Do I need to do anything else?

[jakens84]

New AGP installed 3 weeks ago. Water is as clear as can be (to my naked eye). I've been testing daily and maintaining FC according to my CYA levels.

I'm in the Northeast, so our swimming season is probably another month or so before deciding on when to close it up.

Should I be doing anything other than testing/maintaining where I'm at?

Here are my last five days of tests (most recent first). Any results without a reading, I didn't test for.

08/10/20
FC - 3.0
CC - 0.5 (very faint pink during the test right before adding 1 drop to clear it up. So, possibly less than 0.5)
pH - 7.5

08/09/20
FC - 4.0
CC - 0.5 (very faint pink during the test right before adding 1 drop to clear it up. So, possibly less than 0.5)
pH - 7.7
TA - 120
CYA - 25-30 (still trying to get a hang of the TF-100 CYA test)

08/08/20
FC - 3.5
CC - 0.5
pH - 7.2
TA - 120
CYA - ~25

08/07/20
FC - 3.5
CC - 0.5
pH - 7.2
TA - 130
CH - 200
CYA - ~25

08/06/20
FC - 6.0
CC - 0.5
TA - 120
CYA - ~25

 

[JJ_Tex]

Looks good to me. I would treat your CYA at 30 and just make sure you are keeping up with the FC. There were a couple of tests below your target of 4-6, but they were still above the minimum so thats good.

 

[Newdude]

Should I be doing anything other than testing/maintaining where I'm at?

Looks good to me. Don’t bother with the CH test anymore. You proved it’s not zero. Vinyl pools need a little, and then it no longer matters.

The CYA rounds up always to the next 10. So call it 30. It’s easiest to just fill it by 10s and see if the googely eye disappears. Then go to the next 10 if it’s still there.

Your PH seems pretty stable. if it stays that way you don’t need to test the TA daily either. Every other week is OK with a stable PH and even then, it’s just so you know, not because it needs any tweaking.

Keep the FC above minimum at all times with theFC/CYA Levels. Being a few PPM above target will not hurt but you have everything to gain. With a short season it hurts more to lose a week to algae. You can safely swim up to SLAM levels, but a green pool is much less inviting.

 

[jakens84]

Awesome, thanks!


Glad I turned to TFP for all the help. My pool store is essentially run by high school kids doing testing and recommending and had my wife listened to them, we'd have spent over $500 on a bunch of Crud we don't need.

 

[Dirk]

I pretend that my target FC is my minimum FC, and do what it takes to never go below the target amount. So that I never ever get below, or even close to, the minimum FC. Even if that means keeping my FC a little above the target amount. That way, if there is some sort of unexpected chlorine hit, I have that "safety cushion" of FC. A very hot day, a pool party, a person or animal using your pool for "their business," or even a jug of chlorine beyond its freshness date, can all drive FC down quickly. If you're pool is already close to minimum when FC dips, you'll be into the dreaded "algae likely zone" before you next test.

 

[jakens84]

I pretend that my target FC is my minimum FC, and do what it takes to never go below the target amount. So that I never ever get below, or even close to, the minimum FC. Even if that means keeping my FC a little above the target amount. That way, if there is some sort of unexpected chlorine hit, I have that "safety cushion" of FC. A very hot day, a pool party, a person or animal using your pool for "their business," or even a jug of chlorine beyond its freshness date, can all drive FC down quickly. If you're pool is already close to minimum when FC dips, you'll be into the dreaded "algae likely zone" before you next test.

I was being slightly conservative with my liquid chlorine until recently. For some reason, even with all the research on this site I was worried I would shoot the chlorine too high to be safe. But, being a few weeks in as a new pool owner, I'm fine tuning my approach day by day as I better understand pool chemistry.

 

[Dirk]

Obviously, you don't want so much chlorine in your water that it becomes corrosive to your equipment. But that would be a LOT of chlorine. As Dude put it: "You can safely swim up to SLAM levels." No, the primary reason to avoid a too-high chlorine level (based on your CYA level) is that it will just burn off and be a waste of money. The higher above target FC you go, the faster it'll burn off. Which is why I put it "a little above the target amount."

 

[Newdude]

No, the primary reason to avoid a too-high chlorine level (based on your CYA level) is that it will just burn off and be a waste of money

Yeah. I was just making the point. ‘A few PPM’, like 3 for example is great and not much of a waste.