First experience

[jjrapy]

First at all, Happy new Year TFP folks!

Just wanted to talk about my first experience with hands on the TF-100 Pro (I ordered it last year in February, came by ship to my country in June and due to work issues just now that I can put hands on it):

• Instructions clear and also watched some videos
• My DPD powder just got solidified and with some black dots (photos attached). Any comments? are both still good to go? how can I crush it again?
• PoolMath log attached too (hope results are valid , time will tell)

Open to any comments, advices, etc.



Thanks

 

[Jimrahbe]

J,

Not quite an "overnight" shipment.

Crushing the solid DPD powder back into a powder should work just fine.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[jjrapy]

J,

Not quite an "overnight" shipment.

Crushing the solid DPD powder back into a powder should work just fine.

Thanks,

Jim R.

Lol, exactly Jim but it is the price to stick with tfp philosophy.
Which will be the best method to crush it back into powder?

Also, just some new numbers I took early in the morning before anyone got into the pool:

My CYA levels are higher than yesterday (if yesterday results are reliable being the first time lol)

 

[Mdragger88]

Wow, that was definitely on the slow boat !
That happened because of moisture.
I use a butter knife to get the dpd powder loosened up again- be sure to put something (a piece of paper) under the container so if you spill it you can pour it back in the jar. It will leave black marks on your counter/rag if it gets on there & gets wet.
If you have any of those silica desiccant packs (like come in shoe boxes etc.) you should throw one in the kit near the powder to prevent further moisture intrusion.

 

[Mdragger88]

Your cya is over 90 so you should do the diluted cya test so you can determine how much water you need to exchange.
Step 8

CYA - Cyanuric Acid Test

Cyanuric acid (CYA) is the chemical name for the product commonly called “pool water stabilizer” … Read more…

www.troublefreepool.com

Get that fc up as well FC/CYA Levels

Do you have visible algae or cloudy water?

 

[jjrapy]

Your cya is over 90 so you should do the diluted cya test so you can determine how much water you need to exchange.
Step 8

CYA - Cyanuric Acid Test

Cyanuric acid (CYA) is the chemical name for the product commonly called “pool water stabilizer” … Read more…

www.troublefreepool.com

Get that fc up as well FC/CYA Levels

Do you have visible algae or cloudy water?

Hey Mdragger,

First, thanks for taking time and happy new year.

Answering your question, I don’t see algae as far as I know but I think is a little little bit cloudy, almost imperceptible with some little white stuff floating on the opposite site of the return.
I don’t know if it something that tears apart from the edge.

 

[Mdragger88]

This is how clear you want it to be

How Clear is TFP Clear?
After you determine how much water to exchange to get the cya down to a reasonable level & do so, then you will need to do an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test @ target fc levels
to determine if organics are an issue.
You can do the oclt now if you wish to see where you stand but with a very high cya target fc is pretty high & this will use more of your precious reagents.
You will see on the chart FC/CYA Levels that target fc for a cya of 100 is 11-13ppm & SLAM Process fc level to eradicate an algae problem is 39ppm. The minimum fc should ever be is 8ppm for that cya.
That’s ALOT of drops of reagent & ALOT of bleach Especially if a slam is needed.

Another issue is the fact that the ph test becomes inaccurate @ fc levels above 10ppm so you can see how maintaining such a high cya level is impractical on multiple levels.

Here’s some reading on exchanging water to help you formulate your plan once you’ve done the diluted cya test & truly know where you stand there.

