New Gunite pool test results

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36racin

36racin

0
Jul 31, 2009
222
Gonzales, La
New gunite pool installed recently. Pool equipment started up this past Thursday. Let it circulate for about 5 hours and sampled for PH and as expected it was higher than 8.5. Added acid 4 gallons per a pool guy helping me with pool build and PH bottomed out. So I added baking soda to raise the PH back up and it ended around 6.8. Friday morning I added 4 pounds of shock to the pool and two 3" tablets into the pool skimmer. Returned home after work to a pool that had a green tint. Thought this was probably normal but here it is Saturday night and the pool still has that green tint. So I ran the following test using the TF-100 test kit. Now this is my first set of samples so they may not be perfect.

CL 2-4 with the 5 drop test
PH 7.2 with the 5 drop test
FC 1.5
CC .5
CH 100
TA 40
CYA solution never changed any color so I could see the black dot until clear CYA test tube was full.

I have approximately a 17K gunite pool with diamond brite plaster. Please help.

Thanks,
Todd

FYI the pool was filled with well water. Below are results from test done on it prior to the pool being built. Also since the pool was filled it has rained approximately 10+ inches of rain here so there was plenty of fresh water added to the pool.

Conductivity 271
PH 7.8
Fe 0.09ppm
Ca 30
Hardness 50ppm
Alk 120ppm
 
It is normal for the PH to need adjusting daily with fresh plaster. Try to keep the PH between 7.0 and 7.8 at all times.

Baking soda raises TA a great deal, and PH only slightly. It is not appropriate to use baking soda to raise PH, as it will raise your TA way too high.

Keep one trichlor tablet in the skimmer for each 10,000 gallons of water during the first several weeks, and do not "shock" the pool if at all possible. Fresh plaster can be damaged by large chlorine additions. Your FC and CYA levels will be low to start with, but will come up over time.

If the water is a clear transparent green and there is no problem maintaining an FC level, then there are probably metals in the water. You should add a startup dose of sequestrant. You don't want to get metal stains during the first week with fresh plaster, as they can become permanently embedded in the plaster as it cures.
 
Hi 36,
If followed your pool build thread nice job.
You dont use shock to maintain FC.
FC is maintained per the TFPC method with liquid sodium hypochlorite. A.K.A. Bleach

I appears you put some CYA in the pool? Since you tested for it? If so, how much did you put in?
It depends on how much CYA you put in to determine how much bleach you need to get to a level of 3.
With a FC of 1.5 with a CYA of 0, you need to add 38 ozs of 8.25% bleach in your 17K gallon pool to reach a FC of 3.

Recommend highly, to study pool school to learn about maintaining your water. Its a lot to grasp to start, but no one expects you to. Just post here with any questions you have.

You can use Pool Math to determine how much bleach to add to get to your target FC. (or anything else for that matter).
http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html

EDIT: Todd, it would be very helpful also, if in your signature you include all of your pool details. It makes for a much quicker response to many questions you might have. Also in that signature info, please include which type of Test Kit you are using.
By the way, which test kit are you using to obtain the test results you posted? Many thanks...again, nice job! End Edit:
 
Divin Dave said:
Hi 36,
If followed your pool build thread nice job.
You dont use shock to maintain FC.
FC is maintained per the TFPC method with liquid sodium hypochlorite. A.K.A. Bleach

I appears you put some CYA in the pool? Since you tested for it? If so, how much did you put in?
It depends on how much CYA you put in to determine how much bleach you need to get to a level of 3.
With a FC of 1.5 with a CYA of 0, you need to add 38 ozs of 8.25% bleach in your 17K gallon pool to reach a FC of 3.

Recommend highly, to study pool school to learn about maintaining your water. Its a lot to grasp to start, but no one expects you to. Just post here with any questions you have.

You can use Pool Math to determine how much bleach to add to get to your target FC. (or anything else for that matter).
http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html

EDIT: Todd, it would be very helpful also, if in your signature you include all of your pool details. It makes for a much quicker response to many questions you might have. Also in that signature info, please include which type of Test Kit you are using.
By the way, which test kit are you using to obtain the test results you posted? Many thanks...again, nice job! End Edit:
Click to expand...

Dave,

Thanks for the complement on the pool.

As you can see I am new(somewhat) to the pool chemistry stuff. Had a small above ground pool about 10 years ago and I did what the pool store told me to do. And it cost me. I've looked thru the Pool School but it's awful confusing to me right now. I'll get a grip on it pretty quick. I did not add any CYA to this pool. I tested everything on the tf-100 card. To date I've only added 4 gal, 4-5 pounds of shock and the two 3" tablets in the skimmer.

As for the liquid bleach I have purchased some 8.25% and adding your recommended amount to get the FC to 3 or more.

I'll get the signature info added. Sorry I haven't already.

Thanks for the assistance,
Todd
 
Ok so I added the metal free yesterday and the pool still has the transparent green tint. Now what??

PH 7.5
FC .5
TA 40
CH 100

Another question. On the pool math page if I add my result into the sheet am I suppose to add all the chemicals it says to add for each test result?

Can someone guide me to the recommended levels of where all my test should be at for my pool?
 
Added bleach and two 3" tablets to the skimmer to raise the chlorine levels. I'm confused though. The K-1000 kit chlorine test for CL-Br. Is this FC or CC? Because I just ran that one and there was little to no color change. Then I did the FC test using the chlorine only beaker and had no color change. So I added the bleach and tablets.

Todd
 
Can someone guide me to the recommended levels of where all my test should be at for my pool?
Click to expand...
more than one article in Pool School will tell you. read "The ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry".

Frankly, I cannot follow your progress. Slow down (at least for me) and work on one issue until that get's solved and then go to the next. The clear green tint indicates iron precipitate in your pool. If the first dose of sequestrant didn't clear it up, add another.

