Another New Pool Owner

[Dmanderson21]

Hi everyone - I wanted to circle back with a question about FC loss volatility.

I've been testing my pool daily and adding bleach as appropriate but have noticed that my loss throughout the day is kind of volatile. Some days I've lost 1.5-2ppm and then some 2.5-3.5. The pool gets a lot of sun so in everything I've read throughout the forum that doesn't seem to be an alarming amount of loss I was just curious if volatility like that was normal.

Separately, as I'm new, I've been testing around 6pm, adding bleach and acid based on the pool calculator recommendations and then not testing again until the next evening. Should I be testing twice (test to determine levels to add then again 1-2 hrs later to check the results of chemical addition)? By not testing I have no real gauge on the levels my pool reached so is it recommended that newbies test a little more frequently to get the feel for adjustments?


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[bmoreswim]

On a routine basis you would only test once per day. However, as a new pool owner, it makes sense that you would like to verify how your chemical additions are affecting your pool. I'd go ahead and test again after 15-30 minutes with the pump running to mix chemicals, to see where you are at. Maybe do that on a few different days where you've added different chemicals. Then you will have gained comfort over your ability to add chemicals and get a desired (and verified) result.

 

[kimkats]

Doing the above (wonderful advice as always! THANKS!) will also make sure your size is spot on. Some times people will think their pool is xx gals when it is really YY gals.

Kim

 

[Dmanderson21]

Thanks! I've had the pool handed over to me and have been doing my daily monitoring for a week now. Things have been going smoothly - I just wasn't totally sure if my FC was getting up to my target or not since I was testing once a day and wondered what people generally did when new. I appreciate the advice and help!


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[Dmanderson21]

Hi everyone - it's been about 3.5 months now since the builder turned the pool over to me and things seem to be going great. Everyone that has seem the pool has commented on how clear the water is so I wanted to say thanks.

Also, I want to revisit an earlier conversation about pH levels and when to add acid. My most recent test results from this evening are:

FC: 5.5 (added 52 oz 8.25% to target 8)

CC: 0
pH: 7.8
TA: 70
CH: 280
CYA: 60

My understanding is that new plaster pushes pH up as it's curing so when pH hits I was adding acid to bring it back down. Now that I'm in the 3-4 month timeframe though, I wondering if it's time to wait for it to hit 8.0?

Overall pH has been creeping up 0.1 each day or two but an earlier post led me to believe it's possible that it creeps up to 7.8 and then simply settles in. That is, I don't want to jump the gun and lower if I don't need to since it'd be a never ending cycle. My issue is I have a difficult time distinguishing between the 7.8 and 8.0 levels. Today for instance, i held the test up with the sun behind me and it read 8.0 but if i moved my shadow in between the test and sun it clearly read 7.8. Which is the correct approach? I think it's the latter because I then did acid drop test and a single drop made a definite 7.6ish reading. Just want to confirm.

Also, my CYA has been at 60 since October but ive not added any stabilizer and we've had a fair amount of rain over the three months. I would've expected to see a drop but does it normally take longer to notice any significant change?

Many thanks in advance!


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[kimkats]

PH test-I hold a white plastic plate up behind my PH test with a bright light on over it. I use the light over my stove. I move the plate in and out until I get a good color match. I do most of my tests inside. The only one I do outside is the CYA test.

I am not sure why your CYA has not gone down but be happy about it. Keep an eye on it and add as needed.

Kim