Draining - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Btw- when performing the cya test you can pour the mixture back into the squirty bottle & redo the last part of the test (googly eye part) as many times as you need to. I usually do it about 3 or 4 times to confirm/average my interpretation.
Tube should be waist high, do the test in bright light (outside on a sunny day with your back to the sun is ideal), sample should be room temp.
A couple other testing tips -
*Use a white background to read the ph results
* for Ta - once the color no longer changes that’s your result
Example- deep barbie pink @ drop 10, same color @ drop 11 = Ta of 100
Good luck report back with your findings

 

[jjrapy]

This is how clear you want it to be

How Clear is TFP Clear?
After you determine how much water to exchange to get the cya down to a reasonable level & do so, then you will need to do an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test @ target fc levels
to determine if organics are an issue.
You can do the oclt now if you wish to see where you stand but with a very high cya target fc is pretty high & this will use more of your precious reagents.
You will see on the chart FC/CYA Levels that target fc for a cya of 100 is 11-13ppm & SLAM Process fc level to eradicate an algae problem is 39ppm. The minimum fc should ever be is 8ppm for that cya.
That’s ALOT of drops of reagent & ALOT of bleach Especially if a slam is needed.

Another issue is the fact that the ph test becomes inaccurate @ fc levels above 10ppm so you can see how maintaining such a high cya level is impractical on multiple levels.

Here’s some reading on exchanging water to help you formulate your plan once you’ve done the diluted cya test & truly know where you stand there.

Draining - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Btw- when performing the cya test you can pour the mixture back into the squirty bottle & redo the last part of the test (googly eye part) as many times as you need to. I usually do it about 3 or 4 times to confirm/average my interpretation.
Tube should be waist high, do the test in bright light (outside on a sunny day with your back to the sun is ideal), sample should be room temp.
A couple other testing tips -
*Use a white background to read the ph results
* for Ta - once the color no longer changes that’s your result
Example- deep barbie pink @ drop 10, same color @ drop 11 = Ta of 100
Good luck report back with your findings

Thank you very much @Mdragger88 ! I think I will try draining and refill first.
For the PH, I also bought the ph meter with the tf-100 kit, calibrated and got 7,8 value.

I’ll try the oclt today

 

[Mdragger88]

Thank you very much @Mdragger88 ! I think I will try draining and refill first.
For the PH, I also bought the ph meter with the tf-100 kit, calibrated and got 7,8 value.

I’ll try the oclt today

It’s best to do the actual ph test on a regular basis- otherwise you won’t know if your meter needs attention. The nice thing is that the meter isn’t affected by the high fc - it only affects the ph reagent.

 

[jjrapy]

It seems good today but only chemistry now what’s happening underneath lol

 

[Mdragger88]

Whats the round thing?

 

[jjrapy]

Whats the round thing?
View attachment 467271

Lol my mom is a believer of chlorine pills

 

[Mdragger88]

I worried this might be the case.
It needs to go - it’s the reason your cya is 100+
The fc gets used up every day but the cya remains in the water until the water is replaced. Every puck adds more cya.
Here’s what each 8oz chlorine tablet does to your pool once dissolved

This continually makes the target fc level needed to remain sanitary climb higher & higher - it’s hard to catch a moving target.
At this point you need to replace at least 50% of your water & put your pool on the liquid diet.

How to Chlorinate Your Pool

Before chlorinating your pool, you should know these simple tips. Learn the best way to add chlorine to your pool.

www.google.com

 

[jjrapy]

I worried this might be the case.
It needs to go - it’s the reason your cya is 100+
The fc gets used up every day but the cya remains in the water until the water is replaced. Every puck adds more cya.
Here’s what each 8oz chlorine tablet does to your pool once dissolved
View attachment 467273
This continually makes the target fc level needed to remain sanitary climb higher & higher - it’s hard to catch a moving target.
At this point you need to replace at least 50% of your water & put your pool on the liquid diet.

How to Chlorinate Your Pool

Before chlorinating your pool, you should know these simple tips. Learn the best way to add chlorine to your pool.

www.google.com

You hit the target now that I think.. she continually puts chlorine puts, since the beginning.. over here pool caretakers use like every chemical sold in stores (clarifier, algaecide, chlorine puts).
I will give it a try.

I now realized that after exiting of the pool, some green stains remains on my watch (see picture) or is just chlorine?

