Dichlor First

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U

urville

0
Jul 3, 2017
19
Cheyenne, WY
It's a spa. 210 gallon. AG, inflatable. Cartridge filter.

We've never used the tub. Just filled it last night, waters nearing 85 degrees. Concerned about growth of unwanted things.

I dont have a calc test (long story). Alk tests a tad low at 40.

Can add my dichlor to my spa first, just to ensure nothing starts growing? Go get my new drop test kit, and then adjust Calc and Alk and test with aeration and the rest? Am i over thinking this?

PH is 7.4.
Free chlorine is 0
CYA is 0
I have not added anhydrous boric acid yet.
 
Probably not, but the best way to know is to retest later. Open PoolMath, link at top of page, and calculate how much dichlor to add to raise FC up to 3 ppm. And down at the bottom in Effects of Adding Chemicals calculate how much that dichlor will raise CYA.
 
Added Dichlor by poolmath numbers to get cya to 30ppm. I have granulated Dichlor. I used the solid numbers from poolmath rather than the liquid. It definitely dissapates fast, raised my chlorine and free chlorine much higher (Beyond 3ppm by far) but as warned in the forums in old posts, poolmath was off a tad and I need to go just a tad higher on CYA to get it to 30ppm.
 
urville said:
Added Dichlor by poolmath numbers to get cya to 30ppm. I have granulated Dichlor. I used the solid numbers from poolmath rather than the liquid. It definitely dissapates fast, raised my chlorine and free chlorine much higher (Beyond 3ppm by far) but as warned in the forums in old posts, poolmath was off a tad and I need to go just a tad higher on CYA to get it to 30ppm.
Click to expand...

With Dichlor, FC to CYA is almost 1:1. If I read the first line right, your FC is now around 30ppm. That's really high for your CYA!!

A better way would have been to use Dichlor to add FC for days and weeks until you got CYA up to 30. Then stop using Dichlor and switch to bleach from that point forward so you don't add more CYA.

Which part of PoolMath are you referring to being off? The ratios are well known.
 
That was not clear from the sticky at all. It never even makes reference to any amount of time when it says gradual. I thought it meant over hours.

I dont believe I am quite at 30. Before the debacle with my test kit (it got thrown away) the CYA was not yet testing 30 and I stopped dosing at that point. I'm confused you said first 30ppm is high for CYA, then in the next sentence to add gradually over days to 30ppm. Did you just mean its very high very fast? Or... that it is high period and theres a typo or something here. I'm just trying to lock down whats being said thats all.

If you read the threads I did, it is often referenced that poolmath recommended dosages can result in small variances +/- in different tubs/pools. Nothing catastrophic but sometimes people have to add a little more or less, this is where I assumed a lot of the recommendation to go slow until you know how your pool/tub reacts came from.

I'm not rocking the boat, sir, just reflecting back what I see or have read!
 
Perhaps I wasn't precise in my explanation, lol. A CYA of 30ppm is ok. The FC level of 30 is very high for only having a CYA of 30. There is a relationship between the two chemicals. The relationship is a bit different than for a pool but should still balance them appropriately.
As for the actual recommend FC level, please refer back to the Sticky thread.

Don't worry about asking questions and pointing out what you read. My PoolMath comment wasn't meant to criticize you. It was a question I had for you to see which levels you were questioning. I would agree to take the additions slow so you don't go too far. With small spa volumes, a small variation can have a big impact
 
Ok, well that is done but for future reference it does say this in the article I linked,
So, I'm going to assume our target CYA is 30, but feel free to use 20 and adjust as necessary. I find that it's easier to keep track of how much Dichlor you're adding to the tub and calculate the CYA, rather than testing CYA with the drop test kit until you get a 30 ppm reading. For every 10 ppm of Dichlor you add to your tub, you add 9 ppm CYA. So roughly 34 ppm Dichlor will give you 30 CYA. On a fresh fill, and after your water is balanced by the above method, shock your tub with Dichlor to 10 ppm FC. Then over the course of the next several days, depending on bather load, add 24 ppm more FC using Dichlor. You want to keep your FC normally between 3-6 ppm every day. This means you will be testing your FC EVERY DAY.
Click to expand...
 
pooldv said:
Ok, well that is done but for future reference it does say this in the article I linked,

So, I'm going to assume our target CYA is 30, but feel free to use 20 and adjust as necessary. I find that it's easier to keep track of how much Dichlor you're adding to the tub and calculate the CYA, rather than testing CYA with the drop test kit until you get a 30 ppm reading. For every 10 ppm of Dichlor you add to your tub, you add 9 ppm CYA. So roughly 34 ppm Dichlor will give you 30 CYA. On a fresh fill, and after your water is balanced by the above method, shock your tub with Dichlor to 10 ppm FC. Then over the course of the next several days, depending on bather load, add 24 ppm more FC using Dichlor. You want to keep your FC normally between 3-6 ppm every day. This means you will be testing your FC EVERY DAY.
Click to expand...

