Is that Algae?

[Clem116]

Thanks, just bought a Test Kit K-2006C which comes Sunday. Do I really need to test every day? How often should I test CYA and what do I need to test daily?

Once I get my CYA number I can plug that into the TFP calculator which will give me ranges.

By the way...My pool store never had me add any CYA when I filled my pool...Just salt, Alkalinity Increaser, and stabilizer...Are those any CYA?

 

[Mdragger88]

Fc & cc should be tested daily until you know your pool & have your swg adjusted for the part of the season you’re in & can ensure fc won’t fall below minimum before you test again.
Cya only leaves when water is exchanged so it should be tested every couple weeks or at least monthly unless you’re exchanging water or using something that adds cya like stabilizer, Trichlor, or dichlor.
Yes -
PoolMath
& the
FC/CYA Levels widget will guide the way.
Some people need to test ph daily or so as they have fluctuations, this all depends on the pool. Others can test weekly & their ph never moves. Testing ph daily at first will help you learn how your pool behaves.
Ta needs to be checked regularly & recorded because you must know your Ta to adjust your ph accurately.
Ch can be tested monthly- it likely won’t change much unless you’re adding something to increase it such as high ch fill water, ch increaser, or cal hypo.
Here’s all the important info in one spot
Bookmark it
Pool Care Basics

When you get your kit in do all the tests & post the results here like this

FC-
CC-
PH-
TA-
CH-
CYA -

 

[Clem116]

Will do that, thank you!

I also download the app so I can start tracking. Will report back Sunday.

For now, the pool looks beautiful and very clear

 

[Clem116]

Hello all!

I got the small kit in and PH seems to be at about 8.2. For the chlorine its seems hard to read the shades of yellow. Any tips for that?

The big kit comes tomorrow. Pool is still clear and looking amazing! That is a good sign, right?

 

[JJ_Tex]

Post a picture and we may be able to help read it, but I would say as long as it is <10 lets focus on your pH until your other kit gets here.
At 8.2, I would use acid to drop it to 7.2, but do it in 2 separate doses a few hours apart and a test in between to make sure you do not overshoot the 7.2 target. Getting your pH to 7.2 is the first step in a SLAM, in case you really do have algae.

 

[Clem116]

Ok, let me see if I can get a picture. I’m pretty sure I don’t have algae.

 

[Clem116]

Here!

 

[mknauss]

You have Total Chlorine in the pool and the ph is in the upper 7's. About as good as you get with that test.

 

[Mdragger88]

Use a white background (paper plate/piece of paper etc) for looking at the comparator block.
TC looks to be very low (around 1ppm) definitely less than 5ppm so get that up asap with liquid chlorine -
the oto test only tests total chlorine (fc+cc), doesn’t differentiate between the two, & only goes to 5ppm, it is still not very accurate then, (lighter yellow is lower tc- darker yellow is higher tc)

if your cya is really around 90 your fc should always be higher than 5ppm (6-12ppm is your target range)
FC/CYA Levels
So dose to that target
When your big kit comes do all the tests & post the results.

 

[Mdragger88]

I am confused as to what you ordered- the k2006 comes with the ph test
There was no reason to also order the k1000

 

[Clem116]

what chlorine do I need to use and what amount?

Here’s another picture.

 

[Clem116]

I am confused as to what you ordered- the k2006 comes with the ph test
There was no reason to also order the k1000

The K 2006 doesn’t come till tomorrow so I wanted to get a little kit just to make sure I was OK on pH and chlorine as I wait.

 

[Mdragger88]

what chlorine do I need to use and what amount?

Here’s another picture.

Liquid chlorine
Add 6ppm - use
PoolMath to calculate how much that is based on your pool’s volume & your bleach%

 

[Clem116]

Here are the results from the kit I ordered. Note that we got a lot of rain these last couple of days.

