He said it. Then me. Then you. Now me again.
Its THAT important for our spring newbs to understand. The north is coming online soon and we'll have to set up entry ropes to keep things orderly.
First time opening - does this plan look good?
- Thread starter NewHouseFirstPool
- Start date
Its THAT important for our spring newbs to understand. The north is coming online soon and we'll have to set up entry ropes to keep things orderly.
FC holding at 10.5 since topping off the chlorine 4 hours ago.
I still can't get any detectable CYA reading! So I went aggressive with the t-shirt and the 3lbs of CYA and really squeezed it ALL out in front of a jet. A few clumps fell to the bottom, but I broke them up with the brush. So hopefully by this time tomorrow I can detect CYA.
I still can't get any detectable CYA reading! So I went aggressive with the t-shirt and the 3lbs of CYA and really squeezed it ALL out in front of a jet. A few clumps fell to the bottom, but I broke them up with the brush. So hopefully by this time tomorrow I can detect CYA.
I open with pretty cold water that takes much longer to saturate the CYA than when its warm, but a day later it's mush. I'm surprised it's being so stubborn.
I'll be lagging behind the rush. Ice went out on the lake near my house last week, which is when I traditionally remove the cover and get some CL in (even if there are ice cubes still in the water).
But this year I am 1500 miles away, and won't get the cover off for almost 4 more weeks. SLAM for me!
- Jun 24, 2021
- 15,979
- Pool Size
- 29000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
Alright, the day has gone pretty well. FC has gone down to 9.5 now, and I added a bit more to bring into 10ppm in preparation for tonight.
Here's another little mystery to solve. In the attached picture you can see the steps and some small pockets of dirt or sediment on that top step (you might have to zoom to see what I'm talking about). I swear I'm brushing every couple of hours, but every couple of hours I come back and there's some more. Is that algae? Or maybe it's just regular old dirty accumulating there because of how the water splashes up onto the steps and dirt gets trapped in the groves. Any thoughts?
Here's another little mystery to solve. In the attached picture you can see the steps and some small pockets of dirt or sediment on that top step (you might have to zoom to see what I'm talking about). I swear I'm brushing every couple of hours, but every couple of hours I come back and there's some more. Is that algae? Or maybe it's just regular old dirty accumulating there because of how the water splashes up onto the steps and dirt gets trapped in the groves. Any thoughts?
Attachments
It's algae (dead). That particular spot has less agitation than other places, so anything suspended has a better chance to settle out sooner. Hard to tell but it appears the water still has a bit of cloudiness - so more settling in the future. If you have a manual vacuum, that will work better to get the algae sucked up and trapped in the filter. Or do what you can to get your robot to cover the area and suck it up.
When brushing, if you have a floor drain, try to encourage the "poofs" to move toward it to again get sucked in and trapped by your filter.
OCLT was a success:
FC: 10
CC: 0
Ph: 7.8
CYA: 20 (detectable now—dot almost obscured at 30)
I believe that means I've officially come to the end of the main steps of opening my pool! Could you all sanity check me on what I think are my next steps now?
* I'll add the rest of my bag of CYA (about 1.5lbs) to get CYA to a minimum of 30
* The FC will naturally fall in the next few days
* Until my SWG is online, I should maintain a minimum 2-5 FC with liquid chlorine
* Should I add more salt to move it from 2600 to around 3200 now so my SWG begins making chlorine when it can? Weather is going to be 50's this week and pool water will probably be under 60. But the SWG doesn't show the low temp indicator, just low salt and good flow.
FC: 10
CC: 0
Ph: 7.8
CYA: 20 (detectable now—dot almost obscured at 30)
I believe that means I've officially come to the end of the main steps of opening my pool! Could you all sanity check me on what I think are my next steps now?
* I'll add the rest of my bag of CYA (about 1.5lbs) to get CYA to a minimum of 30
* The FC will naturally fall in the next few days
* Until my SWG is online, I should maintain a minimum 2-5 FC with liquid chlorine
* Should I add more salt to move it from 2600 to around 3200 now so my SWG begins making chlorine when it can? Weather is going to be 50's this week and pool water will probably be under 60. But the SWG doesn't show the low temp indicator, just low salt and good flow.
It does if you're comfortable its dirt on the steps.
Great
It might take a while with mild UV still. Have a beverage and learn how it'll behave at this point in the season. Little by little it'll lose more week over week as it warms up.
Just so we are crystal clear, and you stay that way......
You want minimum FC for your CYA, plus your recent daily loss, plus one or two ppm for wiggle room. When you next test, you do not want to be all up on minimum, you want a little breathing room. It takes less daily dose to do that now than it does in July. Adjust dose as necessary.
Get a new baseline test if it's been a while. You just added a ton of jugs and it went up a little. But yeah. It's never a bad idea to use the idle time to creep up to target. It'll help pass the wait time as well, with less pacing back and forth looking at the weather app. Lol.
It uses water temp. It may dance for a few weeks between on and off.
If you are aiming for a CYA of 30, keep your CL up at the top of the range - about 6. Or even a point or two more.
That will ensure you never get below minimum. And give a bit of a margin if the "dirt" is still really algae.....but it might be all dead now, and you will just have to deal with what continues to settle out for a while.
If the SWCG isn't complaining, just use it. Sneak up on the added salt - it may take 24 hrs of mixing between batches.
That will ensure you never get below minimum. And give a bit of a margin if the "dirt" is still really algae.....but it might be all dead now, and you will just have to deal with what continues to settle out for a while.
If the SWCG isn't complaining, just use it. Sneak up on the added salt - it may take 24 hrs of mixing between batches.
I decided to keep things at SLAM levels one more day just to be sure, and maybe to kill off any last algae. Plus, we've had a couple heavy rains, which helped get my water level up a couple inches to where I wanted it but also dilutes things. I've seen a big reduction in that "sediment" on the stairs, and hardly any is collecting along the seems of the pool bottom.
FC: 9.5
CC: 0
TA: 60
Ph: 7.3
CH: 175
CYA: 30
Salt: 2400
Anything else seem off in those numbers? Pool Math says 7.3 Ph is a little low, but it was 7.8 this morning, so who knows.
FC: 9.5
CC: 0
TA: 60
Ph: 7.3
CH: 175
CYA: 30
Salt: 2400
Anything else seem off in those numbers? Pool Math says 7.3 Ph is a little low, but it was 7.8 this morning, so who knows.
And 7 is equally ok. An 8.0 is also ok and mine sits there for the season.
Poolmath means well but is reporting where most pools want to be. Yours is allowed to stop and smell the flowers a little if she wants.
I went into settings and turned off the ideal levels because my pool and I are besties and it was kinda weird with a third wheel.
Two things:
1. Obviously, salt is low. Time to add some and get that SWCG fired up.
2. You're a degreed graduate of the informal and made-up-by-me TFP Pool Academy now! Time to link PoolMath to your user account here, so you don't have to keep typing your test results. Your username/account information for PoolMath login has to be the same as used here. If you used a social media account for PoolMath, you may have to sign out and then create a new account. In PoolMath, hit the gear icon top right, and scroll all the way down. Check "Link from TroubleFreePool.com".
By clicking on your username in any post you make, others can see your current readings. (Try mine, although they are several month old!). If you elect to subscribe via the $8 annual fee, others can see your history too, to better track what maybe trending for your pool.
Thanks! I don't have that link in the app settings. I did already purchase the annual subscription a couple weeks ago. Is there a way to still link up my app account to my profile here?
Log out of the app and then create a new login to mirror your TFP login and use that from now on.
- Jun 24, 2021
- 15,979
- Pool Size
- 29000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus