Latest test results now that we have circulation

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QuiltinMom

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Mar 24, 2013
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Central Iowa
So we have had our pump/filter running for just over 24 hours now that we have the water level up.

Here is our history http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/77437-Urgent-help-needed!!!

Last night we dumped in 3 gallons of 8.25% bleach since the equipment was running smoothly. We did it rather blindly, but wanted to start making some headway. We had not tested the water first.

Tonight I went out and got a sample of pool water. Here are the results with the TF-100 test kit.

FC .5 or less
PH 8.2
TA 90
CH 140
CYA -20 (dot never did disappear)

The appearance of the water is really green, but I don't really see any algae in the water. I know there is a lot of sediment on the bottom and we will be throwing in Wanda the Whale pool cleaner tomorrow to see if that will start the process of cleaning up the bottom.

So, I have fiddled around with Pool Math and I am not sure what I should put in for my goals. I told it to use the recommended levels from TFP. But when there is a recommended range, how do I know what my individual target should be. I know my location and the sunlight on the pool will have an effect. Also, I don't know if I need to slam or not.

When I put in the above info Pool Math is telling me to add 413 oz of 8.25% bleach, 44 oz of muriatic acid, 68 oz of baking soda, 469oz of calcium chloride and 269oz of stabilizer. Does this sound correct? Do we need to target and work on one thing at a time? I think the PH will drop on its own it is probably high from all of the water we have hauled in and pumped in to the pool with a 2 inch hose.

So, what do you think?

THANKS!!!
 
First, you need to lower the PH to 7.2 so that the chlorine you do add is more effective. It can always be adjusted later. You don't need to worry about the TA or the CH right now. Your Target for chlorine is 12, your target for stabilizer is 30, until you complete the SLAM. If you are going to use bleach, after the SLAM is complete, you will raise the CYA to 50, but that's not necessary yet, a CYA of 30 will require a lower shock level of 12.

Hope this helps.
 
Woohoo! Things are moving now.

TA looks okay to me, and your vinyl pool doesn't need Calcium since there's no worry about leaching it out of the plaster. So there's two chemicals you don't need to buy.

You do need stabilizer, you definitely need to lower pH, and you know you need chlorine.

pH first. I come up with the same dose you did. Add that and let it mix half an hour with the pump on. A few swiped with the brush will set up some cross currents and get it mixed well, like stirring the coffee to mix the cream. Rechecked it after half an hour. You may need to add more acid, since 8.2 is the top of the tester and anything above that will read as 8.2.

While that is all mixing, weigh out 6 or 6.5 lbs of CYA granules, put them in a sock, and set them in the skimmer, hang 'em off the edge in front of a return, tie it to a float toy and let it bob around, whatever. You don't need to wait to finish with the pH adjustment, since it dissolves so slow.

Once pH is somewhere between 7.2 and 7.5, you're good to go. Target 12 and hit it with the bleach. You've got a big pool, so finding a source of 10 or 12.5% chlorine will save you a lot of lugging. Check out farm supply stores. They sell 12.5% for disinfecting dairy barns.

Just keep that level up to 12 and take pictures so you can actually see the improvement. And us, too.
 
THANKS for the responses!!!!!

So, when we got the pool they gave us a bunch of granular chemicals. Mostly it is PH minus that is the HTH brand like WalMart sells. Each of thw containers says it is 7 lbs so i dont even need a full one? This has been laying around outside and I don't know how old it is. We purchased this pool used in March of 2013 so it is at least that old. Would this this be good or does it have a shelf life?

Also is the CYA/stabilizer something that I need to get at the local pool store? I looked at WalMart and Target and couldn't find it. I didn't really know what I was looking for though. Local pool store is open today for a couple of hours so I could run in there if I need to. I think they have the 12.5% bleach for around $4.00/gallon so I will stock up on that. Or we do have a local farm supply store and I can check their bleach price too.

So, plan of attack is to get the ph down first then raise the CYA then get the chlorine up?
 
Yes. But you don't need to wait half an hour to put the sock full of CYA granules in. Add some acid, then add the CYA whenever you're ready. Then recheck pH in case it was higher than you thought. And then bleach. THe CYA is the opnly exception to waiting half an hour between adding chemicals, because it can take a couple days.
 
So I aded the HTH PH Minus in and waited a couple hours, tested the PH again and it was still reading 8.2. We did have the pool cleaner in at the same time. That seemed to effect how much water was getting to the pump. It had good flow but it wasnt the usual full flow. Need to look in to that some more.

Anyway since it was still reading 8.2 I went ahead and put in more PH minus and let it mix in overnight. Just tested it and it was down to 6.8. I just turned our homemade fountain on to bring it back up a bit.

Last night I did find some CYA/stabilizer. We put some in a sock late last night and just tested it this morning. CYA is still not on the chart. The dot never disappeared but it did seem to be getting hazy. Now as I am typing this I just remembered I am not supposed to retest that for a week. We only put in about 2 lbs last night and I just put in a bit more (it wouldn't all fit in the sock).

Pool no longer has a green haze or a pond smell. It is kind of an odd aqua green color.

