New Pool Owner , Water Quality Questions

[Firemedic]

I purchased a house with pool that has not been operational for a year. I replaced pump with Hayward Max-Flo VS and Hayward 2030 Cartridge Filter. The water is now crystal clear. I am waiting to receive TF100 test kit in the mail. The local pool store checked water quality and it is as follows:

TC = 0
FC = 0
CC =0
pH = 7.8
acid demand= 1
TA = 145ppm
CH = 100
Stabilizer = 0

I know I need to add stabilizer and chlorine. Should I use trichlor tabs in a floater to raise FC and CYA/Stabilizer instead of buying a regular stabilizer solution? What element should I address first.
Thanks for any input

 

[Isaac-1]

If it were mine I would just add some bleach each day to boost it up to about 3 ppm (pool math says 59 oz of 8.25% bleach for 13,000 gallons) and wait on the TF-100 to get there so you can do your own tests to confirm.

 

[Firemedic]

What would be the cheapest/best way to raise CYA? Should I float tabs in pool or buy "stabilizer" for an immediate increase.

 

[ping]

Buy CYA and add it after you run your own tests. Add enough so you target about 80% of your desired CYA level to prevent overshooting the CYA. The CYA can take a week to show up on the test, so wait a week before testing for it again. To add CYA, put it in a large sock and suspend it over a return. Give it a squeeze every now and then and it should dissolve in a day or two.

Make sure you are following Isaac-1's advice. Tabs will complicate your pool care and it is easiest to work with single additions of chemicals to start with.

 

[pwrstrk]

For " immediate " increase they do make liquid stabilizer. It is very pricey IMO. Just pointing out the liquid option.

Granular stabilizer is the choice I would make. Takes longer to show up, but it's cheaper.

 

[Firemedic]

No need for immediate increase water is still to cold! That's why I was thinking of just putting in chlorine tabs until my CYA is 30-50. That way I would be getting chlorination and the CYA....What do you think?

 

[pwrstrk]

I would wait for your test kit to come so you can re test CYA and see if it is really zero. Keep chlorine in the pool till the kit comes.

The reason I would like to see you wait for the kit is the pool store testing of CYA is usually subjective. You need a good accurate measurement for CYA. It's an important parameter.

You can go the the tab route but you need to know where your CYA level is now so you don't over shoot. It's the same for the granular stabilizer. You need to know for sure where your starting out at so you can calculate your end point. People have used the tabs in that fashion, you just have to know when to STOP using them. They are also acidic so they will mess with the PH. All forms of stabilizer is acidic for that matter.

 

[Isaac-1]

The one exception to the previous waiting to test advise is if this is a fresh fill and has never had stabilized chlorine or stabilizer added. In this case you will know with certainty that there is 0 CYA in which case I would say go ahead and add powdered stabilizer in the amount shown by pool math using the sock method mentioned above, but also add that bleach to get some FC in the water and keep it from turning green, if you are in Tampa I suspect you pool water is probably in the 60's if not warmer this time of year, which is warm enough to turn green.

Ike

 

[pwrstrk]

If it were mine I would just add some bleach each day to boost it up to about 3 ppm (pool math says 59 oz of 8.25% bleach for 13,000 gallons) and wait on the TF-100 to get there so you can do your own tests to confirm.

You are correct if it is a fresh fill there would be no CYA. Then you can add stabilizer accordingly.


I was just suggesting to wait on the kit to arrive to confirm.


Sorry firemedic if I mislead. Is this a fresh fill and if not what was the water condition before and how did you get it crystal clear ?

 

[Firemedic]

No this is not a fresh fill. The water was somewhat clear with lots of sediment on the bottom and some filamentous algae starting to grow on the bottom. I vacuumed off the bottom of the pool into the yard with a spare pump. I pumped out maybe 400 gallons. I put in 2.5 gallons of bleach and installed new max-flo pump and Hayward cartridge filter. I put the bump at 800 rpm and let it run all night. In the morning it was clear.

 

[pwrstrk]

Ok. That's why I was just suggesting to wait to confirm the CYA level. It could be zero. I don't know the whole history of the pool. By that I mean how was it chlorinated prior.

It's kinda like flying blind without some good valid test results. You had some visible algae and it might need to be SLAMMED so we would need to know some levels to go forward. If it does need to be SLAMMED you will need the kit for that.

 

[anonapersona]

The theory here is that once you test the water, you can add exactly what you need, no more, no less, no guessing.

It is quite amazing how fast you can get too much CYA in a pool using tabs.

 

[Firemedic]

OK. I received my TF100 test kit today. I was able to test my CH an pH so far. I am getting ready to go to my job for the next 48 hrs. My chlorine measured 0.5 and my pH was off the charts at 8.2. I did pool math and it suggested to add 37oz of bleach. It also said dichlor and trichlor will reduce my pH, increase my chlorine and increase my CYA ( CYA was 0 when tested a few days ago at pool store). Am I missing something? It seems logical for me to use trichlor for a month or two until my CYA get up in the 30's and my pH in 7.6 range, instead of adding stabilizer and muriatic acid and bleach. Any thoughts or suggestions...again I am new to owning a pool, I am only asking questions to learn not re-invent the wheel. thanks for the support

 

[Smykowski]

Two biggest reasons to not use tabs/dichlor is that 1. You want to adjust parameters one at a time until you really understand the chemistry, and 2. It will happen much more slowly than you want it to.

First things first, your pH may actually be higher than 8.2, so you want to get that down pronto. Second, get some FC in the pool as well.