First test with TF-100 December 12, 2013.. Opinions please

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Re: First test with TF-100 December 12, 2013.. Opinions plea

Good morning..
I'm starting to refill my pool in a few hours, 90% drained.
So, I will go to Home Depot and buy 3-4 gallons of bleach and get that part under control. Then work on PH. I'll wait until the pool is filled and the pump is running before I add the bleach. I'll purchase borax to raise the PH to about 7.5 if needed.

My CH will never get below 500 unless I run a line from my water softener, I haven't ruled out that option yet though.

After my Chlorine and PH is in good shape I'll work on my CYA and TA.

To raise PH I'll use borax as needed, to raise TA I'll use Baking Soda as needed.

So my last issue would be to make sure my CYA is ok. I should increase CYA by adding cyanuric acid, as I read this is the way to do this.

I hope that I'm doing all this the right way and I'm glad that I'm doing this prior to Spring time as it's would seem easier to manage any issues before the desert temps rise up.

I would appreciate any advise if I'm on the right course of action and if my reading of Pool School was understood.

I'll be sure to post my first chlorine and PH test results as soon as the pool is full and pump is running to get some feed back.

Thank you for all your help. :goodjob:
 
What is the PH of your fill water ? I would hold off on purchasing borax or baking soda. Post the test results and we'll go from there.

It would be cheaper to get your bleach at Walmart. As for the CYA start getting it in there as soon as it's filled and pump is running. Considering where you live I would get the CYA level up to 50 ppm. In the summer you may want to raise it a tick higher.
 
Re: First test with TF-100 December 12, 2013.. Opinions plea

Jeff, I'll check PH from fill valve first. I should have mentioned that earlier. Yes, Walmart is a great idea
I hope carry 10% bleach or higher. CYA will go into a sock in the skimmer and I'll run it 24 hours at least
Thanks
 
If they don't have the 10% regular household bleach will be just fine. I would hang the sock with CYA in front of a return. That's how I do it. Give it a squeeze every once and while to help it dissolve.
 
Re: First test with TF-100 December 12, 2013.. Opinions plea

If they have 10% bleach left in the pool section, it is likely quite old now and won't be much if any more potent than the 8.25% in the laundry isle. At Walmart, it will be plain unscented "Great Value", but any brand of the same type is fine.
 
Re: First test with TF-100 December 12, 2013.. Opinions plea

Fill water PH is 7.6
Chlorine fill water is 2
CH was 375 using TF-100 test. Much lower then I thought.

I Used the basic Taylor K-1000 test kit for PH and chlorine tests

So I'll head to Walmart tonight and purchase bleach and CYA/Stabilizer. Pool should be up and running in about 6 hours

Any other advise or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Everyone's help has been fantastic
Thank you
Mark
 
Re: First test with TF-100 December 12, 2013.. Opinions plea

I think you got a pretty good plan.

Get it filled and circulated for an hour or so. Run a full set of tests and then start adjusting ... the CYA will take awhile to dissolve and a week to register on the test, so get that in quick and get the pH and FC in range. Likely you will not need to do anything for the TA and CH.
 
Re: First test with TF-100 December 12, 2013.. Opinions plea

Bought 3 jugs of 8.25% bleach and the CYA. Starting up the pool in 3 hours with a sock of CYA and will run it 24 hours. I'll add bleach tomorrow if needed. Excited to see what the results will be. :party:
 
Re: First test with TF-100 December 12, 2013.. Opinions plea

After a couple of hours of running pump with new water :

FC 7
CC 0.5
TA 170
CYA 45, but have a sock(2lbs)full of this near a return for right now and know that it might take a week to fully register

PH seems a little high @ 7.8 taken with the basic kit K-1000
 

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Re: First test with TF-100 December 12, 2013.. Opinions plea

Hi, I just read through your thread and your CYA results have been all over the place. At least once it went up instead of down after a drain/refill cycle. I would take the sock of CYA out of the pool for now and re-test the CYA in a few days. You can always put it back in if you need a boost, and the difference between 45 and 50 is not a big deal. To make sure you are getting an accurate result, read the CYA test in full sun with the sun at your back and hold the tube at waist level. Add the test mixture to the tube until the dot is completely gone. You can pour the test solution back into the mixing container then fill the tube several times to re-read the result and double check for accuracy.

pH is ok, but knock it down with some Muriatic Acid if it goes higher. If you regularly run fountains, waterfalls, or attached spas you may want to aim at keeping the pH around 7.2 based on a weekly test. The aeration from those water features will drive up pH over time.
 
