First Tests

[chad.smith6682]

Hello! I did my first tests today (TF Pro) and things don’t look too great. The pool got finished last week and the guy was here to do start up chems. SWG is not on yet but will be in a few weeks. Here is what I got:

Chlorine-0. The solution was still clear and not yellow at all
Ph-8.2 or higher. Looked slightly pinker than the max pink color on the box beaker.
Chlorine drop test- didn’t turn pink initially which means no chlorine?
Calcium - 250
Alkalinity- 50
CYA - right in between 30 and 40 (so 35).

So pretty messed up right? Thoughts?

 

[pjt]

Chlorine-0. The solution was still clear and not yellow at all

Chlorine drop test- didn’t turn pink initially which means no chlorine?

You have zero FC. Add plain liquid chlorine immediately. Use PoolMath to help with your additions.

CYA - right in between 30 and 40 (so 35).

Round up to the next ten if you're between lines. You have a CYA of 40.

Reference the chlorine/CYA chart: Chlorine / CYA Chart

For a CYA of 40 and using liquid chlorine, use an FC of 7 as your floor. Being in Clovis, you'll want to add a little more CYA to bring it up to ~50 (and also correspondingly bring up your FC level).

Fill out your signature with your pool specs. It helps us help you. You can use mine as a reference.

 

[pjt]

Before bumping up your CYA, make sure you're don't need to SLAM (pass an OCLT, clear water, CC <0.5).

 

[Texas Splash]

Count your blessing with that low CH. Wow. My notes are fairly similar to what is already posted:
1 - CYA we'll round-up to 40. So your FC needs to be balanced to that CYA as noted on the FC/CYA Levels. SO you want the FC between 5-7 and never less than 3 (algae). Treat your pool as a non-salt for now.
2 - Muriatic acid to lower the pH. Will will need to monitor this quite often for the first several weeks as your plaster cures. BUT .....
3 - Your TA is on the low end. However, once you treat the pH the TA will crash too low, so add about 20 ppm worth of baking soda before you treat with pH with acid.

Good job testing!

 

[Texas Splash]

It's important to maintain that FC level. You cannot afford to get algae when the plaster is less than 30 days old. You can't SLAM for algae in new plaster.

 

[chad.smith6682]

You have zero FC. Add plain liquid chlorine immediately. Use PoolMath to help with your additions.


Round up to the next ten if you're between lines. You have a CYA of 40.

Reference the chlorine/CYA chart: Chlorine / CYA Chart

For a CYA of 40 and using liquid chlorine, use an FC of 7 as your floor. Being in Clovis, you'll want to add a little more CYA to bring it up to ~50 (and also correspondingly bring up your FC level).

Fill out your signature with your pool specs. It helps us help you. You can use mine as a reference.

Thanks. Pool math gives several drop down options in the FC calculator (bleach, trichlor , etc). What is just regular plain liquid chlorine? How much would I need?

 

[Oly]

Regular liquid chlorine is bleach and it comes in different % concentrations. Be sure it has no additives and check the production date for freshness as it will degrade over time and heat exposure. Home Depot sells 10% in the garden section.

 

[pjt]

What is just regular plain liquid chlorine?

"Bleach" in PoolMath

If you input your pool volume, it will calculate the amount of liquid chlorine needed to increase your FC the desired amount.

 

[chad.smith6682]

You have zero FC. Add plain liquid chlorine immediately. Use PoolMath to help with your additions.


Round up to the next ten if you're between lines. You have a CYA of 40.

Reference the chlorine/CYA chart: Chlorine / CYA Chart

For a CYA of 40 and using liquid chlorine, use an FC of 7 as your floor. Being in Clovis, you'll want to add a little more CYA to bring it up to ~50 (and also correspondingly bring up your FC level).

Fill out your signature with your pool specs. It helps us help you. You can use mine as a reference.

How do I go about raising the CYA? Poolmath says dry stabilizer or liquid stabilizer. Is it called something else at a pool store? Not finding it.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Search for "chlorine stabilizer"

 

[jedigrover]

CYA is usually marketed as “stabilizer” or “conditioner” (older term, but still appears now and then).

 

[jedigrover]

How do I go about raising the CYA? Poolmath says dry stabilizer or liquid stabilizer. Is it called something else at a pool store? Not finding it.

Get the dry stuff. Put the right amount (given by poolmath) into a sock and hang it in front of a return jet. Best if you don’t let it touch the plaster. Run your pump 24/7. After a few hours, you can gently squeeze the sock every now and then to help it dispense.

 

[PoolStored]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MTFTOBQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

[Deb04]

How do I go about raising the CYA? Poolmath says dry stabilizer or liquid stabilizer. Is it called something else at a pool store? Not finding it.

Note that you don't need to add (and shouldn't add) CYA right now. If you're buying for later, great. Right now your urgent need is Chlorine.