 

[Mdragger88]

No telling what’s on the watch.
I suspect the algae in the pool is barely being kept at bay judging by the slightly cloudy water. Just because the water isn’t green doesn’t mean it’s algae free & clearish water doesn’t necessarily mean sanitary.
Algae is like the canary in the coal mine - it shows up before all the rest of the nasties but if you suppress algae with algaecides & potions you have no obvious indication that things aren’t as they should be.
A large water exchange will not only remedy the cya problem but will also help dilute the other potions that have possibly been added.
If the puck use is resumed water will need to be exchanged on a regular basis to keep cya in check.
In the U.S. many Trichlor tablets also contain copper algeacides. They often have the word “Blue/ blu” on the packaging or boast that they are 4 in 1 /multi function etc.
Not sure about what’s available where you are.
Copper is definitely not something you want in your pool water. It can cause the water, fingernails, & blonde hair to turn green & can stain pool surfaces. The only way to remove copper is to exchange water.

 

[jjrapy]

No telling what’s on the watch.
I suspect the algae in the pool is barely being kept at bay judging by the slightly cloudy water. Just because the water isn’t green doesn’t mean it’s algae free & clearish water doesn’t necessarily mean sanitary.
Algae is like the canary in the coal mine - it shows up before all the rest of the nasties but if you suppress algae with algaecides & potions you have no obvious indication that things aren’t as they should be.
A large water exchange will not only remedy the cya problem but will also help dilute the other potions that have possibly been added.
If the puck use is resumed water will need to be exchanged on a regular basis to keep cya in check.
In the U.S. many Trichlor tablets also contain copper algeacides. They often have the word “Blue/ blu” on the packaging or boast that they are 4 in 1 /multi function etc.
Not sure about what’s available where you are.
Copper is definitely not something you want in your pool water. It can cause the water, fingernails, & blonde hair to turn green & can stain pool surfaces. The only way to remove copper is to exchange water.

Another thing to check out.. Thanks a lot

 

[jjrapy]

Hey @Mdragger88 !
I just performed the CYA 3 times today:
1. it gave me above 100
2. I performed according to the recommendations of filling with tap water and then x 2 = 160
3. I performed again just normal with 7,5 ml of pool water and got 100

I don’t know which one to trust but is near or above 100 for sure

 

[Newdude]

2. I performed according to the recommendations of filling with tap water and then x 2 = 160

If it was half tap, half pool water, then 160 is the best guess. The diluted test has twice the error of the original. Or 3X, 4X etc depending on how far its diluted. But your CYA is for sure closer to 160 than it is to 100.

Pucks and shocks got you there and it is unmanageable to remain algae free. See the link about draining in post # 7. CYA lowers at an even % of water exchange because your fill water has 0. So a half exchange would bring you down to 80. Or a 75% exchange would make you a 40.

 

[jjrapy]

The FC went from 9 at night to 7,5 in the morning.
ph still at 8 but I’m noticing some green stains and also some bubbles after the filter run.

If it was half tap, half pool water, then 160 is the best guess. The diluted test has twice the error of the original. Or 3X, 4X etc depending on how far its diluted. But your CYA is for sure closer to 160 than it is to 100.

Pucks and shocks got you there and it is unmanageable to remain algae free. See the link about draining in post # 7. CYA lowers at an even % of water exchange because your fill water has 0. So a half exchange would bring you down to 80. Or a 75% exchange would make you a 40.

Yes, it was half tap half pool.

A 4th test and got 100 again according to picture attached.

 

[Newdude]

Yes, it was half tap half pool

GREAT. Use that one. You're one of us now, so this will never happen again. But if you're helping out a friend with your new skills, and *their* pool has high CYA..... use the diluted test for 90 and above. The scale is logarithmic and not linear. Notice how the lines get that much closer at the higher #s ? The brain looses the ability to tell the difference and you need to go back to the 30-80 range (X2).

The FC went from 9 at night to 7,5 in the morning.

Your minimum FC is a 13. You'll want it several ppm above that to allow daily loss and still remain above minimum. Once you dip below minimum it's a one way ticket to swampville.