Here are my numbers, what next?

[Melyadopt]

FC 0
pH 6.8
TA 120
CH 100
CYA 0
Salt 120

My salt generator says to add 141 lbs of salt. What else should I be doing? The water is quite cloudy.

 

[Richard320]

You need to SLAM Process to clear that cloudiness. And when you're doing that, you have your SWG shut off. So you don't care what the salt level is right now. It[s going to be totally different by the time you're done, anyway, with all the bleach you'll add (it leaves salt behind) and the backwashing after you clog the filter a few times.

First thing you do is add enough bleach to get to 10 FC. Brush it around good with the pump on so it's mixed well. In 15 minutes, retest FC & CC. That will tell us if you have an ammonia problem. If you do, you might want to replace water, so no point doing anything else until that is resolved one way or the other. So post the results and someone will be along to take you to the next step.

 

[Melyadopt]

You need to SLAM Process to clear that cloudiness. And when you're doing that, you have your SWG shut off. So you don't care what the salt level is right now. It[s going to be totally different by the time you're done, anyway, with all the bleach you'll add (it leaves salt behind) and the backwashing after you clog the filter a few times.

First thing you do is add enough bleach to get to 10 FC. Brush it around good with the pump on so it's mixed well. In 15 minutes, retest FC & CC. That will tell us if you have an ammonia problem. If you do, you might want to replace water, so no point doing anything else until that is resolved one way or the other. So post the results and someone will be along to take you to the next step.

Thanks Richard. How many gallons of bleach should I purchase?

 

[Melyadopt]

My new FC is 19, CC is 0

 

[Melyadopt]

My new FC is 19, CC is 0

And I added 6 gals of 8% bleach

 

[Melyadopt]

I tested my pool again today, here are my numbers:
FC 3.5
PH 7.2
TA 140
CH 125
CYA 0

It's definitely more clear today.

What should I do next? Add more bleach?

 

[Melyadopt]

This is my first time doing this. Last night I added 6 gallons of 8% bleach.

About 5 hours ago, these were my numbers (I added them to my first post but no one saw them):

FC 3.5
TA 140
CYA 0
pH 7.2
CH 125

I vacuumed, backwashed, skimmed, brushed. What else should I be adding? The pool definitely looks clearer today.

 

[mknauss]

You are following the SLAM Process process. Did you read the article? SLAM is Shock Level and MAINTAIN. Test your FC every few hours and add more liquid chlorine to return to your SLAM level FC.
You should have added CYA to get to 30ppm. Do that now. Did this water every have CYA in it? Add 20 ppm worth of CYA if the water had CYA in it in the past. Use the sock method to add the CYA.

 

[Melyadopt]

I did read the article. I'm just not sure what I'm doing or if I'm doing it correctly. Last night the FC was at 19 after 6 gals of 8% bleach. No clue if that's how much I should have used. Water has not had CYA in it since I opened it. I'll go out and add more bleach and CYA.

 

[mknauss]

Has this water EVER had CYA in it? Is it a fresh fill?

You are using PoolMath. It tells you, from the test data you enter, how much chlorine to add to get to the target.

 

[mknauss]

From the SLAM article
Test and adjust chlorine levels as frequently as practical, but not more than once per hour, and not less than twice a day. Chlorine additions should be frequent, especially at the beginning. Algae and other organic debris will consume chlorine very rapidly at first. As things progress, you will lose less chlorine each cycle and can add chlorine less frequently.

 

[Melyadopt]

Thanks Marty, I had no idea that was available on the pool math app. Got it.

So that I'm not running to menards every day, what should I purchase and keep onhand?
Bleach
Salt
Borax

 

[mknauss]

The only two things most pools need regularly are bleach and muriatic acid.
But, you have a SWCG, so only keep a gallon or two of bleach in the laundry room or basement for pool parties, etc.
As far as acid, that depends on your fill water. The pH and TA of your fill water will dictate if you need acid, or rarely, borax.

Salt is up to you. You might need some if you get alot of rain and the pool overflows. But otherwise, you should not need salt during the swim season.

 

[Melyadopt]

PoolMath

Here are my numbers for today. Stabilizer is in a sock hanging on the skimmer basket and dissolving nicely (nylon sock).


FC 7.5
CC .5
pH 7.5
TA 150
CH 125
VYA 0
Temp 72
CSI -.27

 

[Melyadopt]

My numbers for today. Stabilizer is completely dissolved. Pool is clear.

What do I work on?

 

[mknauss]

CYA. How much did you add? If it is fully dissolved, it should be showing up.

 

[Melyadopt]

CYA. How much did you add? If it is fully dissolved, it should be showing up.

I added the entire bottle in a sock. The rest of it dissolved this morning.

For my CYA test, I noted a 2 because I can definitely see that there is a difference, but yet I can see the black dot. Am I doing this test wrong?

 

[mknauss]

A bottle. How much was in the bottle?

When you do the CYA test, try this next time.

Once you have your solution ready, back to the sun, etc. Fill the vial to a line, say 80, lower the vial to your waist level and glance for the dot, you see it, add solution to the 70 line, glance, see it, repeat until you no longer see it with a glance. Then use the CYA value one step above the line you read. So if you stopped at 50, use 60 ppm CYA.

The vial is in logarithmic scale. So it is not viable to interpolate between the lines. Just use the whole numbers, such as 50, 40, 30, ....

 

[Melyadopt]

This is what I added. I have been testing in my kitchen. Today is sunny so I went outside. Cya is 20. Should I get another bottle? When should I plug my SWG back in?

 

[mknauss]

That product is fine. So you have added 1.75 lbs. That raised your CYA by 20 ppm.

If your water had zero CYA in it to start, your report of the test being hazy but still seeing the dot is correct for a CYA of 20ppm.

You need to add more CYA. Try 2 bottles of the above. Or most likely far cheaper, go to Walmart or Home Depot and get the 4 or 5 lb bottle of CYA. Add 3 lbs.