Just getting started and need help.

[laurandavid09]

I have the TF100 kit. I assume you mean the pink powder that comes in the white container.

My powder is white with a tinge of gray, but it turns the water pink, if that's what you meant.

The sellers left a testing kit behind when they left. The CYA tube in that kit is much smaller, which means I would use less chemicals than the one in the TF100 kit. Since that seems to be used a lot, can I use the smaller tube for the CYA test, as to be abel to use less of the chemical that comes in the TF100 kit?

With the CYA test the important part is to use equal amounts of test water and R-0013. After that, you just need to mix up enough total liquid to fill the tube far enough to get a good reading.

Curious, I thought the TF100 already used the small view tube!

I should be home earlier tomorrow during daylight still, so what test do I need to do tomorrow afternoon?

Daylight is really best for two things: color-matching (like the pH test) and the CYA test. For the CYA test, the optimal lighting is outdoors with your back to the sun. I'm not saying you should run it again; but if you happened to feel like it, that would be a good time.

At this point we know your pH is okay and your chlorine is low. So, you can just go ahead and put the bleach in (with the pump running). Give it, oh, an hour or so, until the sun's off the pool, then run the FAS-DPD test. Repeat the FAS-DPD test in the morning, preferably before the sun hits the pool. (This is the "overnight FC loss test.") If the morning test shows you've lost more than 1ppm FC, then you need to keep shocking.

Thanks. I am going to post some before pics of my pool of when I started and will post some pics of my progress now.

The pics are worth a thousand words. (You'd think I'd learn how to post some. ) Obviously much improved, with any luck you are near the end of the process.
--paulr

Well the tube in the TF100 kit could be considered small, but the one in the other kits is about 1/3 the size. On that test tube I tend to get higher CYA.

So the main test I need to do tomorrow afternoon is the CYA Test. Find out what my CYA is and then use the chart to see what my shock FC needs to be. So should I do a FC test tomorrow as well to see where my FC is so that when I do the CYA test and find my shock FC, I can put in my FC test results as the beginning and my shock FC as the goal to get the right amount of bleach to add?

Hopefully that all makes sense.

I was reading the overnight fc loss test information in pool school. It says to test after I put in my last chemicals and do not add anymore chlorine and then test again in the morning. So when I do the CYA and FC test this afternoon, will I go ahead and add the bleach then or will I do the FC test this afternoon and again in the morning and then add bleach? It seems if I do the FC test after adding all the bleach, my FC will go very high, therefore requiring a lot of solution to do the FC test or am I wrong. Also when adding the bleach, how much should I add at a time and I assume in the deep end.

Thanks.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

I would use the CYA tube that comes with the TF100 kit, follow the instructions to the letter, and trust your result. Don't bother with the other view tube, once you know your CYA level you shouldn't have to test for it again for a long time. This is not a test you will be doing weekly. Monthly at most.

 

[PaulR]

I was reading the overnight fc loss test information in pool school. It says to test after I put in my last chemicals and do not add anymore chlorine and then test again in the morning. So when I do the CYA and FC test this afternoon, will I go ahead and add the bleach then or will I do the FC test this afternoon and again in the morning and then add bleach? It seems if I do the FC test after adding all the bleach, my FC will go very high, therefore requiring a lot of solution to do the FC test or am I wrong. Also when adding the bleach, how much should I add at a time and I assume in the deep end.

Thanks.

1) Test CYA so you can decide your target FC level.
2) Test FC, to see where you're starting from.
3) Add enough bleach to get to your target level.
4) Wait at least one hour, and until the sun is off the pool.
5) Test FC again, to see where you actually got to.
6)
7) In the morning test FC again, see what you lost overnight.

Repeat steps 2-7 until you lose at most 1ppm overnight. If you lost a lot, it is worth putting more bleach in during the day, the process will go faster that way.

When you do the FAS-DPD test with high FC levels, yes it will take many drops of R-0871. That's normal when you are shocking. Count carefully.

When adding bleach, you pour it slowly in front of a return jet so the jet will quickly disperse the bleach. By "slowly" I put in a few ounces, wait a few seconds, repeat until done. Some people prefer the deepend, my pool is only 5.5' deep and the shallow end is much larger so I put it in the shallow end. Try not to splash... if it gets on your clothes they will be permanently spotted (it is bleach, after all).
--paulr

 

[laurandavid09]

I was reading the overnight fc loss test information in pool school. It says to test after I put in my last chemicals and do not add anymore chlorine and then test again in the morning. So when I do the CYA and FC test this afternoon, will I go ahead and add the bleach then or will I do the FC test this afternoon and again in the morning and then add bleach? It seems if I do the FC test after adding all the bleach, my FC will go very high, therefore requiring a lot of solution to do the FC test or am I wrong. Also when adding the bleach, how much should I add at a time and I assume in the deep end.

Thanks.

1) Test CYA so you can decide your target FC level.
2) Test FC, to see where you're starting from.
3) Add enough bleach to get to your target level.
4) Wait at least one hour, and until the sun is off the pool.
5) Test FC again, to see where you actually got to.
6)
7) In the morning test FC again, see what you lost overnight.

Repeat steps 2-7 until you lose at most 1ppm overnight. If you lost a lot, it is worth putting more bleach in during the day, the process will go faster that way.

When you do the FAS-DPD test with high FC levels, yes it will take many drops of R-0871. That's normal when you are shocking. Count carefully.

