Advanced way beyond newbie - great results and questions

[ship of fools]

I am a new BBB convert this season and opened my pool 10 days or so ago.

After a few tweaks i have the following numbers

PH 7.7
FC 3.5
CC .5 (just a slight tinge so maybe not even .5)
TC 4
TA 120
CH 300
CYA 35

The pool water is sparkling clean and all i have done after my initial addition of borax and stabilizer is to add bleach each day.

My questions

1 - Numbers look good?? since i have opened the TA has ranged between 105 and 120 and the CH has ranged between 240 and 325

2 - i haven't done the oclt test yet ... the water looks great ... should i do it anyway?? i went to do it last night and the FC was down to 2.0+- so i elected to add chlorine to bring the FC up as i thought that was more important than doing the test

3 - assuming i pass the oclt test and assuming that my numbers are pretty good now does my routine become as simple as adding bleach each day and testing ph each day?

4 - assuming no big rains will my TA and CH numbers remain more or less ok for an extended period of time?? .... will my cya level change much?

5 - should i bump my CYA up a bit?? .... it was originally 0, i added borax and have gotten readings in the 40's but today it bumped down to 35 .... is that just variations in the readings of the test results?

6- i was at my friends yesterday and he has a saltwater pool ..... i could barely see the main drain because the water was cloudy... that's not normal is it??

i really feel like i have control of my pool ....... it was always frustrating to go to the pool store and have a summer employee who doesn't know squat selling me stuff the computer recommended .... i would always hang around until i saw the manager or other full timers then pounce on them

not any more

 

[Leebo]

1 - Numbers look good?? since i have opened the TA has ranged between 105 and 120 and the CH has ranged between 240 and 325

[/quote]
The numbers do look good. As long as you didn't add any calcium to the pool...this number raised due to testing error. What type of pool liner, fiberglass, ext do you have??

2 - i haven't done the oclt test yet ... the water looks great ... should i do it anyway?? i went to do it last night and the FC was down to 2.0+- so i elected to add chlorine to bring the FC up as i thought that was more important than doing the test

Doing the test wouldn't hurt. It will prove that there's NOTHING living in the pool.

3 - assuming i pass the oclt test and assuming that my numbers are pretty good now does my routine become as simple as adding bleach each day and testing ph each day?

Test once a week do a FAS/DPD test and test your TA and CH (depending on type of pool) levels, once a month test your CYA levels or after any major water changes (heavy rain, backflushing, bla bla bla)

4 - assuming no big rains will my TA and CH numbers remain more or less ok for an extended period of time?? .... will my cya level change much?

Your TA levels will change is you alter your PH at all. Adding acid to lower your PH will also lower your TA. Your CYA will only lower depending on splashout.

5 - should i bump my CYA up a bit?? .... it was originally 0, i added borax and have gotten readings in the 40's but today it bumped down to 35 .... is that just variations in the readings of the test results?

Adding borax doesn't add CYA....only adding Cyanuric Acid does. Watch the amount of FC you are losing per day. If it's a TON (more than 3FC a day) maybe bump it up a bit.

6- i was at my friends yesterday and he has a saltwater pool ..... i could barely see the main drain because the water was cloudy... that's not normal is it??

You have a "saltwater" pool too. Any chlorine pool is a "saltwater" pool. Both use chlorine to clean the water. It is sadly normal....as most pool owners don't know what a clean pool is.

i really feel like i have control of my pool ....... it was always frustrating to go to the pool store and have a summer employee who doesn't know squat selling me stuff the computer recommended .... i would always hang around until i saw the manager or other full timers then pounce on them

not any more

Now you're the manager and full time employee.....of your own pool! Enjoy the summer!

 

[ship of fools]

i meant to write stabilizer not borax to raise my cya ..... at least that is what i actually added

i have a vinyl liner .... the pool is from the late 70's ... i have no idea what is under the vinyl ... any thoughts on what it could be? ... it actually looks just like yours in your avatar

i'll do the oclt tonight just so i can rest even easier

i'll also monitor my FC usage and bump my cya a little if it's more than you mentioned

otherwise i am good to go??

it's funny because i can read the posts from new people and feel like i could make the proper recommendations to many of them already .... but don't worry i won't

i'll also be joining as a supporter ... wish i did it in time to save $10 bucks on the test kit but i think i have gotten my moneys worth here ... a few times over

 

[Leebo]

That's the beauty of this system....using a few simple products and KNOWING what each does to your pool. I've only been using BBB (and chlorine for that matter) for about 3 months now. Before that we used baquacil...talk about not knowing what you were adding! The ideas are simple, and the ideas are clear.

As for your numbers.....go swimming and quit worrying.....you've got this!

 

[RobbieH]

[quote:35uiwrpy]6- i was at my friends yesterday and he has a saltwater pool ..... i could barely see the main drain because the water was cloudy... that's not normal is it??

You have a "saltwater" pool too. Any chlorine pool is a "saltwater" pool. Both use chlorine to clean the water. It is sadly normal....as most pool owners don't know what a clean pool is.

[/quote:35uiwrpy]

Technically, it's the other way around. All salt water pools are chlorine pools, but not all chlorine pools are salt water pools. A salt water pool has around 3000-3500 ppm of salt added, and a "salt water chlorine generator" installed, which converts the salt to chlorine (shortened to SWCG or SWG around here).

If his salt water pool is cloudy, he doesn't know what he's doing. Keeping a salt water pool correctly maintained is extremely easy. My guess is he's not watching his pH.

 

[ship of fools]

If his salt water pool is cloudy, he doesn't know what he's doing. Keeping a salt water pool correctly maintained is extremely easy. My guess is he's not watching his pH.

he said all he does all season is add salt

i'll test his ph for him

 

[RobbieH]

Well, adding salt should be a rare occurrence unless he backflushes a lot, had a leak, or has a ton of runover/splashout.

SWCGs will drive pH up, I use more muriatic acid than I do anything else. If he also has high CH, it's a recipe for cloudy water and scaling. Adding borates to my pool helped the pH swings, but I still have to monitor pH and add MA as needed. If he has any fountains or waterfalls, the pH will get driven up even faster. His TA might be off too, which is going to only make this issue worse!

 

[ship of fools]

Well, adding salt should be a rare occurrence unless he backflushes a lot, had a leak, or has a ton of runover/splashout.

SWCGs will drive pH up, I use more muriatic acid than I do anything else. If he also has high CH, it's a recipe for cloudy water and scaling. Adding borates to my pool helped the pH swings, but I still have to monitor pH and add MA as needed. If he has any fountains or waterfalls, the pH will get driven up even faster. His TA might be off too, which is going to only make this issue worse!

then i guess i'll just have to test everything for him i guess.... :bowdown:

i didn't even mention the cloudiness to him but i could see the bottom of the shallow end no problem but the main drain was tough to see

i also noticed some "dirty spots" as well along the creases where his automatic cleaner missed

sounds like a thorough test is in order ...... how much do pool guys charge??? i am going to charge double and make the testing last two beers long

 

[RobbieH]

From what I've seen, the pool guys never test anything. I've seen some that just throw a couple of trichlor pucks in the skimmer each week, and some that'll just pour some liquid chlorine in. I've never seen any do any testing of the water chemistry. Now I'm going to have to subscribe to this thread to see the results.