A little overwhelmed

[DennisD]

Hey folks,

I used this forum many years ago with an above ground pool I inherited when we bought our first home. Fast forward almost 10 years later (9 years without a pool) and we will be swimming in our brand new fiberglass pool tomorrow.

I've been looking at some of the ABCs of pool chemistry and other forum posts but feeling a bit overwhelmed. I have ordered and received the TFT-Pro Salt kit and the pH Meter. I've download the Pool Math app and have entered what information I know.

So, I'm assuming the pool builder will start me off with some basic knowledge and probably have the pool chemistry balanced as best as he knows how.

1. What am I testing right off the bat, everything?
2. What order do I test? Same order from the app? FC, pH, TA, CH, CYA?
3. What about salt?
4. Should I learn how to do all of this manually before I start using the pHMeter?
5. Do I really need to use distilled water to clean pHMeter electrode and use filter paper to "suck" it out afterward (that's what the directions say)?
6. Am I getting way ahead of myself, what can I do to get "an easy win" and stop stressing?

I opened up the test kit and just blanked, I'm really glad for the instructions but then the extra pieces of paper with tips, other instructions...just got confusing to me (probably because I'm overthinking it).

 

[mknauss]

Once the builder is done adding what they add, then run a full set of tests.
Any order is fine.
The PB should add the salt. Do not run the SWCG until the salt has circulated for at least a day. Brush the pool really well to be sure the salt is well mixed.
I would. Likely will not need the pH meter unless you are challenged in color matching.
Follow the directions on the pH meter. They are very fickle.
Don't stress. Just do the tests and post here. We can see if a test looks odd.
For practice, test the water you will use to fill the pool for pH, TA, and CH.

 

[DennisD]

This is what I came up with so far.

FC - 9.5
pH - 8.2
TA - 200
CYA - 0

I think the salt if off the chart, 4600ppm. The pool builder said he put it at full 100% to get it up there...should I be turning it down at this point or keep it until I balance out all the others? Once I put those numbers in Pool Math, it seems Muriatic Acid and CYA are the items I need to be adding currently

 

[mknauss]

What SWCG do you have? Please add that to your signature.
You get rain so your salt level will come down some over time.
Lower the pH to 7.4 using acid. Get 50 ppm worth of CYA granules dissolving using the sock method. Once those are dissolved wait a couple days and test the CYA.
Once you tell us what SWCG you have we can suggest a setting to start with for FC generation.

 

[DennisD]

It's a Hayward TCELL 940.

Are CYA granules only sold at pool stores?

 

[mknauss]

Are CYA granules only sold at pool stores?

No. Walmart, home depot, lowes, Amazon, etc.

Your SWCG will add 0.4 ppm FC to the pool each hour when set on 100%. So depending on how long you plan to run the pump each day, use a combination of % generation and hours to come up with about 4 ppm FC. Set that up and see how it goes.

 

[DennisD]

By the way, how does the magnetic stirrer work? The directions say to drop a magnetic bar, is that something I have to buy separately. I don't see anything in my TF kit.

 

[mknauss]

The magnetic bar should be in the package with the batteries.

 

[DennisD]

That's unfortunate. I've had the kit for a few weeks and only just used it today. But, thought the batteries were already installed in the stirrer. There is no magnetic bar.

 

[Texas Splash]

I've had the kit for a few weeks and only just used it today. But, thought the batteries were already installed in the stirrer. There is no magnetic bar.

Hummmm. Let's send up a bat signal to @Leebo and @Sarah and Nate. Stand-by.

 

[Sarah and Nate]

That's unfortunate. I've had the kit for a few weeks and only just used it today. But, thought the batteries were already installed in the stirrer. There is no magnetic bar.

Hello, Nate from TFTestkits here. Please shoot me an email (if you have not already) at [email protected] with your order number and I will remedy this ASAP. Sometimes the stir bar can fall underneath the foam insert, so you may want to check under it as well.

