First post, first time pool owner

[cpowers]

Hi guys/gals,

First off, thanks for such a great website. It is awesome (and sadly rare) to find a free resource that is not biased.


About me:
Married with 2 kids, first time pool owner. We live in northern Indiana. Purchased this house last fall. Got to enjoy the pool for a couple months and paid local guy to close it for winter. Generally I do everything myself, so TFP is awesome. I just purchased a TF100 test kit and have done all the test twice.

About the pool:
Fiberglass in ground pool 32' x 15'. Appx 17,000 gallons (probably more like 15 given tapered sides and steps etc.) Hayward Sand Filter, Pump, 3" tab chloriniator and natural gas heater. Automatic pool cover.


Last Week:
After replacing all the eyeballs and getting the pump working from winterizing the pool was clean looking, but definitely foggy (and lots of worms). I only had test strips at this time, chlorine was 0 of course. CYA appeared to be on the order of 50. I ordered the TF100 test kit and bought some 12.5% liquid chlorinator. Rough calculations based on test strips indicated I should put in 140oz to shock the pool. I did not have the test kit yet, but figured putting in 1 gallon of chlorinator with the pump running and daily cleaning would get me a head start on a SLAM.

Now:
I have my TF100 test kit. I ran a full battery on Wednesday and again today, results below. In between Wednesday and Today I did a drain and refill of appx 10% (took advantage of rain, and topped off with softened water).

Test, 1st (Wed), 2nd (Sat)
CYA = 90?, 80
OTO TC = >5, 5 (or just over)
PH = 7.2, 7.2
FC = 18, 13
CC = 0.5-1.0, 0
CH = 350, 500
TA =130, 120

I found the CH test to be somewhat difficult to tell what 'blue' was. I also found the CYA test to be subjective, my reading of 80 today was the best, I would say the black dot was totally obscured, I also did the half strength test and got about 80.

My plans.
I am going to use only liquid chlorine for a while, and do a few small water changes over the next month or so. I would like to get the CYA down to 60. I am hesitant to make any big water changes since the pool is currently crystal clear and feels nice.

I don't have any specific questions, but would be very happy for any feedback, or concerns.

Thanks again!
Chris

 

[DeanP66]

You could lower your CYA down to 60 with a 33% drain and refill. You'll use more water if you do it in steps and it will take longer. 33% isn't that much. It could be done and refilled within a day. I would stop using that tab chlorinator and stick to liquid chlorine only unless you want your CYA to start climbing back up again. That's probably the biggest reason why people end up on this site. They're stumped because they can't figure out why their pool went green when they've been keeping the 3" tabs full at all times. Those tabs constantly add CYA to the pool with each dosage. The chlorine gets burned off, but the CYA stays in the pool. So, they add more tabs and make the problem worse. They don't realize that as the CYA grows and grows, they need more FC in the pool to do the same job.

You can skip the OTO test in the future. There's really no reason to use it. The FC test with the powder and drops is the one you want to use. It is very accurate and can test for high levels of FC (up to 50 PPM).
Regarding the CYA test, if you are not comfortable with the test, you can pour the test sample back into the bottle and run the test over and over to get more comfortable. Also, make sure you do it on a day that you have full sun. The sun should be at your back with the cylinder down by your waist in the shade of your body. I like pouring the solution to each line of 10 and then glancing in to see if I can still see the dot. If I see it, then I pour to the next line and so forth, until I no longer see it. Glance in, don't stare at it or you'll start seeing things.

 

[cpowers]

Thanks for the info. I did the cya your way, it was more binary. Pool has been nice and usable already... Now just need to sell these tablets l

Chris

 

[DeanP66]

You can save the tablets for vacations if you want. Just remember that your CYA will increase a little when you get back. Just adjust your chlorine up to match the CYA/chlorine chart. I also keep a tablet or two on hand in case I get any organic stains on the pool bottom. I just rub the tablet against the stain with a glove on my hand and it lightens and removes it very quickly. Takes a couple of minutes and it's gone.