Old Pool but new liner, new sand, newly filled and switching from Baqua to BBB. Help!

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T

tamhud4

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Jul 4, 2015
5
Wilmington
Hi there! I have been reading everything I can on this site and it has been extremely helpful! I am a single mom and have taken over the maintenance of our pool which my exhubby used to do. For the first couple of summers I continued to use the Baquacil program that we had been using since we bought the house w the pool in 2002 because that's what the previous owners had used. The pool is probably at least 20yrs old. We have replaced pumps and sand filters a couple of different times since then. I currently have a Starbright filter and pump...no model # and not sure how old it is...maybe 5-7yrs. Over this past winter, our 20+yr old liner ripped to shreds. I just had the liner replaced and filled the pool and replaced the sand in the filter. My dad cleaned the filter laterals and added the new sand and backwashed and rinsed before starting to filter the pool. I have decided to switch to BBB after reading info on this site and haven't added baquacil prodects to pool. I got a test kit at Leslie's...18-576 which is same as the 18330 (no FAS/PPD test...no 18329 in stock) The only difference was the 18-576 had no wheel or manual and it was $30 less. I tested water which of course had zero chlorine and CYA in it. (Although the FC test did show very slightly pink...maybe around .5) I used pool calculator to determine how much chlorine (unscented bleach 8.25%) to put in. I based it on full pool (11500) and goal of 4 FC and added 72oz of chlorine yesterday. I ran filter for a few hours and tested again and FC read 0. Completely clear. I haven't added CYA yet....I didn't have any when I put the bleach in but I got some yesterday. I also noticed my ph read about 8.2 before adding the bleach and now seems to be aprox 7.8. I bought some PH down (sodium bisulfate) because I couldn't find Muriatic Acid yesterday.

My question is...am I supposed to SLAM a newly filled pool with new liner and new sand....or just bring chlorine up with normal amounts? Do I add CYA right along with bleach to keep it from being eaten up? I thought the bleach might have even been too high because I added more than required for 10,800 gals (48oz) but it seemed to have less FC AFTER I added it than when it was just fresh water from the hose.

Sorry for the long post but it's my first one so trying to get all the info in there. Water looks very clear by the way....I just want to take care of it before it starts going down hill! I'm about to add the rest of the jug of bleach...another 48 oz...I figure it can't hurt.

One last thing....We always loved the Baquacil because there was no smell and didn't bother my kids eyes, etc...they always complained about those things in public pools, hotels, swimming lessons, etc. But it was getting harder to maintain and it's expensive...and complicated. This site gave great info about running pool with simple bleach and at the right levels shouldn't be smelly or irritating. Then my daughter went to a pool party where the pool is apparently managed correctly and she had no issues at all. This encouraged me to try the BBB method...especially now that I'm starting with fresh sand, water and new liner. Any advice is appreciated. Thank you!
:paddle:
 
Hi tamhud,
Welcome to TFP!

You need to go ahead and add enough CYA to get your level up to 30.
Keep adding enough chlorine each day to maintain a level of minimum of 2 and target to 4

The only reason to SLAM to the pool, is if there are organic things growing in the water, usually algae.
It is indeed possible to have algae that isnt yet visible. Only when it starts to become a full fledged algae bloom, does it go green.

If the water is clear, then the only way to know if algae or some other organics are growing is by doing a overnight chlorine loss test (OCLT).
The OCLT can only be accomplished with a FAS-DPD chlorine test, but you dont have one. :(
the Combined Chlorine test can also be a valuable indictor, and you cant do that either.

So, for the time being, keep your FC levels at recommended, and keep an eye on your chlorine demand, at least as well as you can with the kit you have.

I would however highly recommend that you get a FAS-DPD, test, so you can truly manage your water and have a Troublefreepool.
You can get that test at tftestkits.
TFTestkits.net
 
Wow! Thank you so much for such a fast response! I will add the CYA....in a sock in the skimmer, right? Any kind of sock without holes will be o.k.? I regret buying the kit without the FAS/DPD test but they didn't have one in stock and i was anxious to get started and they (of course) told me i didn't need that and that was more for commercial pools. I asked if I could buy the FAS/DPD separately and they did have a small kit with just that test but it was 53.00 !!! I'm not in a good place to be wasting money right now so I was hoping to get buy with this kit for now. But after buying it, I found I could have gotten a much better deal online for a kit WITH the FAS/DPD! :( The price we pay for instant gratification I guess...I didn't want to wait for it. I hope it's possible to maintain my pool without it for the next couple of months (what's left of our summer here in MA) and I will try to get the better kit next year.

In the meanwhile, I will do what you said and keep an eye on my chlorine usage. You didn't mention adding any PH Down so I guess I should wait on that until I get the right level of CYA and FC???

Thanks!
 
