First posting after Taylor 2006c testing

What really helped me, was getting the pool math app fro. Here. Demo is free. Full version about 7 bucks per year
With full version you track all your balancing, cleaning, etc. See trends, can find out what will happen if you add a quantity of a chemical, etc. Very useful. My builder was supposed to start pool then transfer service to company. Week before Thanksgiving, they all go away, never communicate with me and leave me hanging with pool just started but no chemicals or no teaching how to do it. Came on here and ramped up quick, very thankful I did. Now it seems a piece of cake.
 
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Liquid chlorine comes in different concentrations.
Heb, walmart, etc. Sell 6% or lower.
Home depot pool section sells 10% concentration. Other pool places sell 12.5%. Of course price increases as % increases too.
I haven't cracked the math on it but home depot sells boxes of 3 gallon jugs, for 12.99 I think. So far I have been buying from them. Try to determine as precisely as you can what your pool volume is. Builder will have info, plans they gave you should have it, you can calculate it too, but it depends on method too.
I recorded water meter before and after fill, so I am pretty accurate.
That vume is needed in pool math for getting info of how much to add.
Best way to add is have bucket ready, pump turned on (I also turn on water features for good water mixing while adding), then you fill bucket half with water, then add however Oz. Pool math tells you, of the chemical you need to add. Once added, only pour into deep end near fountains or return line, etc. This allows chemical to dilute before reaching pool floor.
Then you rinse the bucket very well. I give about 1 to 1.5 hour to allow chlorine or MA (muriatic acid) to mix well.
Chlorine will manage increasing your FC/CC numbers, MA will manage reducing your pH.
For now. I would focus on FC to be between 4ppm and 5ppm, CC at 0ppm, pH between 7.4 and 7.8.
You may need to find a way to reduce your Cya, as having too much will prevent chlorine from doing its job.
Probably only way to reduce it is to drain some pool water, fill with new water.

@mknauss, @HermanTX @Dirk, are some folks who really helped me ramp up.

Yeah, cannot believe how much rain we got. Dont think I remember rains this long. Central TX is known for tons of sun. Dont despair.
Start testing, post results to bottom of this thread, and awesome folks will chime in with advice.
Also make sure that you regularly clean pool, brush and vacuum, clean out skimmers and pump baskets. That helps water move. Point your return outlets in pool to create circular movement of water. I have mine pointed to do counter clock direction, helps with wayer not standing still.
Also, check to see how long your main pump runs. Builder set me up on a 12 hour cycle at 2800rpm. I reduced to 8 hrs, 3 at 3000, 5 hrs at 2200rom.
You will have to experiment.
I will help as much as I can. Til next time.
 
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I haven't cracked the math on it but home depot sells boxes of 3 gallon jugs, for 12.99 I think. So far I have been buying from them.
You can use your Pool Math app to provide you a comparative price based on % Chlorine being purchased.
Hit the Menu on the top left and go down to the Bleach $ Calculator. Fill in the blanks (I use the fully taxed $$$).
Whichever has the lowest result is the "least expensive" bleach.
The reason to use this is that lower concentrations of bleach requires you to use more volume of it for an equivalent rise in PPM compared to a higher concentration of bleach. This feature in the app balances all of that out to provide you the lowest cost.

For $12.99 (no tax included) for 3 gals of 10% bleach the result is .338cents per oz.

I have found that Pinch a Penny is the best value for their bleach compared to HD or Leslie's.
Try it - you will like it!!!
 
I may not be aware of something with your equipment, but just in case, chlorinator, one I have least, is one where water passes through it non stop. So unless you have some bypass installed to circumvent the chlorinator, water will continue to run through, and any chlorine tabs inside, will continue to be dissolved.
My chlorinator looks like this...piping going in one end, coming out the other. Only way to stop chlorination, is to open the top, remove the remainder of chlorine tabs, then close the lid back again. In pic below, it's the front round black cap, with silver handle, handle moves from setting 1 to 6.
If you don't have bypass then you likely need to do same.
View attachment 171951

Ciaka, that is a salt system chlorinator not one that uses pucks. Did yours have pucks inside?

