Weekly Maintenance & Pump Running Time

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If and that's a big if the cya is 13. Most good test only go down to 20 + or- . Goto the full web page and click on pool math. At the bottom of the colored boxes, change the settings to match your pool. With the frog it will be traditional pool, chlorine source trichlor, surface vinyl. Then at the top fill out size. The now is your current test and target is where you want to go. Put in 13 for cya now and 30 for target. That will show how much to add. Cya is one chemical that is only in pools. They tried to sell you instant conditioner that's liquid. It's more than the granular but the same. The cheapest place would be Wal-Mart. It will have a purple lid and it's in the pool supplies. Find out how much you need and put it in an old sock or knee high and hang it in front of the return jet. It will take a few days to dissolve. Give it a squeeze every once and awhile. It will not eat your skin off if you get it on you. The only way to get rid of cya is by water replacement and your frog will add to that. For every pound of trichlor you use it will add 7.5 ppm of chlorine and raise the cya 4.5 ppm.
 
Can I get the powdered chemical quicker in the pool by mixing it in a bucket and slowly pouring it in the skimmer and running the filter? I will head to Wal Mart in the a.m. I already have a sock on one of the skimmers so I can pour some powder in there and let it run over the next few days or so.
 
No your not going to get it to dissolve in a bucket. It can cause problems if you put it in the skimmer loose. The hth brand dissolves faster than some manufacturers. Best bet is a cotton sock hung in front of the return jet. Might tie a string to it and then to a weight. Should only take a few days. Few good squeezes when you walk by it will make it go quicker. What's the sock in the skimmer for? Are you talking about a skimmer sock pre filter.
 
jcowart said:
No your not going to get it to dissolve in a bucket. It can cause problems if you put it in the skimmer loose. The hth brand dissolves faster than some manufacturers. Best bet is a cotton sock hung in front of the return jet. Might tie a string to it and then to a weight. Should only take a few days. Few good squeezes when you walk by it will make it go quicker. What's the sock in the skimmer for? Are you talking about a skimmer sock pre filter.
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Filter is in the basket to catch all the leaves, bugs, etc. while I am vacuuming the pool. Maybe I can tie it to the diving board and hang it down to the deep end with a sturdy string and allow it to stay in the water under the board. No one will be near the board. & assuming run the filter as normal 8-10 hours a day. Thank you.
 
Yep run the filter like always. It is one chemical that does not need to be mixed into the pool right then and there. It would be better if it had water movement on it. Most rig it where it's in the return jet stream. It might take a milk jug filled with water sitting on the deck as an anchor.
 
We tried Wal Mart today with no success. They only had 4 chemicals (PH + , PH -, Chlorine Tabllets, and one other item (do not remember). Where else can I purchase something for CYA in a power form. I had some old powder EZ- Chlor Alkalinity Up and the levels have changed but wish to purchase something in a powder form. Thank you.
 
CYA is sold as stabiliser / conditioner, and the ingredients would list cyanuric acid / isocyanuric acid.
Catanzaro said:
I had some old powder EZ- Chlor Alkalinity Up and the levels have changed but wish to purchase something in a powder form. Thank you.
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I'm not sure I understood you correctly. What do you mean when you said "the levels have changed"? Do you mean that your TA levels changed? If so, what is your current TA level?
 
Can someone please help me with this:

My Free Chlorine was @ 2.7 ppm and it has dropped to 1.1 ppm and the Total Chlorine was @ 2.7 ppm and dropped to 1.1 ppm and Combine Chlorine is @ 0.0 ppm. I am awaiting my test kit , so for now I have to go to the pool company and am within the Pool Company recommended range. It this sufficient or has it dropped too much?
PH is still @ 7.6 which is fine. Hardness has increase from 138 ppm to 216 ppm and Alkalinity from 76 ppm to 115 ppm. CYA went from 13 ppm to 36 ppm. Copper went from 0.09 ppm down to 0.03 ppm and Iron went from 0 ppm to 0.01 ppm. My numbers went down on the Frog and not up.
Phosphates went up (but we do not care). I even had both Pool employees admit quietly that phosphates mean nothing after reading my articles. BTW, my water is crystal clear.
I guess what I am really asking is what figures should I be looking for to make sure I do not wake up with a “swampy pool”? My friend has a pool and 2 months later it is still not cleared up. He also not following any of the forums rules and listening both to his wife and the pool company.
Thank you
 

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My TF-100 Test Kit should be here by Friday. Just in time as my frog back pac is almost exhausted and I plan on not putting in any more. My mineralizer system is still there. Should I remove the mineral pac it or allow it run out?

