Waiting for my Stenner pump, have some questions

[stdenpi1]

Hello everyone,

Love all the information on the site, it's super informative. I've been reading a lot about stenner pumps and purchased one for my pool.

Pool is 36k gallons ig. I had a Nature 2 and ripped it out Friday, It is now plumbed with a straight T with 1/2 thread just begging to have the stenner pump fitting screwed in. Pump is ordered and will be here Tuesday. Ordered the 45MPHP10 which when connected to my Jandy controller will be controlled on it's own separate timer.

I do have a couple of questions.

I tried to perform the Overnight FCL test, I added chlorine yesterday early morning to bring it to roughly 4PPM, did not add any chemicals rest of the day, ran the pump all day and all night, tested it last night and it was around 3.4 and this morning my FCL was closer to 4ppm.

1) is it possible that the Chlorine level would increase overnight even if I added the chlorine in the morning?
2) FCL is now at 4, CC is 0 which I believe is a sign that I have nothing growing in the pool, is that correct?
3) Based on pool calculator, my FCL target should be between 5 and 10 PPM, see my numbers below, should I target 10 or can I keep it around 5 - 7?

PS. All testing was done with Taylor K-2006 kit AND LaMotte ColorQ 7, so I know the results are accurate (They are very close to each other...)

FCL = 4.0
CC = 0
PH = 7.5
ALK - 122
CH - 160 ---I believe the reading is wrong because of the Nature 2 adding minerals to the pool (store tested around 210)
CYA - 65 --- Which is High, but I figure with regular rain and filling it will balance out soon enough...
Temp - 77

Finally, what is the best way to determine the daily Chlorine need? Test each day but for how long?

Thanks

Pierre

 

[Azgirl71]

You need to test PH and FC 1 time a day. You can either test it in the morning or the evening. My CYA is 70-75 and I keep my FC level 7-8.

For you I would target 6-7ppm

 

[tim5055]

Welcome to TFP!!

I would advise stick with the K2006. Too many folks in the past have reported fluctuating numbers with their ColorQ.

1. No, FC can not go up unless it was added to the pool or when you tested the first time the water was not well mixed and your sample was a little "light"

2. From you numbers you have too little chlorine in your water. With CYA 70 your absolute minimum is 5 and you should target 8 to allow it to come down during the day and never go below 5. No CC is not totally indicative of nothing growing. Passing a OCLT is a better sign.

3. As I said in #2, target at least 8, and 10 may be better until you dial in the Stenner. Even with the Stenner your pool is not "set it and forget it". Cloudy days require less chlorine, sunny days and folks swimming require more. I've had my Stenner for about a year and still adjust it regularly.

If you got the CH reading with the K2006, believe the 160. I totally discount the pool store number. The Nature2 should not have affected your CH. It was adding copper and silver, not calcium.

Yes, testing each day is your best course of action. You will start to see trends. If you r FC is slowly rising, dial back the Stenner a tad. If it is going down, dial up.

For you reading enjoyment, check out this thread about the ColorQ, or this recent thread. It was on page 4 that he stared discovering unusual reading out of the ColorQ. Both of them reported similar experiences of testing the same sample of water with the ColorQ and getting extremely different results.

 

[duraleigh]

Welcome to the forum.

You did not perform the Overnite Chlorine loss test. Chlorine is consumed by two things....organics and sunlight. This test eliminates sunlight.

Take your first chlorine test at early dark and second chlorine test before the sun is on the pool in the morning. If you lose more than 1 ppm during that DARK period, you fail the test.

Chlorine can only go down...it can never go up unless you add it.

CC's are an INDICATOR your pool is healthy but not definitive.....the OCLT is fairly definitive.

With a CYA of 65, I see your FC between 5 and 7, not 5 and 10.

 

[stdenpi1]

Welcome to the forum.

You did not perform the Overnite Chlorine loss test. Chlorine is consumed by two things....organics and sunlight. This test eliminates sunlight.

Take your first chlorine test at early dark and second chlorine test before the sun is on the pool in the morning. If you lose more than 1 ppm during that DARK period, you fail the test.

Chlorine can only go down...it can never go up unless you add it.

CC's are an INDICATOR your pool is healthy but not definitive.....the OCLT is fairly definitive.

With a CYA of 65, I see your FC between 5 and 7, not 5 and 10.

OK. Thanks for clearing that up.

I will attempt the OCLT again tonight. Just took a reading without adding anything to the pool all day (I usually add at night). FCL - 3.6 with Taylor (I know it is low. I will read again in the morning and add Chlorine afterwards)

FCL - 3.6
CC - 0.2
PH - 7.6
ALK - 125
CH - 170
CYA - 65

Pierre

- - - Updated - - -

You need to test PH and FC 1 time a day. You can either test it in the morning or the evening. My CYA is 70-75 and I keep my FC level 7-8.

For you I would target 6-7ppm

OK Thanks. I will test daily.

Pierre

 

[stdenpi1]

Good morning,

So I tested again this morning and here are my results:

FCL - 3.4
CC - 0.2
PH - 7.6
ALK - 125
CH - 170
CYA - 65

Based on these results, I am hoping that means no need to SLAM the pool.

I also just added 1 gallon of 12.5% Liquid Chlorine (After taking the test) which according to Pool Calc, should get me close to 7PPM of Chlorine.

So if I understand correctly, I should test daily each morning to see how much chlorine I went through the day before to get an idea of my daily chlorine needs right?

Thanks again

Pierre

 

[tim5055]

Yes, you have it perfectly. I might also suggest retesting about an hour after your addition a few times so you can see if the addition of chemical had the desired effect. This can help narrow down a misunderstanding in pool volume or seak chemicals.

It appears you are using 25 mL sample for 0.2 ppm accuracy. You can go ahead and use 10 mL sample for 0.5 ppm accuracy. It will save you reagents and is close enough for us.

 

[stdenpi1]

Yes, you have it perfectly. I might also suggest retesting about an hour after your addition a few times so you can see if the addition of chemical had the desired effect. This can help narrow down a misunderstanding in pool volume or seak chemicals.

It appears you are using 25 mL sample for 0.2 ppm accuracy. You can go ahead and use 10 mL sample for 0.5 ppm accuracy. It will save you reagents and is close enough for us.

Thanks for the tip, I will definitely try the 10ml. Also, I read somewhere that you can use 1 scoop of the powder as long as the water turns pink, is this true, or should I continue with 2 scoops?

Pierre

 

[tim5055]

Thanks for the tip, I will definitely try the 10ml. Also, I read somewhere that you can use 1 scoop of the powder as long as the water turns pink, is this true, or should I continue with 2 scoops?

Pierre

Yes, one scoop works.

It doesn't come with the K-2006 (it is included in the TF-100), but you can pick up a Basic OTO Test Kit which allows you to use the OTO chlorine test daily and just use your FAS-DPD a couple of time a week.