Hello! So my kids were away for a week giving me time to mess around with the test kit I have (smaller version of Leslies 81330) (FAS but everything else is in there) and I used pool calculator and added recommended CYA and ran filter continuously w/o backflushing for more than 48 hours. I had added more chlorine throughout the week based on testing between 0 and 2 during the week. I also had high ph but it came down after adding bleach and cya to about 7.2 so i added the recommended amount of baking soda last night. This morning i tested bleach again and it was 0 (read between 1 and 2 yesterday) and ph was perfect between 7.5 and 7.8. During the week i tested CYA but it was still reading 0. It's been a over a week since I added cya so I tested it again this morning. The dot did seem to be blurrier than it was before but I could still see it at 30 but if I filled it a bit past the 30 mark to the very top the dot finally disappeared so I'm thinking it may be at 20? I added more CYA to get from 20 to 40 (it called for 28oz....i added 32 bcz easier to measure and o.k. if it brings cya a bit higher than 40 right?) I added 65 oz of liquid bleach 8.25% to bring it up to about 4. I know that the cya won't register for a while (added powdered form to skimmer w filter running). 1/2 hour later FC is in 3-6 block and ph perfect...kids are in pool! My QUESTION IS THIS: Should I be concerned that my first addition of 48 oz of cya didn't register after a week? Should i have been aiming for higher than 30 cya to get it started from 0? AND...are the kids fine to swim as long as chlorine and ph levels are fine even tho I don't know cya levels?
thanks so much! This site is great and I'm feeling pretty proud of myself for getting this going on my own for the first time using the BBB method! :)
 
Pool School - Recommended Levels

Here is a link to a wonderful chart you will want to print out.

You ARE doing a great job! Keep asking questions! We will get you going and you will learn SO much!

CYA-Did it all dissolve out of the sock? If so you do need to add some more. That is one of the reasons your FC is leaving so fast.

Your FC level should be higher than you are targeting for. See the chart above and shoot for the upper level.

With time you will find what YOUR pool needs and wants. Each pool is different. In time you will learn yours.

For now your FC test will work but you need to get the powder test for FC as soon as you can.

HUGS and let those kids swim!

Kim
 
Hi...i added the powder slowly directly into the skimmer with basket in, waiting for granules to dissolve and go into skimmer before adding more. No sock.

I got a zero reading for CYA today ...a week later...so I added 64 oz of cya again directly into skimmer a little at a time. My current FC reads the color showing in the 3-6 box and the ph was reading right between the two colors in the 7.5 and 7.8 boxes. I'm not sure what you mean by my FC level should be higher than what I'm targeting for? The chart says 2-4 for 30 cya and 3-5 for 40 cya....i'm right between 3-6 so i should be ok if i end up in the 30-40 cya range, right? Or am I not understanding correctly? I'm assuming you mean to shoot for the FC target number not the Slam number? And if so I don't want to raise FC too much more until I find out my CYA levels? Or should I boost it up higher knowing it will burn off? My concern is that my kids are used to Baquacil with no chlorine smell/burning eyes and I'm trying to keep the levels as low as I can but still keeping it safe and sanitary. It is really sparkling clean right now. I do see some minor little spots of sedement at the bottom but it looks kind of like possibly some dirt/leaves/pollen might have blown it and sunk to the bottom....such a small amount but when i try to skim with net it doesn't all get picked up...some goes thru net. I really don't think it's algae of any kind tho. I haven't broken out the vaccuum yet tho because I just put in the CVA.

Let me know if you still think i need to add more bleach and i will add it as soon as kids come out. I will test again and then shoot for what FC number?
 
tamhud4 said:
I had added more chlorine throughout the week based on testing between 0 and 2 during the week. I added 65 oz of liquid bleach 8.25% to bring it up to about 4. 1/2 hour later FC is in 3-6 block
Click to expand...

This is what I based my comments on. I just wanted to make sure you kept the FC above your min. goal.

In the future please add your CYA to your pool using a sock hung in front of the return. I am thinking your past CYA is hanging out in your filter.

You are doing a great job!

Kim
 
hi thank you! I just realized that what I was calling the 3-6 block on the test kit is actually 3 for CL and 6 for Br! So I thought my CL was around 4 in that block! Silly of me I know! I had only added the CYA into the skimmer after reading on this site (from the experts...not just random people) that it was o.k. to do a sock in the skimmer or add it slowly directly. I'm not sure how I would actually hang a sock in front of the return without it hanging on the side of the pool against the liner....any suggestions? Or ....should i disolve the cya in water and then just add to pool? After a day of full sun and swimming yesterday my CL is at 2 so I added a quart to bump it up to 4. Since it didn't go to 0 overnight even after heavy sun all day and swimming do you think I'm in good shape? Ph is still in between 7.5 and 7.8 but closer to 7.5.

Thanks for your answers....i'm learning so much!
 
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