First Water Test Results

[Texas Splash]

For the salt level, what is the min/max range I should be measuring to? My IC20 says 3600 as the ideal.

I don't own an IC version, but your manual should have it. I suspect you're right in the ideal range though. Usually anywhere between 3,000 - 3,800 or so, give or take a couple hundred ppm.

Also, what do most people use to measure the the acid/liquid chlorine when adding to the pool?

Just a regular measuring cup. I bought one just for the pool. I use it for the muriatic acid. When I used to add liquid chlorine (before my SWG), I just estimated a half a gallon each day. So if you ever need to add liquid chlorine, you have some flexibility.

 

[MITBeta]

0 CYA certainly explains the rapid daytime chlorine loss.

Back in Post #21 you were going to add stabilizer. Did you?

I would get the CYA up to 30 and lower pH into the 7s and run the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test again for another night or two, then start slowly bringing CYA to summer level.

 

[bgoz98]

0 CYA certainly explains the rapid daytime chlorine loss.

Back in Post #21 you were going to add stabilizer. Did you?

I would get the CYA up to 30 and lower pH into the 7s and run the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test again for another night or two, then start slowly bringing CYA to summer level.

Nope, didn’t add it based on potentially needing to Slam (and mistakenly thinking I was at 30 before watching the instructional video). Adding today though! Thanks to everyone for all the help!

 

[bgoz98]

0 CYA certainly explains the rapid daytime chlorine loss.

Back in Post #21 you were going to add stabilizer. Did you?

I would get the CYA up to 30 and lower pH into the 7s and run the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test again for another night or two, then start slowly bringing CYA to summer level.

Can I add the muriatic acid while the stabilizer is dissolving or do they need to be two separate processes?

 

[Texas Splash]

Can I add the muriatic acid while the stabilizer is dissolving or do they need to be two separate processes?

You can do both.

 

[MITBeta]

How long to wait between adding pool chemicals

The wait times between adding pool chemicals is usually around 10 minutes each, as that is also sufficient time for the chemicals to mix in the water.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[flynwill]

Also, what do most people use to measure the the acid/liquid chlorine when adding to the pool?

For the disposable 1 gallon jugs, I made myself a measuring stick by filling an empty jug with water 1 pint at a time, and marking the levels on the jug with a Sharpie. I then transferred the marks to a paint stirrer stick. Now when I pull a fresh jug out I use the stick to mark it off before use.

While neither the Acid or the Chlorine is horribly dangerous, the less you have to handle it the better.

 

[bgoz98]

For the disposable 1 gallon jugs, I made myself a measuring stick by filling an empty jug with water 1 pint at a time, and marking the levels on the jug with a Sharpie. I then transferred the marks to a paint stirrer stick. Now when I pull a fresh jug out I use the stick to mark it off before use.

While neither the Acid or the Chlorine is horribly dangerous, the less you have to handle it the better.

Great idea. Thanks!

 

[bgoz98]

You can do both.

Ok, I added the stabilizer this morning (sock in skimmer) to get to 30. I went home at lunch and added the Muriatic Acid to get PH down to 7-ish. I also worked on the sock to help with the dispersion of the stabilizer. When should the impacts to CYA and PH be measureable after the adjustments? I intend to add more to get to the suggested 60 now, but don’t want to overdo it.

 

[Texas Splash]

You can expect the dissolved stabilizer to show pretty close to your CYA goal by tomorrow. The pH should show an adjusted result within an hour or so after adding the acid.

 

[bgoz98]

You can expect the dissolved stabilizer to show pretty close to your CYA goal by tomorrow. The pH should show an adjusted result within an hour or so after adding the acid.

Test results from this morning:

FC 11 - Had salt cell running too high apparently, so shut it off temporarily to let FC fall and then will start up again at a lower % and adjust
PH 7.4 (down from 8.2)
TA 200 (down from 250) - I think I remember you (or someone) saying to adjust PH down to 7 to allow TA to fall into range, correct?
CYA 30 (up from zero) - Will add more stabilizer to get up to 60 for now per previous recommendations. Should I do this now? (see below for why I am questioning):

Question on CYA: Went to a pool supply store across from my office the other day. Guy told me CYA would not measure correctly because it was "inactive" due to the lower temps (60 degrees during the day) right now. I don't think I have seen an TFP experts mention this, but thought I would confirm. Guy also told me you can never have too much CYA which I know to be false from TFP, so credibility isn't very high with him.

 

[Texas Splash]

Guy told me CYA would not measure correctly because it was "inactive" due to the lower temps (60 degrees during the day) right now.

That's not it exactly. When water is cold, you may not get an accurate CYA test reading. So what we recommend is grabbing the water sample and let it warm up i the house for about 20 min or so, then do your CYA test. Good to see you are making progress with the pH and TA. You can continue that drill (pH from 8.0 down to 7.0) until you see the TA come down to around 70 or so. Then just monitor and see if everything remains more stable.

 

[bgoz98]

That's not it exactly. When water is cold, you may not get an accurate CYA test reading. So what we recommend is grabbing the water sample and let it warm up i the house for about 20 min or so, then do your CYA test. Good to see you are making progress with the pH and TA. You can continue that drill (pH from 8.0 down to 7.0) until you see the TA come down to around 70 or so. Then just monitor and see if everything remains more stable.

