Lots of rain... Now to balance pool chemistry!

[Donnapatton2005]

We just received a lot of rain and now my pool is kind of cloudy. Here are the numbers I got from my k2006 kit this morning. Can someone help me get it back on track? I have a 22' x 52" intex above ground pool with SWG. thanks!!!
fc: 2.5
cc: 0.5
ph: 8.0
ta: 130
cya: 45

 

[Skitch]

Are you familiar with the Pool Math page?

http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html

Plug in your numbers and it will tell you exactly what to do. You want your chlorine above 4ppm and your ph between 7.5 and 7.8.

Just noticed your SWG, you want to raise your CYA as well.

And if it's cloudy, you might just go ahead and SLAM.

 

[Azgirl71]

You will need to lower your PH to around 7.2- 7.4. You also need chlorine to raise FC level.
Your CYA is low for having a SWG, but we can address that last. We want to get the pool water clear first. Your CYA is at a good number to SLAM should you need to.

Have you done a OLCT to see what your overnight loss it?

 

[Donnapatton2005]

I ran the numbers in pool math and it says to add stabilizer and muratic acid. It says to add bleach also for chlorine- but since I am running a SWG should I just do a boost cycle? Or do I add the bleach? Thanks so much!!!

 

[Richard320]

You have pretty high TA, so lowering pH will help bring that down. pH will pop back up in a day or two. I get that your pool is approximately 11,000 gallons. A quart of 31.45% Muriatic Acid should get pH down to a good spot.

If things look cloudy, you want the FC up fast, just in case things are growing in there. I wouldn't wait for the SWG to catch up. Half a jug of plain clorox will boost that and the SWG should be able to keep it there.

You'll also want to think about raising CYA some. That will help the SWG keep up with the sunlight losses. If you go to the last row in poolmath and select the surface and SWG and TFP, it will show you recommended target levels for all your chemistry.

 

[Donnapatton2005]

Awesome!!! Thank you all soooo much!!!!

 

[Azgirl71]

We use bleach here. The SWG is designed to help maintain you FC level once it is at level. Using the boot cycle will not raise it enough. Don't add the stablizer yet. Ad the muratic to bring down your PH.

Step 1 add bleach to raise FC to 4-5ppm
Step 2 1 hour later add muratic acid to lower PH 7.2-7.4
Step 3 re test FC and PH an hour later and post the numbers.

Since your water is cloudy, you will likely have to do a short SLAM. I'd you raise CYA now it will require you to use more bleach to clear the pool water.

 

[Donnapatton2005]

Ok so I added the muratic acid and bleach on Friday. Yesterday my chlorine was 5.5, ph 7.4, and Ta was 130. Pool is still somewhat cloudy- should I just give it a few more days to clear up or do I need to add something else?

 

[Richard320]

I'd give it another blast of bleach. And run an overnight loss test tonight. If it fails, you've got the beginnings of an algae bloom. Pool School - Perform the Overnight FC Loss Test (OCLT)

 

[Donnapatton2005]

What should my chlorine levels be using the SWG during slam? I think normal is 3-5 and mine is 5.5... Trying to figure out how much more bleach to add. Thanks!

 

[Azgirl71]

Your FC level should be the SLAM level recommendation from the chlorine/Cya chart.

You should not use your SWG during the SLAM. You are just using cell life on the SWG unit.

 

[duraleigh]

DO NOT use the SWG during the SLAM!