A bit overwhelmed

[allan1622]

Just moved into a new house with a pool. I went ahead and bought a Taylor k-2006 kit and read the articles on the site. These were my values for today:
FC 9.6
pH 7.9
CH 190
CYA 60
TA Reagent R-0009 somehow came without a dropper so I couldn't do this test.

In the treatment guide (great read btw), it states that low CH can cause pitting/etching, something I can clearly see in several areas of the pool. I have the pool math app but I feel overwhelmed because my FC and CH are out of range, and my pH is outside the ideal range. I can assume the alkalinity is out of wack as well. Previous owner had a pool company for maintenance, but said he stopped using them 1-2 months ago and would just add two stabilizer tablets + gallon of chlorine, and brushed/vacuumed weekly. I'm eager to learn and I look forward to your responses!

 

[PoolStored]

Just moved into a new house with a pool. I went ahead and bought a Taylor k-2006 kit and read the articles on the site. These were my values for today:
FC 9.6
pH 7.9
CH 190
CYA 60
TA Reagent R-0009 somehow came without a dropper so I couldn't do this test.

In the treatment guide (great read btw), it states that low CH can cause pitting/etching, something I can clearly see in several areas of the pool. I have the pool math app but I feel overwhelmed because my FC and CH are out of range, and my pH is outside the ideal range. I can assume the alkalinity is out of wack as well. Previous owner had a pool company for maintenance, but said he stopped using them 1-2 months ago and would just add two stabilizer tablets + gallon of chlorine, and brushed/vacuumed weekly. I'm eager to learn and I look forward to your responses!

Hey, and Welcome to TFP!!

1. Your FC is fine, actually in a good place. For CYA of 60, 9 FC is a great place to hang out, will handle swimmers and sun. Keep it at 9 daily.
2. Your pH is just fine. Anything that starts with a 7 is A ok. Don't fight the pool to get it to 7.4-7.6. When it gets to 8, I would then add muriatic acid to lower it to 7.4. pH will rise again, just rinse and repeat.
3. Your CH is low. Use Pool Math. Click on CH from the home screen. It should show ch as 190 (assuming you logged your results), and a target of 350. If not, enter 350. It should tell you how much Calcium Chloride to add to get to 350. I would add it in increments, and retest after it has dissolved and pump has been running for a couple hours. This way you will not overshoot.
4. As to the TA, you can remove the dropper from another reagent, they just pry out with a little coaxing. Be gentle when you pry out as to not damage them. I would get a replacement so you don't have to do this all the time.

Get the CH up, everything else looks good.

With a CYA of 60, I would only chlorinate with Liquid Chlorine, or Cal-Hypo. Pucks add CYA and your pool. At a CYA of 60, I would not add more CYA by using pucks. Read this Link -->FC/CYA Levels

Using Cal-Hypo instead of pucks will add Calcium instead of CYA, depending on how much rain and evaporation you get, this may be a good option for you.

 

[Newdude]

Hey Allan and Welcome !!!!

I had a whole big thing mostly typed out and Poolstored beat me to it.

'+1'

 

[an1vrsy]

Welcome to TFP! Allan. This is a great place for you to feel comfortable about your pool. A couple things to help the experienced pool owners and site moderators help you is to post pictures of your pool equipment pad. A couple of different angles, make sure all equipment can be seen. The second thing is to ask questions. Many of us, hundreds, were in the same situation and now we are a paying back by helping others.

 

[setsailsoon]

Welcome aboard Allan!

Looks like you've got a good group of experienced people helping so I'll just add a simple request. Can you please add some additional info about your pool in the "signature"? Things like pump type and model, other equipment info will get you quicker answers and are helpful to our volunteers so they can be efficient with their time.

You're doing exactly what many of us did years ago when we decided to take on the pool ourselves and realized how easy it is and how much better it works.

Chris

 

[Mdragger88]

Welcome
They’ve all got you covered above- just wanted to mention to be sure to switch on csi tracking, & combined tracking in poolmath as well as sharing of your logs. These are all found in the settings

Be sure to hit the check mark when done.