Chris
 
Here's today's measurements. If I'm reading this right I need to add some liquid chlorine to raise the free chlorine, correct?? Can you explain why the recommendation of the pool math app is targeting higher number than a pool store is? @mknauss @ciaka

I've got some home depot liquid chlorine (10%) shock I got a couple months ago that should work fine I believe.

FE67C313-A91E-425C-B6F6-34D212CD2B49.jpeg
 
Your target level FC is based on your CYA level. See FC/CYA Levels

Pool stores ignore CYA levels. To your detriment. TFPC uses science to base the level of FC needed based on CYA level to keep your pool water clean and sanitary.

For the in depth explanation, see Pool Water Chemistry
 
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@mknauss got it. I've got zero algae and a clear pool. I'll drain some soon to get the cya level down but I just need to adjust to the target fc/cya chart. No need to slam correct? It's starting to feel a bit familiar...hopefully not driving your crazy with questions!
 

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The chlorinator I have, and one I posted pic of, is a trichlor puck system, plus mineral feeder. I removed the mineral cartridge though, only using trichlor pucks until my cya rises up to about 35-40 ppm. Them all pucks will be removed in favor of liquid chlorine.


Ciaka, that is a salt system chlorinator not one that uses pucks. Did yours have pucks inside?

Chris
 
I think folks on here thrive on questions. I asked many and they all responded, teaching me lots.

I notice couple things, based on what I learned from them.
1. Looks like you are testing your water using 25mL samples, and each drop = 0.2ppm.
From what I learned, using 10mL wayer samples in test, and each drop = 0.5 ppm, is sufficient enough, and saves on test chemicals.
I watched all the test videos on this forum. Each video first shows testing based on 25 mL, then shows testing based on 10 mL samples (reagent drop qty differs). Then I recorded in notebook process for each test, using 10 mL. Now all I test is based on this 10 mL sample.

2. Looking at your results, your FC needs to be around 10 per fc/cya chart that others linked in above. Cc above zero,, I guess it may be because if all the rain that was falling into your pool. During the rains, my CC was also registering below 0.5 ppm. So what I did was add about 1 ppm worth of liquid chlorine to my pool. Within couple hours CC level went down to zero again. Then I allowed FC to drop to about 4.5, by not adding any more chlorine. CC being higher than zero, means chlorine is killing germs in your pool.
Your CYA being about 90, may be impeding your chlorine from doing its job. If you drain some (not idea how much, others may chime in based on your pool volume), your cya will go down. My target cya is 35-40 ppm. Cya protects chlorine from being broken down by uv coming from sun. So you need some. Too much cya causes chlorine not to work as intended, so you have to have it no too high, or not too low. From what I read and been told here, 35-40 ppm seems good target, especially in winter time. When summer hits, I will probably increase cya to about 50, if I observe having need to add chlorine very often (that's how you will know cya is too low).
Other than that, based on what I know, your water test looks fine.
I reduced my TA somewhat, to help with stabilizing pH. I found that for my pool, having TA at 75, my pH does not swing up as quick, as when my TA was 200 or 250.
My pool is new, so my pH seems to want to go higher (more basic, with all the calcium and plaster being new). With TA lowered, my pH doesn't swing as much.
Keep testing often, track your trestles in pool math. Helps to see trends.


@mknauss got it. I've got zero algae and a clear pool. I'll drain some soon to get the cya level down but I just need to adjust to the target fc/cya chart. No need to slam correct? It's starting to feel a bit familiar...hopefully not driving your crazy with questions!
 
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Mknauss, confirmed your post. You do need higher level FC than mine. My brain keep taking me to my cya levels, not yours.
I would drain some water to get that cya down. You're going to keep pumping chlorine into the pool. Over few weeks it will cover cost of what it will cost you to partially refill the pool.
Set a timer and drain some. My assumption would be little more is better than not enough.
 
The chlorinator I have, and one I posted pic of, is a trichlor puck system, plus mineral feeder. I removed the mineral cartridge though, only using trichlor pucks until my cya rises up to about 35-40 ppm. Them all pucks will be removed in favor of liquid chlorine.
My mistake, had it confused with a different system. Now I see it's in the signature.

Chris
 
To drain a substantial amount of water you should use a sump pump. To drain an inch or so you can use that spigot if you like. To lower your CYA you need to drain about 50% of your pool volume. But be aware there are risks to draining.
 

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