First Pool - Where From Here?

[straygecko]

First time pool owner - bought a house with an in-ground pebble surface pool. Have had a service for the last couple of months while we got settled in the house. I just got my TF-Pro test kit and am getting ready to dump the service, take over maintenance and prepare to convert to a SWG. Currently the pool service puts pucks in the skimmer. I'll probably doing that until I get the SWG installed.

Pool math says TA & CH is low. I've got a couple of boxes of baking soda for the TA and plan on starting with that. Pool math says bring the CH up to 450 but I've also read that in hot sunny climates (like here in Florida) it will creep up on its own. Should I just bring it up to around 300 or so and see how it goes?

Not sure why Pool math didn't link my numbers. Here they are:

FC 5.0
pH 7.3
TA 40
CH 200
CYA 35
Salt 2800
CSI -0.93
Water temp 89 F

See anything else in my numbers that I should be addressing right away?

 

[HermanTX]

Welcome to TFP.
Please read
Pool Care Basics

First - stop putting pucks in the skimmer baskets. It is bad for your equipment as that concentration of acid goes direct to your pump. Purchase a floater if you must use pucks.

Call your CYA 40 - always round up to the higher decade number.
If you were using pucks, I expected your CYA to be higher. Pucks add CYA and FC and also lowers pH with the acid in them.

Keep your FC in range of 5-7ppm for CYA of 40.

Raise your TA but only slightly - anything 50 and above is fine (to 80).

I would target your CH for 300-350 - raise it incrementally. Do not overshoot.

I am surprised with a Salt reading of 2800 with using pucks. I guess they have been using pucks a long time but I am still surprised your CYA is not higher.

I suggest moving to LC to avoid raising your CYA.

You may want to test again and also test your fill water, so you know what is being added to your pool as you fill due to evaporation.

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP!

 

[straygecko]

Thanks for your insights. I've read through Pool Care Basics a couple of times but its all new and I'm trying to make sure I understand it correctly.

I asked the PB why he was putting pucks in the skimmer when I had a tablet chlorinator. Oh, those chlorinators get clogged and are just problematic he says. Always puts them in the skimmer. Whatever, same guy who didn't tell me my filter was hopelessly clogged. So bad my suction was so low my pool cleaner wouldn't move. Replaced the filter cartridge and bam my MX-8 is climbing the walls. I'll get him a floater while I'm waiting on the pool contractor to fix a few things and add a SWCG then bye-bye PB. Floater is better than skimmer anyway since I have to turn off my skimmer at times because I'm keeping the water level low per my pool contractor because one corner of the pool has settled and/or was built low (34 yo pool) and I have a 1/2 - 3/4" gap between the tiles and the deck where grout has cracked and missing in a lot of spots. Waiting for the quote this week to repair, replace my valves, add the SWCG and add a heater.

I was planning on going slow with the TA. Pool Math says take it to 70 with 8 lbs of baking soda. I'm going to start with 2 lbs and see where it gets me. Pool math says take CH to 450 with 42 lbs of calcium chloride. I plan to pick up a 25 lb box and add half to start with and see where it gets me.

I was also little surprised with the low CYA from what I've read about the pucks. PB has been using them for about 6 months, not sure what previous owners were doing. I'm not too worried about pucks raising CYA as I'm going to a SWCG (hopefully within a month or so) and I've read CYA needs to be higher here in sunny Florida with a SWCG - around 70 seems to be the recommendation. But I plan on leaving it alone until I get the SWCG installed and will monitor the puck induced increase in the meantime.

My fill water is currently afternoon thunderstorms. I'm having to remove water to keep the water level lower per pool contractor until gap is fixed. Lowered to recommended level per contractor and a week later had to lower back down an inch. Contractor will be lowering the level a couple of inches more when they come to fix the gap. I assume that the combo of removing water and rain is lowering my CH. I'll have to test my fill water for when we top it up after the repairs - city says water runs about 100 mg/l hardness so I'm expecting a pretty low CH.

 

[HermanTX]

My fill water is currently afternoon thunderstorms. I'm having to remove water to keep the water level lower per pool contractor until gap is fixed. Lowered to recommended level per contractor and a week later had to lower back down an inch. Contractor will be lowering the level a couple of inches more when they come to fix the gap. I assume that the combo of removing water and rain is lowering my CH. I'll have to test my fill water for when we top it up after the repairs - city says water runs about 100 mg/l hardness so I'm expecting a pretty low CH.

this also explains the low CYA but your Salt level should have decreased as well. CH, CYA and salt all decline if you drain water and add tap water (or rainwater).

Your plan for increasing CH and TA is good - go slow. Do the same when it is time to increase CYA.
Before you add salt - test it again to determine your current level.

Use of floater is best. Hope your repairs go well.