I also plan on bringing my FC levels up as I keep reading in Pool School that they should be higher then what was recommended in the past? This is only my first season with the Frog so I do not think that any damage has been done to my system. I am curious to know what my levels are at compared to the Pool Company. I will have a sample tested just for comparison but that will be the last time. My next trip to the store is to purchase bleach, muriatic acid, CYA, and borax plus any additional chemicals that I need. With regards to the CYA level, what would be the best level for my pool? It is amazing how low the recommended levels are with the FROG Mineralizer System. It sure sounds like a few years down the road I would have major problems with my pool because of the system? Looks like working around the FROG makes a lot of sense. I will report back in a week or so the testing levels, etc.
 
Replies in red.
Catanzaro said:
My TF-100 Test Kit should be here by Friday. Just in time as my frog back pac is almost exhausted and I plan on not putting in any more. My mineralizer system is still there. Should I remove the mineral pac it or allow it run out?
Remove it. Lesser metals to deal with down the road.

I also plan on bringing my FC levels up as I keep reading in Pool School that they should be higher then what was recommended in the past? This is only my first season with the Frog so I do not think that any damage has been done to my system. I am curious to know what my levels are at compared to the Pool Company. I will have a sample tested just for comparison but that will be the last time. My next trip to the store is to purchase bleach, muriatic acid, CYA, and borax plus any additional chemicals that I need. You may not need borax. With regards to the CYA level, what would be the best level for my pool? It is amazing how low the recommended levels are with the FROG Mineralizer System. It sure sounds like a few years down the road I would have major problems with my pool because of the system? Looks like working around the FROG makes a lot of sense. I will report back in a week or so the testing levels, etc.
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I suggest taking out the mineral pack because the copper it adds can cause blonde hair to turn green.

I'm not sure how the frog system and pack are held together, but my old nature 2 fusion system (similar to the frog) wouldn't work without the mineral pack. I altered my pack and took out the minerals. If you don't remove the minerals, it will rust and you will get rust in your pool.

I wouldn't purchase anything other than plain bleach until after you do your own tests with the TF-100. Pool stores are highly inaccurate when they test CYA, so you might not need stabilizer. You might not need borax or muriatic acid right away if your PH is in range, too.

Borax raises PH, but you can raise your PH without chemicals by aerating the water.

Here is a thread with some photos of me removing the metal balls from my nature 2 fusion mineral pack:
http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/81764-How-to-Remove-Metal-Balls-from-Nature-2-Fusion
 
The bac pac sits in the mineralizer. I can take pictures. Assuming that if I run the system empty water will just travel through it. My test kit came in today TF-100. What should I be testing for and in what order? I want to have an accurate reading so I can go in and start adding my own chemicals. In NJ it has been an incredibly cool summer and without a CO there has not been much activity in the pool and the water looks good.

My pool was opened in March for the concrete. The mineralizer may not even have anything left in it. Supposed to last a season. I will try shaking it to determine if there is anything left in there.
 
The minerals don't disappear from the mineral cartridge, they are still there... not sure of the frog setup on whether it will run without the mineral cartridge.

I couldn't run my Nature 2 without the mineral cartridge, so I had to break apart the mineral cartridge and remove the mineral balls. My minerals were all rusty and the bag that held the mineral balls was rusty, too.
 
Can someone please help me try to grasp the Chlorine/CYA chart. Assuming my CYA level is at 40, I see on the chart that my minimum FC is @ 3 and Target FC is at 5. I also understand that how to calculate the amount of bleach that is necessary to bring my level from 1 (because I have the FROG & not for long) I have to add 122 oz. of 6% bleach to bring my FC level to a 5. After taking a test with the TF 100, and if accurate and at 1 should I add the bleach to bring up the levels?

Now the Shock FC level is 16 (What does that mean)? I am a bit confused. Is this the level that the FC would need to be at if I have an algae problem, etc. I would then need 457 oz. of 6% bleach. I do understand to pour the bleach in front of a skimmer.
 
The shock level (of 16 in this case) are when you have algae or other organics that need to be killed. Shock levels are part of the SLAM process. You need to Shock Level And Maintain when your have any of the following:
a. Water is not crystal clear
b. Your CCs are 0.5 or higher
c. Your FC got down to zero
d. you performed the Overnight chlorine loss test (OCLT) and you failed.

Here is an article on SLAMing should you need it in the future (if you test and add chlorine daily, you shouldn't have the need to SLAM):
http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/125-slam-shock-level-and-maintain-shocking

You should never allow you FC to get below the minimum for your CYA level.

The target level is what to shoot for when you are not SLAMing. I personally shoot for 2 to 3 points above my target because I get an enormous amount of tree debris and I have a great dane sized lab/otter mix and he likes to drop his dirt crusted toys in the pool.
 
I take it your using poolmath. If so make sure you change the % in the bleach. 6% is not common anymore. Most household bleach is now 8.25%. Shock level is just that. The level to maintain during a slam. The lower number is the minimum FC you should keep based on your CYA. The average loss per day is around 2ppm. That's where the target comes from. Keep a log till you learn your pools needs. If you loose a little more then you would need to target a little higher. Another thing you could do tonight and early tomorrow morning is run an OCLT just to see if you have anything you need to deal with.
 
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