 

[DennisD]

Hello, Nate from TFTestkits here. Please shoot me an email (if you have not already) at [email protected] with your order number and I will remedy this ASAP. Sometimes the stir bar can fall underneath the foam insert, so you may want to check under it as well.

Thank you, I just checked under the foam but no luck. I had sent an email prior to seeing this so resent the email with order number.

 

[DennisD]

Okay, so I added 45oz of 31.45% Muriatic Acid and only did 4lbs of CYA (which equated to about 30ppm - I plan to put some more in). Here are the results (pH stayed at 8.2 though and the new recommendation from Pool Math is 39oz of Muriatic Acid).

FC - 5.0
pH - 8.2
TA - 170
CYA - 40 (42)

 

[Texas Splash]

Did you use the pH meter or drops for the pH test? If it is indeed 8.2, you need to add more acid to lower it. It should be no higher than 7.8, but since your TA is also elevated, use the PoolMath APP to determine how much acid to lower the pH from 8.0 down to 7.2. Do that each time for a while until the TA gets down to about 60-70.

For the CYA, your SWG will perform better with more protection, so it would be good to add at least another 20 ppm to get closer to 70. NOTE - If your water has become hazy, cloudy, or you see green, do not add more CYA and let us know.

 

[DennisD]

Did you use the pH meter or drops for the pH test? If it is indeed 8.2, you need to add more acid to lower it. It should be no higher than 7.8, but since your TA is also elevated, use the PoolMath APP to determine how much acid to lower the pH from 8.0 down to 7.2. Do that each time for a while until the TA gets down to about 60-70.

For the CYA, your SWG will perform better with more protection, so it would be good to add at least another 20 ppm to get closer to 70. NOTE - If your water has become hazy, cloudy, or you see green, do not add more CYA and let us know.

Okay, thank you. I used the drops for pH test, just trying simple for right now. Pool Math is saying another 39oz for the pH (I have the target at 7.6 though - change this to 7.2?)

Water is clear so I'll add some more CYA too. Thanks again.

 

[Texas Splash]

change this to 7.2?

Yes, might as well. The larger acid amount from 8.0 to 7.2 will impact the TA better to help lower it. It has nothing to do with water clarity, but in time as the TA gets lower it should help the pH remain more stable and not rise quite as fast.

 

[DennisD]

So, been feeling a bit better about the testing and feel I have at least a decent handle on what to do (basics).

Today, I did the block test for chlorine and pH. pH definitely moved but not as much as I thought (after adding an additional 83oz as suggested by Pool Math to get to 7.2). But, it went down to 7.8 (from 8.2.).

So, I'll just keep working this and getting the other things in line. I noticed the chlorine side of the block test was actually orange (instead of yellow). Does this mean it's quite high or ? I didn't run any other tests yet, just thought I'd ask.

 

[Pauls234]

The chlorine block test is more of a quick check yes/no do I have chlorine. I almost never use mine because I can't tell the difference in the yellows so I end up doing the FAS/DPD right after so I can better learn exactly which shade of yellow 5 FC looks like to me. Then I put it away for 3-12 months!

You are in a great spot, keep it up!

 

[DennisD]

No. Walmart, home depot, lowes, Amazon, etc.

Your SWCG will add 0.4 ppm FC to the pool each hour when set on 100%. So depending on how long you plan to run the pump each day, use a combination of % generation and hours to come up with about 4 ppm FC. Set that up and see how it goes.

Marty,

Does the percent/speed of the pump matter too? My plan was to keep the pump on for about 20 hours a day at 50% chlorinator but I think I've messed up somewhere (see below, my chlorine all of sudden jumped very high).

pH - 8.2 (just last night I had this down to 7.8)
FC - 12.5
CH - 100
TA - 140
CYA - 50

 

[mknauss]

As long as the pump speed is enough to satisfy the flow switch for the SWCG, it does not matter.

You may not need 4 ppm per day, that is why you test FC every day and see if an adjustment is needed. Once you determine your pool's characteristics, you can test less often.

The pH test is invalid if FC is above 10 ppm.