Testing questions

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booksfan

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May 6, 2014
19
Raleigh, NC
Hi, we just had a fiberglass pool installed. I found this board and started reading it because our water was fluctuating wildly according to test strips and pool stores (this was in March and April--I learn!) I now have a Taylor K2005 test kit, a FAS/DPD test kit, and LaMotte borate test strips (testing is SO cool!).

temp 78
FC 7
CC 0
pH 7.6
TA 110
CH 250
CYA ~33
Salt 3400
Borates 9

CSI & LSI both balanced.

I want to add borax but my husband wants me to wait since things seem to be pretty good right now.

Some questions:

1. Our FC has been running pretty steady at about 3, but we’ve upped it a bit because we’re have a celebration of the pool on Sunday. About 20 people, 4 of them children. Two of the kids are still in diapers. Reading on the boards it seems that with a heavy bather load you should increase the FC. Is 7 OK?

2. Our CYA is low for the recs on SWG pools, but we have a bunch of TriChlor for use in the winter when the SWG won’t run (we don’t close for the winter). I’m afraid to add more stabilizer and end up to high. Will a level of 33 be a problem?

3. We seem to have trouble holding our pH. I’m hoping when we add the borax that will help, but I just don’t know if maybe it’s that we don’t have our TA right. Suggestions?

Thanks, Eileen
 
Re: Another newbie...

1) 7 is fine.
2) CYA at 33 will use up your cell lifetime a lot more quickly than higher CYA levels will. Low CYA also means your FC level is more volatile, and could more easily dip low unexpectedly.
3) TA is too high. Lower TA (and raise CH a little).

By the by, you don't want your CSI "balanced", you want it a little negative, if you pay attention to CSI at all, which you probably shouldn't.
 
Re: Another newbie...

Gotta side with the husband. Don't go fooling with the chemistry just before the big party. That would be like trying a new hair style two days before your wedding!

All you need right now is to lower the pH to 7.2 and then boost the FC up to 7. The splashers will raise the pH up again in no time.
 
Re: Another newbie...

OK, hubby is so happy he's right! We'll wait on the borax.

Our pH today is up to almost 8, everything else stable. We need to add a fair amount of MA to lower to 7.2 (61 oz), and we need to add a little water to the pool as well. How will that affect our numbers? Should we add the water first, test then correct? Or correct for what we know now, add water, test again and correct again? I know we'll get the hang of this, hopefully soon ;)
 
Re: Another newbie...

Hi, had a great party Sunday, tested the water Monday and adjusted for pH which was a bit high again then went out of town. Got back tonight and checked things.

Temp 79
FC 4
CC .5 (first time it's above 0 since we started doing our own testing)
pH 7.8
TA 85
CH 250
CYA 33
Borates 9

I know we need to raise CYA and we plan to add borax. But what about the CC? And what should we do first? And how does it affect swimming? Since we were gone all week, we can't wait to get in the pool again :D
 
Another newbie...

Don't add any borax that will raise your PH which is already at the top of the range. Use muriatic acid to lower it some. Use Pool Math for your doseing. Don't forget to put your TA level in pool math to figure out how much acid to use to target your PH level.
Your CC of 0.5 is fine. It'll probably burn off.
Lower PH first then your raise your CYA . ?
 
Re: Another newbie...

How often do you run the waterfall and deck jets? If you run them frequently along with having a SWG they will both tend to raise your pH. Try lowering the TA to 70 and see how the pH reacts over the next week.
 
Re: Another newbie...

We don't actually run the deck jets and waterfall that often, maybe a few hours a week. We ran them during the party on Sunday, but were gone all this week so the only thing running was our pump which is on a timer. Our TA is going down slowly since we're adding muriatic acid so often to lower pH. It was up at 120 a couple of weeks ago and is down to 85 before we added MA this morning to lower our pH.
 

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Re: Another newbie...

I have a couple of questions. First, numbers:

Temp 82
FC 3 (down from 3.5 this am)
CC 0
pH 7.6 (up from 7.2 this am, added 35 oz borax to raise)
TA 80
CYA 60 (up from 33 this am, we added stablilizer today)

Now the questions. Our FC seems to be fairly consistent at 3 to 3.5, evening to morning. I know from looking at the chlorine/CYA chart that 3 is the minimum FC with our CYA level, but target is 4. If we dial our SWG up one click, our FC level goes up to about 7, which is too high. We have the SWG on a timer with the settings from the winter, which were set to prevent freezing for the few times temps dropped that low--midnight to 7am and noon to 5pm, which adjust for DST 1am-8am & 1pm-6pm. Would running the SWG fewer hours/day dialed up one click increase our FC but now as high as 7? Is it better to run it during the day when the sun is shining, eating up FC or at night?

