First time posting. Getting ready to open.

[shaffe43]

Hey all love the site!

Got my kit tf100 and took my first set of readings.

History - last summer was our first summer with the pool and it was a mess. From cleaning issues to holes in the DE filter grids to spending 2k$ plus on chemicals. We were supposedly in a "chlorine demand" and only these boxes and boxes of "stuff" work fix it yet they couldnt explain how or why...so frustrating and I am not going to put myself in that position again.

So here I am ready to rock!

Pool details -

In ground pool
40000 Gallons
Vinyl liner
36 sq ft de filter
Location pittsburgh pa
Solar cover no heater

It is still covered with the winter cover for now. I just want to see what im going to need when I open in the next week or 2.

On my phone will update sig tomorrow.

Readings -

The water sample looked really clear in the quart container I scooped from about 2ft under in the deep end.

CYA - 0 ?? No clue I could see the black dot the entire time. I redid the test 3x to be sure

TA - 150

CH - 275

CL Free - 0

CC - 0

PH - 8.2 ?? This might have been higher but its the highest reading that the kit had.

Thanks guys looking forward to this summer!!



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[Smykowski]

Wwlcome to the forum!

I would wait until the water is circulating and then run another set of tests. At that point with the water well mixed, you can determine what you need.

For now the most important thing you can do is read read read. Pool School, and the forum threads, over and over. The second thing you can do is start sourcing and pricing muriatic acid, bleach, and stabilizer. You don't want to buy it if you don't need it. However, if you do need it, knowing where to get it and what's a good price is extremely valuable information to have.

 

[pwrstrk]

Welcome to TFP !
Yes let your water circulate for at least 30 mins always before you test, otherwise the test results be invalid.
Hope you enjoy the forums.

 

[BoDarville]

Welcome to the forum and Good Job on choosing the TF-100 . You will be quite pleased with it. As others have suggested, let the water circulate for 30 min before testing.

 

[shaffe43]

Awesome!

Thanks for the help and the replies!

Is having a CYA Value of near 0 Bad? That was the one reading that kind of concerned me?

 

[ship of fools]

Awesome!

Thanks for the help and the replies!

Is having a CYA Value of near 0 Bad? That was the one reading that kind of concerned me?

CYA is somewhat like "insulation" for your chlorine ..... if you have no CYA you will burn through chlorine so you need to raise it to recommended levels.

But the fact that your reading is 0 at the moment is no big deal .... with the water so cold algae won't grow .... just get some in there

 

[shaffe43]

Thanks for the reply.

I also just read this thread:

http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/72371-Newbie-converting-to-bbb-method-need-help

Where CharlieR stated that a cold water temp might cause poor readings. Ill make sure to have the water warm before testing again. (Of course after having the filter running for at least 30mins)

Thanks!!

 

[Safetybob]

Shaffe43, if you haven't yet, get a notebook to record your test results. I not only record test results but also exactly what I put into the pool to correct the results. Might I suggest you do the same.

I had alot of zero CYA results too particularly this year (first year I left the pool up all winter...operational too). After you have let that CYA stuff float around the pool a full week, take another test sample, if it's still zero, I would recommend adding half the amount supposedly required and test say 5-7 days later to make sure it's all mixed in (unless you use the liquid stuff). Love the pool calculator!!

Bob E.

 

[jrguzmanr]

Another thing I would add and it's not about testing, buy some stockings.....yes stockings and I'm not joking.....
wrap the opening of the stockings around the opening of the baskets in the skimmers and place the stockings in the baskets. This will trap a lot of stuff and help avoid a lot of back-washing. I only do this until my water is clear after which I don't use them anymore.

 

[kodiak1120]

Welcome to the forum... I agree with everything that's been stated so far. Your CYA maybe testing low because of water temps, or because your water has circulated all winter. Sometimes people see it go up once they circulate the pump for an hour or so.

By the way, I was in your boat two years ago when we bought a house with a pool. It was only open for about month before we closed it for the winter, but it was a huge PIA in that month and cost a lot of money. Over the winter I found this forum, bought a test kit and had a much better time going forward. Pool ownership is much more fun when you don't have to spend a lot of time or money maintaining it.

Kevin

 

[ssgumby]

Ill add, my CYA was 0 as well. Once pump was running, and I brought water in to room temp, it went to 50. Chemgeek explained it as runoff, snow melt, rain added a layer of water that had no CYA so you cant trust it until circulated.