First results - have questions....

talapier

Member
Jul 13, 2024
17
Byron Illinois
Pool Size
13500
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
We are brand new and just filled our pool yesterday and turned on pump. We have a Taylor test kit on the way and only have strips at this point. 13K gallon pool. Test strip yesterday: pH 8.4, TA 180. Added 32 ounces Super Shock granules (cal-hypo 73%), 48 ounces of pH down granules, 32 ounces CYA granules. We also are using the Zodiac Nature 2 vision pro which has 1inch trichloro tabs plus the mineral cartridge. When I found this site last night, I entered our data. Because CYA was 0, it recommended adding 4lbs, 15 oz. dry stabilizer. SInce we already added 32 ounces, we added another 32 ounces earlier today to bring the total to 4 pounds. We used the sock method and hung the bags in front of the return jet. Within 30 minutes there was nothing left in the socks.

Here is our readings this evening: Free chlorine 5.0; pH 7.2; TA 120ppm; CYA 0.

Here's my observations and questions:
FC is high but I am not unhappy about it. We are not swimming because the pool is a chilly 71 degrees and the heater isn't installed yet. Pool Math says target should be 3. We are also getting trichoro from the Vision Pro which was set at "5". We turned it down to 3. Obviously we didn't add any chlorine. (We are going to use liquid chlorine when needed. We think we want to continue using the Vision pro to 'micro-dose' a steady stream of trichloro - give me your opinion please. We bought a 25 pound tub of tablets but we can return them.)

pH 7.2, TA 120. We don't have any way to add aeration to push the pH higher. I'm happy with the readings because the TA came down a little. I'm thinking that our next step is to wait until the pH rises again and then hit it with more pH down to get the TA lower. One concern I have is that Math Pro says to add Borax 4 pounds - is this something we should do? Remember we started out yesterday with pH 8.4.

CYA - we added 4 pounds in the past 24 hours and got 0 on the test strip. Math pro says to add another 4 pounds, 15 ounces. That makes me nervous because I don't want to turn around to find it at 100 because we are moving too aggressively and quickly. Advice please!

I sure am grateful to have found you guys! TIA - Tammy
 
We have a Taylor test kit on the way and only have strips at this point.
Welcome to TFP!

Don't do anything based on test strips. They're not worth the paper they're printed on and are best left at the bottom of a trash can.

That makes me nervous because I don't want to turn around to find it at 100 because we are moving too aggressively and quickly. Advice please!
You're wise to be concerned about that, and giving any credence to test strips is the best way to end up with that kind of problem.

Wait for your kit to arrive and post those numbers up. We will be able to give you good quality advice based upon that good quality data. You've already taken the first steps to make sure your new pool starts out on the right path, don't let test strips send you down the wrong path already!
 
CYA - we added 4 pounds in the past 24 hours and got 0 on the test strip. Math pro says to add another 4 pounds, 15 ounces. That makes me nervous because I don't want to turn around to find it at 100 because we are moving too aggressively and quickly. Advice please!
Do not add any additional stabilizer until you can test properly for CYA. Test strips are not reliable.

your pH will increase because your TA is high and will help pH rise.

Not sure with Math Pro is. Do you mean PoolMath app? Put it on your phone - it is free but can get the premium version for $8 per YEAR.
 
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