Somehow I missed that, even though I read it before, out of everything due to my panic over the test kit gone missing, the unsuredness over testing and chem adding temps. (I emailed Taylor about testing temps, though I thought that was covered automatically chem wise and on the little wheel.)

I basically shocked it to 10. The PoolMath numbers for solid dichlor were not compatible with the granulated product I have. So, when I added the amount PM said to reach 30ppm, I did not get to 30ppm. We misordered granule when we wanted liquid dichlor. Granulated does not count as solid for PM purposes.
I'll have to do my own figuring on how much dichlor I am using since PM doesn't really cover granulated.

I'm assuming the tub is unusable until I get the test kit and can be sure of my numbers on Alk/CH/PH/FC. I also have not added the Boric Acid. I ceased all addition as of that issue.
 

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Dichlor is dichlor and is only available in powder/granules as far as I know. Choosing dichlor in PoolMath will give you the correct dose/effects. Dichlor is a chemical composition and any form of dichlor will be the same.

It is safe to use the tub when
FC is above minimum and up to shock level for your CYA, [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]
PH is between 7.2 and 7.8
And the water is clear
 
urville said:
Added Dichlor by poolmath numbers to get cya to 30ppm. I have granulated Dichlor. I used the solid numbers from poolmath rather than the liquid.
Click to expand...

urville said:
I basically shocked it to 10. The PoolMath numbers for solid dichlor were not compatible with the granulated product I have. So, when I added the amount PM said to reach 30ppm, I did not get to 30ppm. We misordered granule when we wanted liquid dichlor. Granulated does not count as solid for PM purposes.
I'll have to do my own figuring on how much dichlor I am using since PM doesn't really cover granulated.
Click to expand...

Just to make sure you figured this out...

Dichlor powder or tabs contain Chlorine and CYA. It only comes in solid form. This is used as a sanitizer with the side effect of adding CYA stabilizer also.

CYA or stabilizer are the same thing. This comes in powder and liquid form. It protects your chlorine from the Sun's UV rays.
 
Right. In all of the mess, I mis-read PoolMaths CYA section as dichlor, that was my mistake.


Dont panic and dont rush. Best advice I could give someone new. Yes, bad things can happen, but dont let all the scary talk of bacteria and algae push you into panicked rushing.


All of the little intricate misunderstanding have been rectified, I believe.


I added .67628 oz by volume of dichlor to the tub raising FC by 13, CYA by 12, and salt by 11.


I never even realized PoolMath had a lower section, so I think people assumed I was using the part where you enter a number and choose a chem from the dropdown and see the resulting change, but I had no idea. I do now.


While I wait for my replacement Taylor kit, I had the local spa shop test the water, they used a biogard system which was a dip test put into an electronic reader.


The Spoa store guy was very concerned about the amount of salt I would be adding with bleach.


I'm not sure how accurate this was but I used an aggregate of this with the free test strips I had from buying the tub and my vac.


Right now my FC is sitting at 5-6. I have added boric acid to 50ppm. I am trying not to touch anything until my replacement k-2006 comes.
 
1 oz of 8% will add 3 fc and 5 ppm salt, the same is true for other forms of clorine. People swim in swg pools with 3000 ppm salt. Your water starts with salt in it so let's say 1000 ppm, you would have to add at least 2000 ppm of salt through bleach plus what your skin will give off to get above swg levels and you still might not taste it. It would take 400 oz bleach or 3.3 bottles or 1200 ppm clorine.
 
Yes, salt level will not rise enough to matter. Salt will make the water feel better on your skin. Saltwater pools are typically 2800-3600 ppm, mine has been over 4000 ppm and doesn't give an error until 4500 ppm. Human tears are 9000 ppm and the ocean is 35,000 ppm.
 
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