down to nice levels (hopefully ditching the Tri-Chlor tabs will keep it there). But I'm still a bit puzzled why 3 bags of Cal-Hypo only got my FC to 10.0 and seemingly still left a trace of CC. I guess the fact that I replaced half my pool with fresh water explains the 10.0 FC rating (or perhaps I don't fully understand the expected effects of adding the Cal-Hypo), but why still the trace of CC?
Anyway, added a cup of Muriatic Acid to try to get the pH and TA down, and will retest again tomorrow.
Any advice, comments, critiques are welcome.
Thanks.
11,000 Gallon In-ground Pebble Tec Pool
Sand Filter
Phoenix, AZ metro area (i.e. High Summer Temps, Full Sun on Pool all day)
Recently discovered this site and have been trying to absorb all the great info.
It has motivated me to leave pool store testing and chemicals behind and move to BBB and a Taylor K-2600.
I've been practicing with the test kit and I think I've got it down ... even the challenging CYA test.
Prior to this, I'd been caring for the pool with Leslie's Tri-Chlor tabs, 73% Cal Hypo (Leslie's Power Powder Plus) for shock, Muriatic Acid, and Baking Soda.
It is on this site that I learned of the evils of CYA, and started seriously testing for it on my own.
On Aug 7, I got the following test results:
Water Appearance: Very Clear
FC - 1.0 (25ml test)
CC - 0.2
pH - 7.5
TA - 110
CH - didn't test this time
CYA - 120
My goals were to shock the pool to bring up FC and get rid of remaining CC, and to lower CYA via drain and refill. I backwashed down to the bottom of the skimmer level and refilled with fresh water to try to lower CYA, and added two 1lb. bags of 73% Cal-Hypo (Leslie's Power Powder Plus). I plan on switching to bleach/liquid chlor as part of BBB, but I've got bags of Cal-Hypo around so am using that for now (understanding that it will raise my pH, TA, and CH for now).
Aug 8 test:
Water Appearance: Very Clear
FC - 8.0 (25ml test)
CC - 0.2
pH - 7.7
TA - 110
CH - 320
CYA - 110
I guess I was expecting FC to go up by more after adding that much Cal-Hypo, but I figure my high CYA was to blame. So, this time I drained about half the pool via backwash and refilled with fresh water. I then added three more 1lb bags of 73% Cal-Hypo, and let the filter run over night.
This morning's test (Aug 9):
Water Appearance: Very Clear
FC - 10.0 (10ml test)
CC - hard to tell. 5 drops of R-0003 turned it a verrrrry slight shade of pink, cleared up instantly on one drop of R-0871.
pH - 7.7
TA - 120
CH - 360
CYA - 60
Yea! Aggressive drain and refill got the CYA down to nice levels (hopefully ditching the Tri-Chlor tabs will keep it there). But I'm still a bit puzzled why 3 bags of Cal-Hypo only got my FC to 10.0 and seemingly still left a trace of CC. I guess the fact that I replaced half my pool with fresh water explains the 10.0 FC rating (or perhaps I don't fully understand the expected effects of adding the Cal-Hypo), but why still the trace of CC?
Anyway, added a cup of Muriatic Acid to try to get the pH and TA down, and will retest again tomorrow.
Any advice, comments, critiques are welcome.
Thanks.