Once that clear green goes away, you can proceed on your other issues.

Not sure why you are using pucks for chlorine....adds more confusion.
I'm confused though. The K-1000 kit chlorine test for CL-Br. Is this FC or CC? Because I just ran that one and there was little to no color change. Then I did the FC test using the chlorine only beaker and had no color change. So I added the bleach and tablets
Click to expand...
I am confused as well. The K-1000 chlorine test does not produce a color change.....it produces an intensity of yellow. If the sample did not turn yellow, you have no chlorine.

I realize I am sounding a bit snarky but my purpose is to get the thread focused on solving your issues....they just can't get solved simultaneously.
 
duraleigh said:
more than one article in Pool School will tell you. read "The ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry".

Frankly, I cannot follow your progress. Slow down (at least for me) and work on one issue until that get's solved and then go to the next. The clear green tint indicates iron precipitate in your pool. If the first dose of sequestrant didn't clear it up, add another.

Once that clear green goes away, you can proceed on your other issues.

Not sure why you are using pucks for chlorine....adds more confusion.I am confused as well. The K-1000 chlorine test does not produce a color change.....it produces an intensity of yellow. If the sample did not turn yellow, you have no chlorine.

I realize I am sounding a bit snarky but my purpose is to get the thread focused on solving your issues....they just can't get solved simultaneously.
Click to expand...

I used the K-1000 kit where you put the water in the cell and add 5 drops of the red solution. There was little or no change with the addition of the drops. So I took it as it didn't have any chlorine in the pool. So I added the bleach to the pool. I also had some 3" tablets so I added two to the skimmer. If this is wrong I can remove the tablets? FC is now at 7, CC 0. Water did clear some but still has the slight green tint. How do I run a metals test?
 
JasonLion said:
It is normal for the PH to need adjusting daily with fresh plaster. Try to keep the PH between 7.0 and 7.8 at all times.

Baking soda raises TA a great deal, and PH only slightly. It is not appropriate to use baking soda to raise PH, as it will raise your TA way too high.

Keep one trichlor tablet in the skimmer for each 10,000 gallons of water during the first several weeks, and do not "shock" the pool if at all possible. Fresh plaster can be damaged by large chlorine additions. Your FC and CYA levels will be low to start with, but will come up over time.

If the water is a clear transparent green and there is no problem maintaining an FC level, then there are probably metals in the water. You should add a startup dose of sequestrant. You don't want to get metal stains during the first week with fresh plaster, as they can become permanently embedded in the plaster as it cures.
Click to expand...
^^^^^As Jason said ^^

It is easier to use the trichlor pucks to slowly add FC (& CYA). They are acidic and also help slow the pH rise.

Try another dose of sequestrant. When metals make the water green (or when they are in the form of stains), they will not be detected on a metals test.
 

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duraleigh said:
Cool. The improvement (getting rid of the green) should be pretty quick...tell us if the water changes tomorrow.
Click to expand...

No real improvement in color of the water overnight. It actually got murky yesterday evening. But I did add stabilizer, alkalinity plus and calcium increaser per the local pool stores recommendations. Here are their results from my water

FC 4
CC 0
PH 7.8
TA 80
CH 130

Here are my results from this mornings test
FC 4
CC 0
PH 7.2
TA 100
CH 200
CYA 55

Attached is a picture of the filters from yesterday. Notice the orange looking stuff on them. Is this Iron? Kinda looked like rust when washed off. And not mud from the pool build. Also a few pictures of the water. And one from a few days ago during a 12+ inch rainstorm we had.




 
Another quick question: When should I start using my Polaris360 cleaner? I was told three weeks to allow for the plaster to cure correctly? If not until then should I purchase a vacuum hose setup and vacuum using the skimmer? And when should I start my SWG and introduce salt to the pool? I got the new SWG in(original one had crack in housing).
 
Results from this mornings test

FC 6
CC 0
PH 7.5

Pool still has green tint. Can see the bottom though. Actually swam in the pool yesterday. Did not notice any debris other than a few leaves floating around. Pool bottom is not slick. No buildup. I did find that my suctions were marked wrong at the equipment pad and I was pulling more water off the skimmer than the bottom of the pool. What is the norm for this? What's my next step.

Todd
 
Took another sample to the local pool store. Results as follows

FC 5 almost 6
CC 0
PH 7.6
TA 110
CH 190 Store recommended to add
CYA 40

So the readings they have and the ones I had from this morning are close. Iron content was still high so they recommended another dose of Metal out. Is there anything else to do?? Do I continue doses of metal out until the green goes away?

Todd
 
K-1000 OTO Total Chlorine (TC) / pH Test

(TC = FC + CC)

This is the simple TC/pH "daily" test. The OTO chlorine test cannot be diluted to get a wider range; if TC shows > 5, use the FAS/DPD test to get a true reading.

1) Rinse and fill test-block cells to indicated marks (doesn't have to be perfect).
2) 5 drops R-0600 (yellow top) on the Chlorine side (left), 5 drops R-0014 (red top) on the pH side (right).
3) Cap and invert to mix.
4) Put a white sheet 2-3" behind the color blocks to make reading easier. Natural indirect light works best (e.g. outside in the shade). Match solution colors to the color blocks. Record as TC and pH.
 
Thanks Jesse,
I believe someone didn't know K-1000 was the basic PH/Chlorine tester in the TF-100 kit. I'm good with those test for now. Currently trying to get the water where it doesn't have the green look and get it blue looking like it should.

Todd
 
Ok, just wanted to make sure. Like someone else mentioned it sounded like the red pH solution was being dropped into TC side (left) which would obviously not compare properly! As long as clear solution goes in the left and red solution in the right, you're good.
 

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