Sorry for all the questions, but the although the pool was started in October, we only added chemicals in May (it was pristine and beautiful all winter!) so we're still trying to figure all this out! ;)
 
Re: Another newbie...

I have a couple of questions. First, numbers:

Temp 82
FC 3 (down from 3.5 this am)
CC 0
pH 7.6 (up from 7.2 this am, added 35 oz borax to raise)
TA 80
CYA 60 (up from 33 this am, we added stablilizer today)

Now the questions. Our FC seems to be fairly consistent at 3 to 3.5, evening to morning. I know from looking at the chlorine/CYA chart that 3 is the minimum FC with our CYA level, but target is 4. If we dial our SWG up one click, our FC level goes up to about 7, which is too high. We have the SWG on a timer with the settings from the winter, which were set to prevent freezing for the few times temps dropped that low--midnight to 7am and noon to 5pm, which adjust for DST 1am-8am & 1pm-6pm. Would running the SWG fewer hours/day dialed up one click increase our FC but now as high as 7? Is it better to run it during the day when the sun is shining, eating up FC or at night?

Sorry for all the questions, but the although the pool was started in October, we only added chemicals in May (it was pristine and beautiful all winter!) so we're still trying to figure all this out!
 
Re: Another newbie...

Setting the filter time and the SWG percentage is all done by trial and error.

2 hours pump at 30% SWG generates the same chlorine as 1 hour pump at 60% SWG.

So start by adjusting your pump run time like this article explains: http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/152-determine-pump-run-time

Then, by testing daily, you turn the SWG up or down so that just before the pump kicks on in the afternoon, FC hasn't dipped below the minimum. Running higher than minimum won't hurt anything. The higher the FC, the more you lose to sunlight. If you can get some equilibrium at 5 or 6 or 7, you're still well below SLAM levels so it's just fine for swimming. It doesn't cost you but a few cents electricity; you're not buying bleach.
 
Re: Another newbie...

OK, so I had a mini freak-out moment!

After reading through lots of posts, I decided to measure my FC after the pump/SWG had been off (it runs during the night) and just before it came back on again for the afternoon, figuring that the FC would be at its lowest point since the sun had been shining on the pool all morning. My FC read 2.5, hence my mini freak-out since our minimum should be 3! My husband immediately turned on the pump and cranked up the SWG and I doubled checked the FC. This time it read 3.0. I used the FAS/DPD test.

I assume we should just dial up our SWG 1 click? And double check tomorrow?

Also, our pH seems to have finally settle at 7.8 which I know falls in the OK range but not in the preferred range of 7.4-7.6. When we add MA, it drops but rises right back up again. I'm guessing maybe our TA is still too high? Does this sound right? :confused:

Temp 84
FC 3.0 second time, 2.5 first time
CC 0
pH 7.8
TA 80
CYA 60

Also, when is the best time to test, morning or evening?
 
When is the best time of day to test? Today I did it at 12:55 pm, just before our pump & SWG came on because I want to check our FC level when I thought it would be at its lowest and after the sun had been shining on the pool all morning.

FC 5.0
CC 0
pH 7.6
TA ~ 75 (I have trouble telling if it actually changes between 70 & 80)
temp 90

earlier testing results (I don't test these daily, I shouldn't should I?)
CYA 60
CH 240

We had some trouble early on with our pH fluctuating wildly, it seems to be more stable now. Rises slowly over the course of a week or so. When it get to 7.8, we add MA to lower it to 7.4. I assume at some point this will lower our TA enough that we will need to add baking soda to raise it slightly, correct?

Thanks!
 
A lot of people like to test in the evening, but I think you are fine if you test at any time. You will soon see a pattern and with the test results and you will become comfortable with how the pool is reacting.

I test TA, CH, and CYA monthly, pH weekly, and FC and CC daily as our pool is used for lessons. When it is not used for lessons I back the FC testing to twice a week as the SWG is stable for the most part.

Just keep a watch on the pH and TA and time will tell if you need to add baking soda. I have never needed it so far and I don't think I ever will. Most likely the pH and TA will find a sweet spot and be fairly stable.
 
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