Two questions...
1) My pool store told me that 4 chlorine is good for my type and size of pool. TFP says I should be a bit higher.... CYA is about 90.
2) For Alkalinity, my pool store said I should be in the 120-140 range so that it doesn't damage my liner. TFP says 60-80 the ideal range. They gave me a bag of 1lb of Alkalinity increaser to put in.

------------------------------------------
Test Results 04-14-2023 @ 11:01 AM
------------------------------------------
Free Chlorine: 4.2
Combined Chlorine: 0.0
pH: 7.8
Total Alkalinity: 90
Calcium Hardness: 80

------------------------------------------
Test Results 04-13-2023 @ 11:43 AM
------------------------------------------
Free Chlorine: 4.2
Combined Chlorine: 0.0
pH: 7.8
Total Alkalinity: 90

------------------------------------------
Test Results 04-11-2023 @ 05:10 PM
------------------------------------------
Free Chlorine: 4.2
Combined Chlorine: 0.4
pH: 7.8
Total Alkalinity: 110

 

[Clem116]

@Mdragger88 Let me your thoughts on the above, thanks!

 

[Mdragger88]

Two questions...
1) My pool store told me that 4 chlorine is good for my type and size of pool. TFP says I should be a bit higher.... CYA is about 90.

Tfp recommends higher fc levels because of the fc/cya relationship - pool stores would have you believing 100ppm cya is also fine with low fc levels & then sell you something to “fix” all the problems that arise from the situation
Follow the
FC/CYA Levels
4ppm is the minimum your fc should ever be with a cya of 90- not the target to maintain which is 6-12 ppm. So get that FC up asap with liquid chlorine & see if your swg can maintain. If not, dose again @ turn up the swg.
Playing kissy face with minimum is asking for algae the moment you have a higher bather load, rainy/stormy day, higher uv day.
A cya of 90 is manageable for a short time & should fall down some due to backwashing & draining when it rains to prevent overflow.
70-80 is more ideal

2) For Alkalinity, my pool store said I should be in the 120-140 range so that it doesn't damage my liner. TFP says 60-80 the ideal range. They gave me a bag of 1lb of Alkalinity increaser to put in.

That’s baloney & simply not true!
Do not add that.
It will only increase ph which is currently on the edge of needing to be lowered.
The higher the ta the more aggressive/frequent the ph rise becomes.
This would put you on a merry go round you don’t wanna be on.
Your ta is fine.
Pool stores sell acidic trichlor/dichlor for people to chlorinate with daily, this lowers their ph & subsequently ta to such low levels that their ph crashes & low ph for extended periods will damage your liner. So they recommend higher ta levels.
You’re not using Trichlor/dichlor for daily chlorination.
Also pool stores measure “adjusted TA” which is your actual ta minus a portion of your cya - this resulting number makes it seem very low & they then sell you “alkalinity increaser” which is either really expensive baking soda or washing soda.

 

[Clem116]

A cya of 90 is manageable for a short time & should fall down some due to backwashing & draining when it rains to prevent overflow.
70-80 is more ideal

How long should I backwash for? Any other way for me to keep it down?

 

[Clem116]

So latest test i’m down to 2.4 ppm. I am going to boost SWG for 24hrs. I also bought a gallon of chlorine. Should I add any as well and if so, how much?

 

[Mdragger88]

How long should I backwash for? Any other way for me to keep it down?

I meant over time - between replacing backwash water , splashout, rain diluting it.
The only way to lower cya is to replace pool water with fresh water.

 

[Mdragger88]

So latest test i’m down to 2.4 ppm. I am going to boost SWG for 24hrs. I also bought a gallon of chlorine. Should I add any as well and if so, how much?

Get fc up to target fc levels
FC/CYA Levels
with liquid chlorine now. Do not wait for the swg- it is simply too slow.
Use
PoolMath to calculate amounts.
Boost does not mean that your swg makes chlorine at a faster rate- it just means that the swg will run longer (past whatever the normal schedule is & will resume the normal schedule after the boost cycle is over)