Getting ready for O/B Bicarbonate Startup

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bdavis466 said:
Probably the most critical addition to the pool yet!
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Yes, that's what it's all about!

You mentioned that now my minimum FC should be 3 and I should target 5. Does that mean whenever I test and the FC is under 5 I should add bleach to bring it back up to 5? Or as long as it is above 3 I can do nothing? I just want to be sure I understand.

I figure I will still test morning and evening to keep up with the PH and FC specifically. Is that what you recommend? Also, when do I test the water for the CYA I added to the pool today, and do I keep pucks in the pool? As you had advised, I assumed CYA was 10 in PoolMath before targeting 40, so it had me adding 7 lbs.
 
Everytime you test, bring the FC to 5. 3 is the number you don't ever want to fall below.

Testing twice a day is fine but is a little excessive. Once a day is perfectly fine for the beginning and once you get a good handle on your pool you can back off even further. You truely are through the worst part...

Leave the pucks in until they completely disolve so you aren't wasting them. No need for them once you get the SWG going.

Wait a few days after the CYA has completely disolved and check you CYA level.
 
bdavis466 said:
Everytime you test, bring the FC to 5. 3 is the number you don't ever want to fall below.

Testing twice a day is fine but is a little excessive. Once a day is perfectly fine for the beginning and once you get a good handle on your pool you can back off even further. You truely are through the worst part...

Leave the pucks in until they completely disolve so you aren't wasting them. No need for them once you get the SWG going.

Wait a few days after the CYA has completely disolved and check you CYA level.
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Thanks, for all your help, Brian. It's great to hear we are through the worst part! So, now that the PH is being targeted lower, will once a day testing for that suffice too?

Also, is it typical for the pressure on the filter to go up after the CYA addition? Before adding the CYA and chlorine to the pool yesterday I cleaned the filter basket and upgraded the pressure gauge on the filter to a nice one from TFP. At 1500 rpm the psi was not even registering (it was 0 on the gauge) and this morning it is around 2. I had a comparable increase when looking at the psi when the pump was running at 3100. It was at 11 yesterday but around 13 or so this morning. Is this just the gauge adjusting, or do you think something like the CYA addition cause the increase?
 
bdavis466 said:
PH and FC daily, TA weekly, CH and CYA monthly. You'll develop your own schedule...

How are you adding the CYA?
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I had the 7 lbs in a pair of little girls cotton tights tied in front of a return. Some of it was puffing out pretty strongly such that I noticed a pileup of white powder on the floor in the deep end below, and used the brush to stir it around. Then I turned down the pump so the CYA would disperse from the tights more slowly. It is almost gone by this morning, just a little in the toes of the tights.
 
PSI update... It's weird, but now the psi reads 0 psi again on 1500 pump speed, and 8psi at 3110 pump speed. It's come down after being higher this morning for some reason, but I didn't change anything.

A couple of questions:
Should I be getting a psi reading with a pump speed of 1500?
Is it normal to change like that (go back down) for no apparent reason?
Could my new gauge be bad?
 

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bdavis466 said:
The higher the pump speed, the higher the pressure. Lower speeds may have little to no pressure and is perfectly normal
Click to expand...

Thanks, this is good to know. How do I determine a 25% increase in pump pressure then? Do I periodically check the pressure on high and wait until I see the appropriate increase there before cleaning the filter?
 
Along with testing the PH, FC, and CC last night (which I seem to be managing well at the new targets), I tested the CH. It is up to 175 from 150. Brian mentioned above that I am waiting for it to come up, so I take this as a good development. However, I'm wondering where the increase is coming from, since I'm not adding anything different to the pool. Is it coming out of the plaster now that I'm targeting a lower PH? Just curious.

My CYA should be all dissolved now so I will try to make the time to tackle that test today. I'll let you know what I find and will surely be asking of guidance to target 40 if I'm not quite there yet. Thanks!
 
I tested the CYA yesterday right between 30 and 40. If I am targeting 40 right now (salt cell is still off), what do I use as my current level for PoolMath? I know I don't want to overshoot, although maybe it's not as much of an issue right now since I'll be raising it for the addition of salt soon anyway.

Also, does anyone have any recommendations for where to buy solar salt in bulk? (Assuming I'm remembering right that that's what it's called.)

Thank you!
 
bdavis466 said:
Base your FC level off a CYA of 40 and go from there.

Home Depot sells the solar salt in 40 pound bags.
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Thanks, Brian. So should I not try to add more CYA until it actually tests at 40? I've been using 40 as my assumed number in PoolMath but this was the first time I had tested after the addition.

Thank you also for the tip about Home Depot and the salt. I will check that out.
 

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