Chlorine balancing frustration

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CUTiger78 said:
You could actually just use a garden hose & siphon off some water each day and add that small amount back each day. Maybe drop the water level by a couple of inches each time. In a week or so, you would be down at the CYA target level Linen mentioned.[/i]
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I have done in the past when CYA was completely out of hand. I started out with a pool that was well over 100 and had it down into the 60's in a few months. It was far less of a hassle than removing water and dealing with pumps.
 
OK, final drain/refill is done (I think).

2½ hours to drain about 10k gallons.
3 hours to refill.

The test results:
Using the K-1000 first:
CL - 0
pH - 6.4-6.6 (Was a shade or two less than the 6.8 mark)

Rest of tests:
FC - 0
CC - 0
TC - 0
TA - 30
CH - 130
CYA - 55

Given these results, and using the TFP goals on the pool calculator, here's what I come up with needing (please correct me if I'm wrong).
- To get to shock levels, about 6.5 jugs of the bleach I got at Lowes (see my post above).
- For pH, 188 oz of Borax
- For TA, 380 oz baking soda

Questions:
- Do I need to bother with CH?
- Is that CYA of 55 "close enough for government work", or should I drain/refill another 2,500-3k gallons or so?
- Do I need to adjust the amount of Borax since I'm adding baking soda?
- Should I get TA/pH to desired levels before SLAMing?

The wife asked about converting to a salt system... Any thoughts? Would this all be easier with that?
 
First adjust TA up using Baking soda. I get 141 oz by weight of BS to raise your TA to 50 from 30. Let it mix in for an hour then retest. Redose if needed to get up to 50 ppm. Adjust ph will bring it up more.

Next, adjust ph. It will be at a different value after your TA adjustment. If it reads 6.8 it can actually be lower, so adjust up using Borax to 7.4 ph then let it mix with the pump on for an hour and retest. Then redose to 7.4 ph. When it reads 7.2-7.4 you can start the SLAM process.

55 ppm is close enough for cya. (nice job by the way)

Per the CH, don't worry about that until after the SLAM process. What pool surface do you have?
 
SickPup404 said:
Questions:
- Do I need to bother with CH?
If you have a vinyl liner, not at the moment.

- Is that CYA of 55 "close enough for government work", or should I drain/refill another 2,500-3k gallons or so?
Heck, that is too close for government work. I think that will do fine, treat it as 60 when figuring your chlorine levels.

- Do I need to adjust the amount of Borax since I'm adding baking soda?
You may want to consider washing soda, which will adjust both TA and pH. If not then fix your pH before the SLAM and your TA after. Note, I see linen disagrees with this, I think either way will probably work.

- Should I get TA/pH to desired levels before SLAMing?
YES!!! Get that above 7 right away.
Click to expand...
 
TA of 30 ppm is too low to be left alone. When TA is very low, it should be adjusted first so that there is more buffer in the pool before trying to adjust ph. 60 ppm is about as low as a non borated pool should be. Adjusting with baking soda to 50 ppm will still allow for the Borax to raise it the rest of the way to 60 while adjusting up the ph.
 
Running tally....

Had about 6# of Alkalinity Rise left (sodium hydrogen carbonate) from the pool store. Added all of it (surface broadcast method) and waited about two hours, then retested pH & TA:
- pH came up to 6.8
- TA came up to 60

Had about 16# of pH Rise left (sodium carbonate) from the pool store. Added all of it (bucket dissolve method) and am currently waiting to re-test pH/TA so I know how much baking soda/borax to buy...
 

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*facepalm*

After about 2½ hours with the filter running (and after paying attention to bucket instructions, and not the good folks here trying to help):
pH - 8.4~8.6 (off the K-1000 scale by a shade or two)
TA - 120

That's the last time I pay any attention to directions on a pool chemical bucket... Glad I only had about 16# and not a full bucket of 25# or more...
 
ph adjustments must take into account both the starting ph and TA (and borate level if significant). The poolcalculator takes into account all of these. Time to lower the ph using Muriatic Acid. I would shoot for a ph of 7.2. This will also lower TA a little bit which is good now that yours is high (but not something to worry about). Make sure you have your current (new) TA plugged into the calculator.
 
OK,

Re-tested everything before adding the Muriatic Acid.
Using the K-1000 first:
CL - 0
FC - 0
CC - 0
TC - 0
pH - 8.4
TA - 120
CH - 120
CYA - 55

Used the pool calculator and got 98 oz. to add. Put in a little less than 3/4 of a gallon of this Muriatic Acid from Lowes. Pump was running and I poured it about 1-2" off the surface in front of a water return jet.

How long do I need to wait before re-testing? It will likely end up being in the AM...
 
OK,

I headed to bed early last night, so here are the current results (pump ran all night):
pH - ~7.4 (lighter than the 7.5 block on the K-1000 test, but not as light as the 7.2 block)
TA - 100

Pool calculator indicates to add 32 oz. to drop the final .2. I guesstimate I have about ¼ gallon of Muriatic Acid left in the jug and will be adding it in a few minutes.

Do I need to wait any specific amount of time before starting the SLAM? Maybe an hour?
(Sorry for all the hand-holding...)
 

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