Re: First test with TF-100 December 12, 2013.. Opinions plea

I do have a spa that I can turn on the turbo jets to lower the TA. It would really agitate the spa water but not the pool, it would over flow into the pool as agitated water . In this climate I thought I read that a reading a 70-80 for CYA would be good for stabilizing the chlorine, especially during the 110 degree months that will be here soon enough.

Thanks and let me know if that makes sense on the spa water agitation method. I'll add some acid to lower the PH for now.

Hopefully this makes sense

Thank you

EDIT: CYA is out for now and I will check it again the way it was suggested, full sunlight behind me in a few days :cheers:
 
Re: First test with TF-100 December 12, 2013.. Opinions plea

Mark R said:
In this climate I thought I read that a reading a 70-80 for CYA would be good for stabilizing the chlorine, especially during the 110 degree months that will be here soon enough.
Click to expand...

Start low at first. It's always easier to slowly crawl up to a level rather than to jump right in. There's a high chance that a CYA level much lower than that could work better for you even in the summer months. There is no real "right" answer for this level.....just one that works well with YOUR pool. Start low and see how much chlorine you lose day to day. If you are losing more than 2FC per day then raising your CYA level a bit will help, if you're losing less than that.....there's no need to raise it higher, your pool has found a happy place.

Same goes for your TA level. Very seldom is there a need to lower the TA level ASAP. Let your PH level determ how quickly your TA level drops. As your PH level goes up to around 7.6ish (I suggest this as the South West has high levels of calcium.....a low PH level helps avoid calcium scaling) lower the PH level back down to 7.2. This will slowly also lower your TA levels as you go. There's no real need that I can see to agitate the water in this case. Let the water dictate the pace it wishes to take. After a while all your levels will find a spot where you are doing very little work to maintain the pool.....but rushing to that spot can leads to other issues.
 
Re: First test with TF-100 December 12, 2013.. Opinions plea

Just to clarify, aeration does not lower the TA, it raises the pH ... which then allows you to add more acid to lower both.
 
Re: First test with TF-100 December 12, 2013.. Opinions plea

Got it, thanks guys

EDIT: poured about a pint and half of Acid in today to lower PH and will check after few hours of run time.

Should have paid more attention in my chem 300 classes lol

Excellent professors on here though :cheers:

My real test will be when it gets 110 degree 's outside and I start up my solar system and the pool water shoots up to 85. I will need someone here on speed dial then
 
Re: First test with TF-100 December 12, 2013.. Opinions plea

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Sent from -3 or -7
 
Re: First test with TF-100 December 12, 2013.. Opinions plea

Brushpup said:
Just curious Mark, you are showing 45 Cya now, so what is your goal for Cya level?
Click to expand...


Sorry Patrick, I'm not ignoring your question. I'm trying to learn how the pool calculator works. I'll keep checking my chlorine and if it's dropping a lot over a few days I'll probably raise CYA up little by little. Not sure what my target should be at this point. At least it's not in the 150 range anymore
#hatepucks !
Mark :cheers:
 
Re: First test with TF-100 December 12, 2013.. Opinions plea

No sweat, I didn't think you were. I'd leave it alone for now, and you may find that 50 works OK. You may find you need more in summer time. Easier to adjust it up than down.
 
Re: First test with TF-100 December 12, 2013.. Opinions plea

Thank you Patrick, thats the consensus. Got plenty of chlorine, Acid and stabilizer.

Bye the way, what time does your watch say lol

Just kidding, my lume is great underwater with no pool light with my 116610LV ha ha
Thanks for everyone's help
 

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