Help buying supplies and getting water under control.

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slick-rides

Active member
Jul 8, 2021
27
Cleveland, OH
Quick background...

I just have an AG Intex type pool. 2nd year having it. Last year did nothing but use tablets, test strips, and shock weekly. All seemed to go good. This year I read I should ad CYA not realizing the tablets already have that. Started to see a little algae(I think) form on bottom. Thinking my CYA is high so my free chlorine levels haven't been high enough to keep things right. Found this site and willing to purchase what I need to do things right.

Sooo, testing kit/supplies....

I'll get the TF-100 or K-2006c. Leaning towards k-2006c because I can get it delivered by Saturday. Does the TF-100 get shipped quickly? Also, once things are under control, what do you guys use to test FC levels daily? These kits only come with 70 tests. Do you just purchase more reagents for that one test?

Anything else I need initially? I have access to liquid sodium hypochlorite at 13% concentration. Will use that or store bought liquid chlorine.

I'll keep this thread up to date with my journey to getting properly treated water. Hopefully a few of you will help guide me along the way.

Thanks!

Phil
 
Hi, welcome to TFP! The TF 100 usually does ship quickly, but there is a tropical storm in the area so I don't know if that will impact shipping or not. Use the FAS/DPD test for chlorine daily. It gives the most accurate result. After about a month of daily testing you will learn what your pool needs in normal conditions and may be able to dial back testing frequency to 1 or 2 times a week. As long as you already have CYA in the water you don't need to stock up on anything else. Depending on how convienient it is to buy and haul chlorine you may want to have a months worth on hand. Once you get your test kit run a full set of tests and post the results here and then we can help you decide what to do next.
 
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Just came home to some algae forming on the pool floor. I have powder calcium hypo (shock) on hand so going to keep dosing with that until the test kit arrives. I also just ordered a separate CYA test from Amazon that will get here Saturday. If the CYA is real high like I suspect, I'd like to drain/refill what I have to this weekend to get a jump start on it before the main test kit arrives.
 
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Eagerly awaiting the arrival of the CYA test kit today. Does chlorine levels affect the cya test at all? I've been dosing the pool with calcium hypo and now 7.5% bleach blindly(only have strips) to keep algae at bay until the tf-100 arrives(Monday according to tracking). Water is starting to clear up pretty good.

Will post the CYA results today and determine if I need/want to drain and refill some water.
 
tf-100 kit arrived! My results with notes...

CYA - 50 (depending how I look at it, could be 40 or just a hair over. Used both the Pentair & TF-100 tests with similar results. Diluted the pool some yesterday to get it down a little from previous reading of 50)
FC - 29 (I've been dosing the heck out of the pool until kit arrived, added 1 lb of calcium hypo last night at 8pm, after diluting the pool some)
CC - 1 (had a bit trouble with this one. Was toss up between 1 or 2 drops, so going with 2. HArd to tell if there was any pink to even begin with. Wife thinks I'm crazy, holding the vile by light with white paper behind it. She didn't think it had any pink at all.)
CH - 250
PH - 7.8
TA - 140

What should I do now? I'm assuming the PH and TA isn't valid due to the high chlorine?
Up until yesterday, the filter had a light green tint to it when cleaning. Today it was back to the usual tan.
I have liquid sodium hypo 10% and calcium hypo powder 53% to use.
 
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SLAM level for a CYA of 50 is 20 ppm. If your FC has been elevated for a few days, and your water is clear, try an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test. If you fail, move forward with the SLAM Process.

TA results remain valid with higher FC levels. pH results are invalid with FC levels over 10 ppm.
 
At this point, you could lose 9 ppm and still be within SLAM range (20 ppm or more). For now, add no more chlorine. Allow your FC to drift down a bit over over the next couple of days, but keep it above 20 until you complete the OCLT. You can wait until little to rain is expected.

A significant amount of rain could skew the results. If you decide to an OCLT after the rain, running the pump for an hour prior to pulling a test sample will ensure the rainwater is mixed well with pool water.
 
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Try not to use your Cal Hypo anymore. Your Ch is high enough for a vinyl pool. Have you ever added Algaecides to the pool or your pucks have the word Blue? The green tint might be copper.
 
Flying Tivo said:
Try not to use your Cal Hypo anymore. Your Ch is high enough for a vinyl pool. Have you ever added Algaecides to the pool or your pucks have the word Blue? The green tint might be copper.
Click to expand...
I added CH at the initial fill. Something else I was misinformed about. :(
I used Clorox Xtra Blue tablets, but only a total of 4 pucks. No Algaecide.
I definitely had some algae in the pool. I could see it starting to form on the bottom and the water was cloudy.
Now that I have a proper test kit and the knowledge that FC needs to be higher with CYA, I'm confident I'll be good to go.
I also upgraded the return jet to a 3/4" eye which really increased the circulation. The Crud that came with this pool wasn't mixing the water at all.
I bought the poolmath app to help with dosing.
 
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Didn't add any chlorine today. Letting it drift down to the normal range of 4-8ppm for my 50cya.
Couple questions...

Normal to go from 23 to 15.5 FC in one day? I'm guessing you'll lose more chlorine at higher levels than lower, "normal" levels?
I'm hoping I'll be able to only dose once a day and stay above the 4ppm minimum at all times?
At what FC level will the PH test be valid?

Thanks! Water is crystal clear so far. Only getting a light tan film on the filter. I rinse it off daily (little Intex paper filter).
 
slick-rides said:
I'm guessing you'll lose more chlorine at higher levels than lower, "normal" levels?
Click to expand...
You've got it figured out.

Assuming you passed the OCLT and your water is crystal clear, you're in good shape.

pH test is valid at FC levels under 10 PPM.
 
Don't be afraid to run your FC a bit high. It's safe to swim with FC levels up to SLAM level. Assume you'll lose about 3-4 ppm per day once your FC drops into range. Stick with liquid chlorine and be prepared to dose daily. Test FC and pH daily until you get to know your pool's needs. Never allow FC to fall below the minimum level.

Enjoy the pool!:swim:
 
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