Balancing my water + getting ready for slam

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C

Corabell78

0
Sep 15, 2014
6
Garden Grove, CA
I have read through this website and been using my new Taylor K-2006 test kit for 2 weeks now. Everything was great for the first week and then I had a little algae problem last weekend and then back again this past Thursday evening. I am now in the process of lowering my CyA levels before slamming my pool...hopefully Monday. I was frequently going to Leslie's to have my pool water tested, but I have not been back because since I have had algae problems all summer, Leslies has not worked. Also, I will never be using dichlor again as I have had continuous CyA jumps that I am going nuts.

Here are my levels for the past few days:
9/30--coming down from shock of liqued chlorine
FC 7
CC 0
pH 7.6
TA 125
CH 300
CyA 100

10/3--algae present, vacuumed to waste 6 inches of water and refilled, added 3oz dichlor because that's all I had and felt I needed to add something
FC 1.8
CC .2
pH 7.8
TA 125
CH 300
CyA 100

Today--10/4--water looks better, but still slighlty green, drained 9 inches of water and it is refilling now---water is looking better but still cloudy
FC 2.8
CC .02
pH 8.0
TA 125
CH 300
CyA 100

Questions:

1-Did I continuously have an algae problem all summer long because my CyA level was high and I let my FC level get too low (because I thought I was doing good keeping it in the "ideal" range)?

2-When draining and refilling the pool, how often can I test the CyA level?...and my test kit did not come with much of that, so i need to buy more.

3- Should I start adjusting the pH and TA before I slam the pool? (background--I have had a problem with the pH and TA being high all summer too)

Thank you in advance and I hope I have given you enough info. I have had my pool up for a 1 1/2 years and it has never been neglected....I feel I just don't know enough and I have been given the wrong info at the pool store. For the first year, my pool stayed crystal clear until July 2014. Thank you!!
 
1. Probably. Test strips are simply inadequate to manage your pool properly as you have discovered.

2. To get you CYA to a manageable 50 ppm CYA level, you must drain 50% of your water at least. There is no reason to test until you do that

3. Yes. Adjust your pH, disregard TA. Put your pH in the low to mid 7"s (no reason to do this until you get your CYA manageable.....that's the first step)
 
Ok, I think I'm ready to slam to make my pool pretty again. I have not added any chemicals since 10/3, only partial drains and refills. Algae on the bottom has been vacuumed up and I have brushed the pool. Filter is backwashed. Pool water is slightly green and cloudy.
Numbers for today (10/6) from 2 different sides of my circular pool:

FC .4 and .4
CC 0 and 0
pH 7.4 and 7.2
TA 175 and 175
CH 300 and 250
CyA 40 and 40

According to pool math, I will add 1 1/3 gallons of 10% liqued chlorine. Is that all you would suggest at this point?
Thank you!
 
You need chlorine now. Slam, keep the level up @ 16 for CYA of 40. test often and add chlorine to keep the level @ or slightly above 16. Lost of water to get down using partial drains.
 
Corabell78 said:
Ok, I think I'm ready to slam to make my pool pretty again. I have not added any chemicals since 10/3, only partial drains and refills. Algae on the bottom has been vacuumed up and I have brushed the pool. Filter is backwashed. Pool water is slightly green and cloudy.
Numbers for today (10/6) from 2 different sides of my circular pool:

FC .4 and .4
CC 0 and 0
pH 7.4 and 7.2
TA 175 and 175
CH 300 and 250
CyA 40 and 40

According to pool math, I will add 1 1/3 gallons of 10% liqued chlorine. Is that all you would suggest at this point?
Thank you!
Click to expand...
The 1 1/3 gallons looks OK to get your FC to 16 (CYA 40, 8500 gallons). Keep in mind, though, that you want to maintain that FC level at 16 (i.e. not let it drop below 16, around the clock). So you'd probably want to add a bit more initially, and check frequently (every few hours if you can) on FC, adding more chlorine as needed each time.

How's it going (seeing that you posted this question a couple of days ago)? Is the water looking any different?
 
I'm assuming you did a partial drain and refill to get your CYA down. You've probably used up most of your r-0013 reagent with all those tests. If you haven't already, I'd look for a refill ASAP. You really don't need to retest cya daily-- especially twice a day unless you've done something drastic to your pool water. The r-0013 reagent is pretty shelf stable, so you might want to search for a 16 oz bottle. it's generally cost-effective to do that. Mine has lasted almost 2 years now and has provided pretty consistent results. It only cost me a buck more than a 2 Oz bottle at Leslie's when I was in a hurry to get a refill.
 
Yes, my pool is looking good and I'm letting the FC down now. I ended up adding 3 gallons of 10% chlorine and 2 lbs of dry acid for the pH over 2 days. My TA still seems high. Yesterdays (10/8) test results were:

FC 15.5
CC 0
pH 7.4
TA 150
CH 300

Yes, partial drains and refill was a lot of water....and now I do not need to water my backyard for awhile! I need to buy more r-0013 and will buy the bigger bottle, thanks.
 

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timerguy said:
So, you didn't do a slam? Slam isn't a one-time event. Have you done an OCLT?
Click to expand...

I did slam over a 2 day period. I kept FC above 16 for 3 days using 3 gallons of chlorine...did I not do it right? I don't know what OCTL is.

- - - Updated - - -

swoopman said:
Please note that if FC is above 10 it will cause your pH to read high. In the future do not make pH adjustments until the FC has drifted down. Keep an eye on pH as it may be lower than you think.
Click to expand...

Thank you. Pool looks good, vacumming dead algae from the bottom. Test results from this morning:

FC 6.2
CC .2
pH 7.4
TA 150
CH 275

Any recommendations?
 
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