Today's results:

FC 8 (had salt cell off all day yesterday and overnight to lower FC)
CC .5
PH 7.2 (was trying to lower to 7 with acid addition. I added the same amount of acid that lowered it from 8.2 to 7.4, but this time only lowered to 7. Is this normal?
TA 200 (still, even though PH dropped by .2)
CYA 75 (Finally!)

I am going to start performing a couple more OCLT (as requested) just to confirm all is good there. Is the CC staying at .5 a concern or will OCLT result kind of verify that?

PH is very difficult for me to read on the color scale. Is it that way for everyone? Is there a method that makes it less subjective?

TA is where I am most in the dark at this point. So TA is lowered by adding acid and/or aerating from what I read. Acid also lowers PH. So, I should be adding acid at some frequency and it will lower TA and PH, but the PH will rise naturally, so eventually both will come in range? If I am understanding correctly, how often should I add acid or is that dependent on how quickly the PH level rises?

 

[Texas Splash]

PH is very difficult for me to read on the color scale.

You're not alone, but you are doing very well. You numbers look pretty nice. The TA will come down in time. Not to worry or feel pressured about that. When the TA is elevated like it is now, it's very normal for the pH to float upwards a bit quicker during the week. So once the pH hits that 8.0 area, knock it down to about 7.0-7.2 with acid, then repeat every few days as necessary. With a vinyl pool I don't think you have to go out of your way to aerate just to accelerate the pH rise routine, it's not that critical and no need to rush. Overall your test numbers look very nice. If you pass one more Overnight Chlorine Loss Test you should be algae-free and good to go.

Remember we round-up the CYA, so you are at 80 now. No more stabilizer for sure. Be sure to keep the FC balanced in the proper range as noted on the FC/CYA Levels. Since the FC was elevated recently, I suspect you are good there as well.

 

[bgoz98]

You're not alone, but you are doing very well. You numbers look pretty nice. The TA will come down in time. Not to worry or feel pressured about that. When the TA is elevated like it is now, it's very normal for the pH to float upwards a bit quicker during the week. So once the pH hits that 8.0 area, knock it down to about 7.0-7.2 with acid, then repeat every few days as necessary. With a vinyl pool I don't think you have to go out of your way to aerate just to accelerate the pH rise routine, it's not that critical and no need to rush. Overall your test numbers look very nice. If you pass one more Overnight Chlorine Loss Test you should be algae-free and good to go.

Remember we round-up the CYA, so you are at 80 now. No more stabilizer for sure. Be sure to keep the FC balanced in the proper range as noted on the FC/CYA Levels. Since the FC was elevated recently, I suspect you are good there as well.

Oh wow, I didn’t realize my FC should be 4-6 based on the cya. Thanks for that. Will cya fall over time or no? Thanks again for all of your help.

 

[PoolStored]

Yep. TFP Rule #1. FC appropriate to your CYA. FC/CYA Chart

CYA degrades, typically, 5-10 per month in summer months. There are a few pool owners here that have a higher CYA degradation, including my pool. I check every week, just to keep my CYA testing eye in practice.

Many report a large or total loss of CYA over the winter in winterized pools.

 

[MITBeta]

So TA is lowered by adding acid and/or aerating from what I read.

TA is lowered by adding acid. pH is increased by aeration. When the pH needs to be lowered again with acid, it lowers the TA, too. Wash, Rinse, Repeat

 

[bgoz98]

You're not alone, but you are doing very well. You numbers look pretty nice. The TA will come down in time. Not to worry or feel pressured about that. When the TA is elevated like it is now, it's very normal for the pH to float upwards a bit quicker during the week. So once the pH hits that 8.0 area, knock it down to about 7.0-7.2 with acid, then repeat every few days as necessary. With a vinyl pool I don't think you have to go out of your way to aerate just to accelerate the pH rise routine, it's not that critical and no need to rush. Overall your test numbers look very nice. If you pass one more Overnight Chlorine Loss Test you should be algae-free and good to go.

Remember we round-up the CYA, so you are at 80 now. No more stabilizer for sure. Be sure to keep the FC balanced in the proper range as noted on the FC/CYA Levels. Since the FC was elevated recently, I suspect you are good there as well.

Passed the OCLT with zero FC loss. CC is also measuring zero (was .5 yesterday morning, but zero as of last night). My Salt is now over the max (tested at 4800 vs 4500 max and 3600 target) and my IT20 is giving me the high salt signal. (). From what I have read, this likely is from adding chems to get things in line, isn't a major issue, and will lower naturally as the water becomes diluted with rain. Is this correct or do I need to take some action? With the rain we have seen over the last week, I need to lower the water level a little bit anyway to help the skimmer.

 

[PoolStored]

PH is very difficult for me to read on the color scale. Is it that way for everyone? Is there a method that makes it less subjective?

@Newdude has a method and pic, which I can't find. Use your fingers and slide them up and down the color block so it covers all the other colors while you look at it. Said another way, cover all the other colors except the one you are looking at...cover everything but 7.2 and compare, move to everything covered but 7.4 and compare, move your fingers to cover everything but 7.6 and compare...seems to work for some.

 

[Texas Splash]

Congrats on the OCLT! As for the salt, don't expect it to go anywhere anytime soon. Chemicals, typically liquid chlorine, can add a little salt with each dose that can accumulate over time. I don't know if that might have been the case before or if perhaps too much was added at one time for the SWG. The easiest way to reduce a salt level is to exchange some water. Salt, just like CH and CYA, are typically lowered by changing some water. Those levels can get lower over the course of the season was overflow or splashout.