Progress in both the PH and the CYA. I think I might be able to get this figured out after all (of course with you all behind me.)

THANKS for the help. I like step by step instructions.
 
Richard320 said:
Just remember when adjusting pH, that poolmath needs the TA to calculate the dose. It's not a direct ratio this much pH drop means this much acid.
Click to expand...

So is 6.8 considered within range? Don't I need to wait a week to be able to test the CYA again accurately? I thought I would have to get a good CYA reading before I could start bleach. If not, I am stopping by the local pool store this afternoon and picking up the 12.5% bleach!!!!!

Do we have to wait until this weekend? Of course the water has turned cold the last couple of days since the outside temps are down. Pool water was only 70' yesterday.
 

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QuiltinMom said:

So is 6.8 considered within range? Don't I need to wait a week to be able to test the CYA again accurately? I thought I would have to get a good CYA reading before I could start bleach. If not, I am stopping by the local pool store this afternoon and picking up the 12.5% bleach!!!!!

Do we have to wait until this weekend? Of course the water has turned cold the last couple of days since the outside temps are down. Pool water was only 70' yesterday.
Click to expand...
Nope. Assume the CYA is at whatever value you targeted. Just because it isn't all showing doesn't mean it's not in there. Use the calculated CYA value to establish SLAM level FC. The pH is a bit low, looks like you overshot a bit so maybe the pool isn't as big as you thought or you didn't allow for the TA movement after the first dose. It's okay; pH tends to rise, not fall, so by the time you're done, hopefully it will be in range.

If the pool is aqua green color, you want to get some bleach in and get it blue. Wait too long and it will go olive green again. We want you swimming!
 
Just stopped at the local pool store and got the funniest reaction from the teenage summer help when I asked for bleach. He literally stood in front of a wall of chemicals and scratched his head. I said "liquid chlorine" and then he knew what I was looking for. $4.99 for a 12.5% gallon didn't seem like too bad of a price, I didn't think. Plus I like the idea of supporting a local business.

So, I changed the chlorine concentration in Pool Math and it is saying just a little over 2 gallons (2 gallons and 2 quarts), so I am going to shoot low and start with the two gallons.

How soon should I test after I put it in? The pump will be running.

Again, thanks for much for all of the help. We have had a lot of people around here thinking we were crazy for using pond water to fill, but I had confidence that you all could lead me in the correct direction and get it turned around. Although when we kept putting in so much greenish colored water I have to admit I had some doubts. I thought we would have a long road ahead of us and so far it seems to be easier then getting the water in to the pool!!!
 
QuiltinMom said:
So, I changed the chlorine concentration in Pool Math and it is saying just a little over 2 gallons (2 gallons and 2 quarts), so I am going to shoot low and start with the two gallons.

How soon should I test after I put it in? The pump will be running.
Click to expand...
Just what the SLAM directions say: Test and adjust chlorine levels as frequently as practical, but not more than once per hour, and not less than twice a day. Chlorine additions should be frequent, especially at the beginning. Algae and other organic debris will consume chlorine very rapidly at first. As things progress, you will lose less chlorine each cycle and can add chlorine less frequently.

Personally, the first time I'd check in an hour. If you lost more than half, check again in an hour, otherwise, stretch it to two.

And where's the pictures? :scratch:

By the way, you can swim whenever it's below SLAM level... people swim in the pond the water came out of, right? Personally, I'd wait until the water was clear. Then I wouldn't need a shower afterwards.
 
Photos - uh, are stuck in my phone. I will see if I can get a recent one uploaded to photobucket and get it attached. I am taking photos daily as instructed. :) I am using the ladder as my clarity guide - how many steps can I see.

So, at 6 pm tonight I dumped in two gallons of 12.5% bleach. Poured it slowly in front of the return. Waited until about 8:45 to test the water. First I did the simple little blue box test. PH was 7.2 (back up from before) and there was chlorine registering so I decided to do the more accurate test. My results are.......

PH 7.2 (from simple test)
FC 8ppm
CC 1
TC 9

If I am doing all of this correctly. :) My slam goal is 12, so can I just add chlorine as often as needed or do I need to wait a certain amount of time in between adding. I know to wait at least an hour to test so any additional chlorine would be spaced at least an hour apart, but do I need to wait any additional time? I think the goal is to get it up to slam level as soon as possible and keep it there at least overnight. Am I understanding this correctly?

So according to Pool Math - I need to add another 3 quarts and 2 cups of 12.5% chlorine.
 
6/11/14 Update - so I slacked off a bit on the pool care the last couple of days. I have a good excuse though, I am sick. I am now on the mend, so am ready to get back to it.

Last night when I checked the chlorine it was at 5. So I ran pool math and found out how much chlorine I needed to dump in. I was short by a couple of cups, but I put in what I had. Tonight I checked it again and it was back at 5, same results as last night actually and so we dumped in some more chlorine.

I found this chlorine at our local farm store. It is labeled as pool shock so I opened the box to see what the concentration level was. I think it is 12.5%. If it is then I think the price was REALLY good. It was $10.99 for 4 gallons. Am I missing something?
 

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