High Alkalinity, Low Ph, Low Free Chlorine,

[BrianBert]

I've had a fun time with opening my pool for the summer. Lots of algae to begin with. Shocked with Cal-hypo shock from Costco and it cleared up. Water was very cloudy after and I finally ordered a Taylor phosphate test kit. Reading was almost 3000 ppb with the normal range being 100-125ppb. Used PR-10000 from amazon which helped clear it up quickly. Pool was still a little cloudy. I checked the FC and TC. FC was around 1.5ppm while TC was about 6ppm. No algae in the pool but I shocked with 5 pouches of Chlorox xtrablue for my 30,000gallon pool. While working through this I installed a WaterGuru Sense 2, which is pretty cool btw. I noticed after shocking the water is completely clear now. The FC never went up even after shocking. I've gone through about 8-10 3" pucks of Trichlor and the FC stays at about .9 and my CYA levels are very low and not coming up. My ph is low 6.9-7 but my alkalinity is incredibly high 678! I tried aerating the water and the next day the water was 7.9ph. and the TA went down to 355. I added only about 4 cups of muriatic acid and the pool dropped all the way to 7.2ph. But the TA shot back up to 675. Kept aerating the water and the ph for the last 6 days has been a flat line 7.2-7.0. TA for those 6 days went from 675 >420>407>473>460 and today after adding 3 gallons of Natural Chemistry Instant Conditioner, because my CYA was very low, it went back up to 584. Aerating seems to have no effect on lowering the TA or raising the ph. My cya is now at 37 so hopefully the FC will start to even out. Meanwhile the pool water is crystal clear. Should I be worried about the very high TA and if yes what else can I do besides keeping going with the aerating. If not should I just add some soda ash to get the ph up and just let the TA ride?

 

[SoCalTFP]

I've read mixed reports on the WaterGuru Sense and certainly wouldn't be using that as the primary test for your pool water chemistry. It seems like for those that have had success with it (I'm considering one as well) that it's really more of a daily automation in between accurate drop based testing. You'll want to purchase a Taylor K-2006C or a TF-100 kit ASAP. Once you get confident in your testing you can lean more on trusting the WaterGuru Sense if it turns out your one of the people that it works for. To be clear, the WaterGuru might not be a bad tool for you but it 100% shouldn't replace drop based testing.

My recommendations are as follows:

1. Get some Chlorine in that pool ASAP. Based on my math of a 30k Gal Pool and 10% concentration you need 1.5 Gallons in there. Do this daily until you get the test kit.
2. Order one of the above testing kits (very close second).
3. Once the test kit arrives perform an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test (measure FC after sunset, then before sunrise to see if it drops more than 1ppm)
4. If you pass great, otherwise you'll need to SLAM because there is organic matter in your pool.
5. Keep PH in the 7's, TA will sort itself out as the Muriatic Acid you add for reducing PH will drop this.
6. CYA and anything else we can sort out once you have accurate test results.

I would stop using the Trichlor and all the other stuff. There may be a use for anything you have on hand but that will depend on what your pool actually needs outside of the FC they add.

And welcome to the community! The TFP method is an incredibly low cost, maintenance, and effective solution to caring for a crystal clear and sanitary pool. The community will be able to help you along the way so don't get overwhelmed by this response or future ones, just focus on the first 2 steps and we'll be there to help along the way.

 

[BrianBert]

I do have the full Taylor test kit and it matches up almost exactly with the Sense 2. The only thing the guru doesn’t show is TC. I have gone through probably 8-10 pucks of chlorine in a week so there is definitely Chlorine going into the pool it just seems to be disappearing, I’m assuming because of the low CYA.

 

[Newdude]

The only thing the guru doesn’t show is TC.

TC is a junk stat, along with TDS. The sum of the components means nothing. The components on the other hand, are huge.

10 FC + 0 CC = 10 TC
Or
7FC + 3CC = 10 TC

Are two TOTALLY different equations.

 

[SoCalTFP]

I do have the full Taylor test kit and it matches up almost exactly with the Sense 2. The only thing the guru doesn’t show is TC. I have gone through probably 8-10 pucks of chlorine in a week so there is definitely Chlorine going into the pool it just seems to be disappearing, I’m assuming because of the low CYA.

Ok great. Post up results from the Taylor Kit so we can work off those numbers.

I'd still suggest getting some chlorine in the pool ASAP and performing the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test. Based on your Taylor CYA numbers we can make recommendations, assuming it is 30-60 you're within range for a Liquid Chlorine pool. The Chlorine loss is likely either something living in the pool, or UV loss since we're rolling into the summer.

Again on the PH/TA side just focus on managing the PH, TA will fall in line with managing that. 7.0-7.2 PH should be acceptable and will eventually rise with the aeration.

Are you using the Pool Math app?