HELP...New Pool Chemical Balancing

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NUHuskerFan

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Jun 13, 2017
10
Lincoln, NE
Just purchased and filled a new 30' AG pool. I have been following the advice of the pool company where it purchased to add the correct chemicals. I am tired of adding hundreds of dollars of chemicals only to go back to the pool store and have them advise hundreds more to counteract the chemicals that were put in last time. I think we were fooled on our initial purchase because they recommended the Perma Salt system, which from the forums here gets horrible reviews (wished I had looked into this ahead of time).

I think I am ready to disconnect the Perma Salt system and go with TFPC system. Is it worth it to try to keep using the Perma Salt system? If not, what is the order of chemicals to balance?

Chemicals levels as of Sunday night were: (Alkalinity + was added Sunday which will have driven pH and TA higher, will retest again tonight)
FC = 0
CC = 0
pH = 7.7
TA = 56
CYA = 0
CH = 39
 
Hi there Husker Fan! Glad you found us and are here.

Here are the recommended levels--> Pool School - Recommended Levels

You can easily turn off the SWG until you figure out what you want to do and just use bleach instead. You need to do that TODAY or you'll be seeing green instead of handing green over to the pool store. Consider your CYA as 40. But if those are pool store tests we don't really trust them anyway.

How are you testing your water?? Do you have your own recommended test kit??

Maddie :flower:
 
I have been testing with the test strips that were provided on install and periodically at the pool store with their computerized water analysis system. The results I posted from Sunday are from the pool store. Yesterday, I ordered the TF-100 test kit and will start exclusively using that once it arrives.

I am planning to go to the store tonight to buy the needed chemicals (Muriatic Acid, cyanuric acid, etc) and was just wondering the order they should be adjusted. Do I need to get the pH and TA into range before adding CA? The water is still clear, but it has been over a month since we filled the pool and I want to start get the chemicals into balance before I have problems. The pool company has been focused on balancing the pH and TA and thus far we haven't added any CA and the SWG hasn't produced any detectable amounts of FC. I have given the pool store enough money/time and things still aren't better, so at this point the best way to get the pool operational is to figure it out myself so I am sure the right chemicals are being added each time.

Sorry for the silly questions, I am still new to pools and soaking up information as quickly as I can find it.
 
In my experience, a SWCG isn't going to bring your FC back from 0, especially if you have no CYA. The SWCG you have might not be bad as you suspect -- you just might need to get the CYA and FC up to within the appropriate ranges, then let the SWCG maintain it. I have a SWCG, and it's amazingly easy to maintain once you get your water balanced using the TFP method. Note that SWCG and TFP are not mutually exclusive -- in fact, they work amazingly well together!

I'll let a mod chime in on the appropriate order of operations here, as you might need to start with a SLAM given your FC of 0.... although a CC of 0 is promising, if you can indeed trust it. A SLAM might necessitate adjusting pH and CYA levels beforehand. There may already be algae that you simply don't see yet. The TF-100 is a great test kit and will save you lots of money down the road on chems. Good luck.
 
I would just maybe add 1 gallon of bleach a day until proper test kit arrives.

Then, Cut off SWG
Lower ph to 7.2
Raise cya to 30
Begin SLAM
Read and understand PoolMath and don't add anything that isn't recommended here.
 
This article tells you how to add things to the water as well as what to buy- Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals

Start by doing the amount of CYA to bring you up to 30ppm in a sock(s), once hung over the side or put in the skimmer (keeping pump on) go right on and add a gallon of 8.25%bleach daily.

Squeeze that CYA sock now and then to speed it up dissolving!

Don't worry about the TA at this point. It really isn't a priority. Every time you add MA to lower your pH, it will come down in time. It is NOT a priority over FC, CYA, pH

Until you get your test kit (excellent choice!) just add bleach and MA as required.

Then provide us with: (helpful to write in this order for our fast read)
FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA

Then we'll see what needs to happen next. I hope no algae has taken up residence in all the time you've been struggling. Cross your fingers, but we can deal with it if so.

