Adding chemicals to new startup

[Fire]

So I just got my SWG going a couple of days ago.

I don't have the Taylor test kit yet so I took a sample to the pool store.
My values:
FC 5.81 (I added some liquid bleech this AM)
TC 6.15
CC 0.34
PH 8.3
Hardness 99
Alkalinity (w/stabilizer correction) 98ppm
CYA 62
Copper 0.4
Iron 0.2
Phosphate 2106 ppb
Salt 2566

I got some Muratic Acid and will be adding it today as well as Alkalinity increaser. I also bought 1 more bag of pool salt (20kg)

I didn't buy anything else because I wanted to get the option of the pros on here what I should do next.

Can I add the Alkalinity increaser right after the Muriatic Acid?

 

[Richard320]

You don't need to raise the TA. 98 is fine, corrected value or not. Jacking it up will just cause the pH to jump right back up.

I suggest you add minimal chemicals until you have your own test results. You don;t want to go too far with something and have to replace water to fix it.

 

[Fire]

You don't need to raise the TA. 98 is fine, corrected value or not. Jacking it up will just cause the pH to jump right back up.

I suggest you add minimal chemicals until you have your own test results. You don;t want to go too far with something and have to replace water to fix it.

Thanks for the quick reply. PH is now at 7.2 (from what I can tell using dropper test kit (not Taylor). I will not add the TA increaser.

 

[Fire]

Thanks for the quick reply. PH is now at 7.2 (from what I can tell using dropper test kit (not Taylor). I will not add the TA increaser.

I got my water tested at the pool store again today and the PH came back at 7.7. I did my own drop test and it shows closer to 7.6 from what I can tell (see attached pic) Should I be adding more Muriatic Acid? I put in 49 oz. yesterday as the pool store test showed 8.3 and it seemed to have brought the level down to 7.2 with my dropper test last night. Could it have gone up from 7.2 to 7.6 in one day or are my tests/pool store tests off?

 

[Richard320]

I got my water tested at the pool store again today and the PH came back at 7.7. I did my own drop test and it shows closer to 7.6 from what I can tell (see attached pic) Should I be adding more Muriatic Acid? I put in 49 oz. yesterday as the pool store test showed 8.3 and it seemed to have brought the level down to 7.2 with my dropper test last night. Could it have gone up from 7.2 to 7.6 in one day or are my tests/pool store tests off?

I see 7.6 as well. Yes, it could have jumped that much. You can lower pH if you simply must do something or just give it another day and add acid tomorrow. pH rise might even slow down enough that you can wait until Saturday. You'll only know by testing.

And the pool store test was probably right. All the shaking and handling between home and store could have pushed pH up. Just proof that home testing is better.

 

[Fire]

Ok so because I'm still waiting on my test kit I went to have my water tested at the pool store again. Do you see anything wrong with these levels besides raising the CYA a bit as well as the Free Chlorine and lowering the PH? Is my Combined Chlorine OK? Thanks!
FC 3.18
TC 3.48
CC 0.3
PH 7.9
Hardness 97
Alkalinity 92
CYA 68
Copper 0.1
Iron 0.1
Phosphate 2024 ppb
Salt 2817

 

[mknauss]

I see results that say wait for a quality test kit to ensure you know what to add to your pool, if anything is necessary.

 

[Richard320]

Ok so because I'm still waiting on my test kit I went to have my water tested at the pool store again. Do you see anything wrong with these levels besides raising the CYA a bit as well as the Free Chlorine and lowering the PH? Is my Combined Chlorine OK? Thanks!
FC 3.18
TC 3.48
CC 0.3
PH 7.9
Hardness 97
Alkalinity 92
CYA 68
Copper 0.1
Iron 0.1
Phosphate 2024 ppb
Salt 2817

pH is still good. Chlorine should go up to about 5 so it doesn't dip below 3. CC is less than .5 so we consider that zero. Hardness and alkalinity are fine for a vinyl pool. CYA is close enough to 70 that I would leave it alone until you get your test kit.
Phosphates-- who cares? If you don;t have algae, it doesn;t matter and if you do, you can;t treat it until all the algae is dead..... which will require a test kit.
Salt? Well, go look at the SWG. If it's running and there are no error messages or warning lights, it's good for now.

So....splash some bleach in there or turn up the SWG.

 

[Fire]

pH is still good. Chlorine should go up to about 5 so it doesn't dip below 3. CC is less than .5 so we consider that zero. Hardness and alkalinity are fine for a vinyl pool. CYA is close enough to 70 that I would leave it alone until you get your test kit.
Phosphates-- who cares? If you don;t have algae, it doesn;t matter and if you do, you can;t treat it until all the algae is dead..... which will require a test kit.
Salt? Well, go look at the SWG. If it's running and there are no error messages or warning lights, it's good for now.

So....splash some bleach in there or turn up the SWG.

Great. Many thanks!

 

[Fire]

Great. Many thanks!

Just got my Taylor test kits and speed stirrer and ran a full set of tests yesterday evening. I updated my pool math app to reflect my results. Any suggestions or do my numbers look OK to you guys?
Thx!

 

[Richard320]

I think you should just go swimming.

Next time you test CYA, do it in broad daylight, not in the evening, so you have maximum light. It can change your CYA reading quite a lot.

 

[mknauss]

FYI -- you can enter all your test results at one time and then save using the check mark. That way the results are shown on one line in your Poolmath logs.

 

[Fire]

Ok thanks for everything!