First time trying TFP, pool just opened

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M

mtesh73

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Jul 14, 2015
90
Colts Neck, NJ
Hello everyone,
This is my first time trying the trouble free pool method. I just opened the pool and got the salt level where it should be and turned the SWG down to 00 as the directions state for 24 hours. The filter is running 24 hours straight as well. The water looks great all things considered, I can see the bottom but it is obviously not crystal clear yet. I am awaiting a 2006C, once it arrives I will test the water and post the results.

I was hoping someone might be able to answer this questions. I read on TFP last night, if you are running a chlorine pool without a SWG you should test everyday, if you are running chlorine with a SWG you should test once a week. I had so many pages open last night, I can't recall where I read it.

Also, does anyone have any feedback on the app, I installed that last night as well. It seems very user friendly and I think I will be able to use it with confidence.
Thank you,
Michael
 
Welcome to TFP.

I don’t think we say anywhere that you test once a week with a SWCG. For any method of chlorination you need to test as often as you need to maintain your FC at the correct level as a ratio to CYA.

For most people that entails testing every day for a while until the FC loss per day is understood and compensated for with either the correct SWCG setting or determining how much liquid you need to add.

If the manufacturer of your SWCG wants it set to 00 for the first 24 hours then you should manually chlorinate to keep the FC level up.
 
mtesh73 said:
OK, that makes sense. Once I get a handle on what the FC is doing I can adjust the testing based on that.

I am going to buy bleach tomorrow. In the absence of the test kit (should be here Thursday) how much bleach should I add for now?
Click to expand...
Yoy have a big pool. If 8.25% bleach half a bottle a day. If 6% go with a bottle. Too much is almost always better than too little.
 
I just realized I keep some bleach on hand for our well water chlorine injector tank. Happens to be 8.25%, I just poured in half a bottle. I will check it again in the morning and get the SWCG going tomorrow night.

It's funny, I bought our house because it didn't have a pool.....never wanted one, but the wife did, so here I am, trying to figure out pool chemistry at 10:30 at night.

Thank you for the insight gentlemen.
 
Another quick question for the brain trust, actually two questions. I am about to kick the SWCG up to 100% after letting the first 24 hours after adding salt elapse as it states in the directions. My Taylor K2006C arrived today as well. I dumped a half a bottle of 8.25% in last night and the pool looked better in the morning.

Should I test the water now or just turn the SWCG up to 100% and test at a later point?

I have a solar cover which we love, we heat the pool in May and don't really use the heater all season. Does the solar cover have any impact on the pool chemistry other than possibly not allowing chlorine to burn off during the day?
 
There is no reason to turn the SWG up to 100%. They are not good at raising the FC level up from 0. You should get the pool balanced and then let the SWG maintain the FC level.

What do you mean "water looked better"? If it is cloudy or green, you should follow the SLAM Process process before even turning the SWG on.

The cover will lower the FC loss to the sun and may influence the pH as well. Lower the evaporation losses, etc.
 
Test the water now. You need to know if you should add some bleach. After you have set up the SWCG to run, you'll need to test often until you get the hang of where it needs to be set.

The solar cover will help keep evaporation down and possibly a little of the chlorine burn off.
 
Thank you for quick replies. I should have clarified what I meant by the water looked better. The pool was just opened the other day, it looked surprisingly good for what I expected. The pool opening company threw in three bags of shock. The water continued to look more and more clear every few hours. I poured in a half of bottle of bleach last night and the water looked even better. However, it is not crystal clear yet. I will test the water now and post the results. I am also hoping to use the Pool Math app on the smartphone as well once I get the hang of being on my own with this. Thanks again.
 

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OK, here is what I came up with for the test results:

FC: 2 x .2 = .4
CC: 0
PH: 7.4
TA: 110
CH: 290
CYA: liquid did not turn cloudy, dot did not disappear
Salt: per the reading on my SWCG 3.4

Any advice at this point regarding the results would be helpful.

TY
 
Get enough CYA dissolving in a sock to get up to 30ppm, then follow the SLAM process.
When you complete that, raise the CYA up to 70ppm or so and turn the SWG on to maintain the FC

Use 10ml of water for the FC test so each drop is 0.5ppm to save reagent.
 
Your FC is dangerously low and there could be things growing in the water. Raise it to at least 5 PPM with bleach or liquid chlorine. Perform an OCLT in the evening to see if anything other than the sun is eating away your FC.
 
Hey guys, does the water temp make a difference in the CYA reading, maybe that is why the water didn't even turn cloudy? My water temp is 60.

It looks like I am going to need to about 3 gallons of bleach to get 5 ppm, according to pool math.
 
Temperature can have a slight effect, the sample,warm to room temperature.

But, it’s not going to make 40 register as 0. If you are afraid of overshooting, start by adding CYA with a target of 20.
 
Just added 3 gallons of bleach. How long should I wait until I test for the FC level again?

I have to get CYA tomorrow, I have a gallon of liquid stabilizer from last year left over, I guess I will add that tomorrow in conjuction with the CYA I purchase in a jug. Is that what you guys are using, the 25 lb pail of 100% CYA?

I covered the pool with the solar cover and will let it heat up that way rather than using the heater for now.
 
Results this morning are as follows:

FC: 1
CC: 1
Water temp: 61

I have attached a few pictures and will be going to get more bleach and CYA as soon as the stores open. The pool looks great at this point, I left the SWCG off and the solar cover on.

I thought after adding 3 containers of 8.25 bleach the FC would be slightly higher. Thoughts?

ETA: I had a small flower pot tip over and blow top soil into the pool overnight, very windy here yesterday, that is the dirt you see on the seat. I haven't had a chance to brush it yet. I brushed it yesterday morning and there was no debris in the pool at that time.

20180503_073018.jpg20180503_073225.jpg20180503_073837.jpg
 
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