Keep asking anything you need....we're happy to help. The only charge will be you helping others down the line when you are a master of the testkit!

Maddie :flower:
 
My TF-100 test kit came in the mail today and I ran my first tests. I'm still learning the tests, but will get better with time and input. On the chlorine tests, the water never changed color when any of the chemicals were added. TA is the test I question the most. I read the instructions that came with the TF-100 set and watched the video on how to perform the test. One says to wait until the solution turns red and the other said to add until the solution no longer changes color. The solution turned a light red/pink what would have been 260 and was a bright pinkish and didn't change with additional drops at 300. So my TA is somewhere between 260-300, either way they seem too high (not super shocking though as the pool store just had me add 5 lbs of alkalinity plus on Sunday because their tests said it was low).

FC = 0
CC = 0
pH = 7.8
TA = 260-300
CH = 275
CYA = 0 (I could see dot with vial entirely full)

Tonight I added 52 oz of muriatic acid in an attempt to bring the pH down to 7.2. I tested the water 2 hours later and the pH was 7.5. After testing the new pH level, I added a gallon of bleach. In the morning, I plan to check the pH again and try to adjust it closer to 7.2 to see if that helps with the TA. Afterwards, I will add 86 oz. of CYA in a sock and hang by the return jet in hopes to bring the CYA up to a level of 30 to start.

Is this the correct approach, or should I be tackling this in a different order? Should I bother adding bleach while the CYA is dissolving and if so how do I know what level to shoot for while I cant reliably test CYA levels?
 
You are on the right track. For chlorine you assume the CYA you are adding is in the pool for your FC. Follow the FC/CYA chart. Get chlorine in it immediately. Do not want it turning green.

Why in the world did they have you add alkalinity plus (baking soda)? It will take gallons of acid to lower your TA over time. Not something you have to obsess over but your pH will creep up, you will lower with acid which lowers your TA some, repeat.

Keep it up --

Take care.
 

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Sure. But it is imperative you keep chlorine in the water. The 'buildup' may be dead algae. Do not want it to get away from you.
 
You can be doing all these chemical additions (CYA, Bleach, MA) on the same day as long as you space the MA and bleach apart some. You want to get the bleach and CYA in there most importantly.

You can deal with your TA later as each time your pH goes up and you lower it with MA, it will pull the TA down some too.

Maddie :flower:
 
Put an old panty hose sock on my skimmer basket to reduce size of CYA particles that could pass through and added enough CYA according to PoolMath to bring the pool up to a CYA of 30 last night at 5 PM. As I was adding the CYA is would build up in the skimmer and I would wait about 20-30 minutes and it would eventually dissolve and pass through the sock. Here are the test results from first thing this morning.

FC = 4.5
CC = 0
pH = 7.3
TA = 200
CH = 275
CYA = 20

If I look at the CYA vial long enough, I could swear the dot comes into view and then disappears at times. However, there is definitely CYA in the water because before adding I could fill the entire vial full and the water was clear and easy to see through. I am not pulling any additional pressure at the filter due to adding the CYA. How long should I wait to determine if more CYA is needed? It seems to be pretty well dissolved, but I am sure there could be some small particles in the filter and I definitely don't want to go too high. I was planning to shoot for a CYA of about 40 long term, but wanted to start by getting it to 30 to see how the chemical reacted and to prevent over compensating. Is 40 the best CYA to shoot for, or would closer to one of the extremes be better?

The kids are very excited to take their first swim, what do I need to do beforehand to make sure it is safe for them? I was planning to do an OCLT tonight, is there anything else I should be concerned with?
 
In the future physically put the CYA in the sock or panty hose and tie it shut. Then hang in front of a return and squeeze it occasionally to hasten it dissolving.

The first time I put CYA in my pool I used a sock and put it in the skimmer. I had trouble ever getting my CYA to test to the level I had added it. When I cleaned my cartridge filter, I found my missing CYA, in the bottom of the filter vessel. There is a fairly significant dead zone in the bottom of a cartridge filter. The CYA never dissolved.

Take care.
 
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