First Test Results :) What next?

[shortpballer]

Thank You very much for your help thus far.

I added about half the gallon of muriatic acid (20 degree) that I purchased from lowes as you suggested. And put it in the way suggested as well.

I did all the tests again to see what changed. Here are the results:

PH: 7.5
FC: 7
CC: 0
T/A: 120
CH: 625
CYA: 85


Am I ready to go swimming ?

PoolMath only does calculations. It does not tell you what to do. That is up to you to decide (with our help for now of course )

That result is not correct. Check the volume you have entered and make sure the TA is set.

Like I said, your CYA is tolerable, unless you want to replace half the water ... figured you did not want to do that given you state's water issues.

 

[shortpballer]

Is there no way to get my CYA and CH down? Those are the only things that look pretty darn high? Or is the only solution for that to empty out half my water and refill? Will this get better over time?

 

[jblizzle]

You need to get your FC up (7ppm is the MINIMUM for your CYA).
If the water is clear, then there is nothing stopping you from swimming.

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You would have to replace water or pay to have reverse osmosis treatment done to lower the CH and CYA.

 

[shortpballer]

OK,
I will add some more bleach. That seems like a lot of chlorine I would prefer a pool with lower amounts of cholorine. Its sad my CYA is so high. Would getting a salt water system in the future help change this?

You need to get your FC up (7ppm is the MINIMUM for your CYA).
If the water is clear, then there is nothing stopping you from swimming.

- - - Updated - - -

You would have to replace water or pay to have reverse osmosis treatment done to lower the CH and CYA.

 

[jblizzle]

Why do you care if the FC is high? With a higher CYA level, you should actually be having to add LESS FC daily than if your CYA was lower. The problems with high FC start when you need to SLAM.

With a SWG, you are allowed to keep the FC a little lower for a given CYA and generally avoid issues.

 

[shortpballer]

I care if it is high, because I prefer not to have a bunch of chlorine in my pool as it negatively affects my skin, eyes, and hair.

So you are saying that at around 7.5 ppm FC, the pool is completely normal? Sorry I've had bad experiences especially when I was younger swimming in pools that would make my eyes burn after just 5 minutes in the pool.

If I were to get a SWG, do you have any recommendations that are not extraordinarily expensive?

Why do you care if the FC is high? With a higher CYA level, you should actually be having to add LESS FC daily than if your CYA was lower. The problems with high FC start when you need to SLAM.

With a SWG, you are allowed to keep the FC a little lower for a given CYA and generally avoid issues.

 

[jblizzle]

You are failing to understand the relationship of the CYA and the FC. The CYA buffers the FC so it is not as harsh. Your previous experiences were with a poorly maintained pool.

I am saying you should keep your FC up around 9ppm everyday so it never drops below 7ppm and it will be very comfortable.

Check out this chart that shows the "active" chlorine level as a function of CYA and FC ... think of this as harshness.
https://www.troublefreepool.com/~richardfalk/pool/HOCl.htm

Assume a CYA of 100ppm and a FC of 10ppm ... the active level is 0.04
Assume a CYA of 50ppm and a FC of 5ppm ... active level is 0.04
Assume a CYA of 20ppm and a FC of 2ppm ... active level is 0.04
All of these would feel EXACTLY the same for eyes, hair, skin, suits, etc

Now assume public pool that does not use CYA at all and keeps the FC at 2ppm ... well within EPA guidelines.
The active chlorine level is 0.97 ... that is over 20 times more harsh and damaging than the levels we recommend when CYA is used.