When adding bleach, you pour it slowly in front of a return jet so the jet will quickly disperse the bleach. By "slowly" I put in a few ounces, wait a few seconds, repeat until done. Some people prefer the deepend, my pool is only 5.5' deep and the shallow end is much larger so I put it in the shallow end. Try not to splash... if it gets on your clothes they will be permanently spotted (it is bleach, after all).
--paulr

Will I be putting all the bleach in at the same time. Say I need 5 big jubs. Will I put the jugs in back to back or do I need to wait in between jugs?

Thanks.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Back to back is fine - follow's Paul's advice on this above.

 

[laurandavid09]

I guess after I get all this balanced, I should backwash the filter?

 

[laurandavid09]

CYA=20
FC=.5
pH=7.4

Shock FC=10

2 big jugs of bleach

I took a sample up to the warehouse pool store and they got pretty much the same

Their results

CYA=10
FC=.6
pH=7.4

So I am going with my results

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Good choice....

Re: backwashing filter is usually indicated by a rise in PSI - so if it's indicated then do so...

 

[laurandavid09]

Good choice....

Re: backwashing filter is usually indicated by a rise in PSI - so if it's indicated then do so...

On the filter, the PSI has been continously holding at 15-17. I have been running it quiet a bit lately.

 

[laurandavid09]

Just did FC test and 17 drops there was still a small hint of pink and 18 was totally clear.

So right now my FC=9. Since my FC for shock is supposed to be 10, is this going to cause issues?

I may need to take some new measurements to make sure I have the right pool size.

 

[polyvue]

Just did FC test and 17 drops there was still a small hint of pink and 18 was totally clear. So right now my FC=9. Since my FC for shock is supposed to be 10, is this going to cause issues?

I may need to take some new measurements to make sure I have the right pool size.

Close enough. But please remind me... are you shocking or preparing to conduct an overnight chlorine loss test?

If you are shocking... recommend adding more chlorine to reach or exceed FC 10 then wait an hour or so, test again, repeat etc.

If you have been shocking and want to perform an overnight chlorine loss test, follow Paul's instructions from earlier in the thread... DO NOT add any chlorine after your night-time test, then test again tomorrow morning so you can compare FC and CC. E.g., NIGHT FC = x CC = x MORNING FC = x CC = x

 

[laurandavid09]

Just did FC test and 17 drops there was still a small hint of pink and 18 was totally clear. So right now my FC=9. Since my FC for shock is supposed to be 10, is this going to cause issues?

I may need to take some new measurements to make sure I have the right pool size.

Close enough. But please remind me... are you shocking or preparing to conduct an overnight chlorine loss test?

If you are shocking... recommend adding more chlorine to reach or exceed FC 10 then wait an hour or so, test again, repeat etc.

If you have been shocking and want to perform an overnight chlorine loss test, follow Paul's instructions from earlier in the thread... DO NOT add any chlorine after your night-time test, then test again tomorrow morning so you can compare FC and CC. E.g., NIGHT FC = x CC = x MORNING FC = x CC = x

Doing the overnight loss test. So I can not add anymore chlorine right now.

 

[laurandavid09]

Ok so did the test and dropped quiet a bit.

Last night was 9-Approx 9:30 pm

This Morning was 6.5-Approx 6:20 am

So I need to follow steps 2-7. Do I add just bleach once during the day to try to get to my target level and check FC tonight and then again in the am or what.

Once I only lose 1 FC overnight, what will be the next step?

Thanks

 

[zea3]

You want to keep the pool at shock level as much as you can during the day. I would check chlorine every 2 to 3 hours and add as much as needed to bring it back to shock level each time. Do the overnight test as usual. How does the water look?
Once the overnight test shows a drop of 1 or less you will keep your chlorine at maintenance level according to the pool calculator. You will check chlorine daily until you get a feel for how often you will need to add chlorine. Never let chlorine drop below the minimum maintenance level for your pool. Also at that point you may want to consider bringing the cya level up to 30. If you decide to bring up cya do it gradually. Add 1/2 as much as you think you need and wait a week before re-testing.

 

[laurandavid09]

You want to keep the pool at shock level as much as you can during the day. I would check chlorine every 2 to 3 hours and add as much as needed to bring it back to shock level each time. Do the overnight test as usual. How does the water look?
Once the overnight test shows a drop of 1 or less you will keep your chlorine at maintenance level according to the pool calculator. You will check chlorine daily until you get a feel for how often you will need to add chlorine. Never let chlorine drop below the minimum maintenance level for your pool. Also at that point you may want to consider bringing the cya level up to 30. If you decide to bring up cya do it gradually. Add 1/2 as much as you think you need and wait a week before re-testing.

Water is actaully fairly clear. So when I do the check during the day, if it is at or above the shock level, is there anything I need to do that time or just check again in a few hours?

Thanks.

 

[laurandavid09]

Also if I happen to run out of dfd powder and solution, is this the same stuff that could get me by?

http://www.lesliespool.com/browse/Home/ ... 30/I/81340

and powder

http://www.lesliespool.com/browse/Home/ ... 30/I/81331

 

[zea3]

Also if I happen to run out of dfd powder and solution, is this the same stuff that could get me by?

http://www.lesliespool.com/browse/Home/ ... 30/I/81340

and powder

http://www.lesliespool.com/browse/Home/ ... 30/I/81331

The drop is not the same. You need a taylor r-0871 reagent for the FAS-DPD drop test. It is important to include the FAS in the title. The DPD drop test only measures up to 5ppm for chlorine and does not use the powder. As far as I know there is only one DPD powder so that should be o.k. Since Leslie's sells Taylor brand reagents, check the number on the Taylor bottles to double check before you buy it. The powder should be r-0870. Don't let the pool store tell you they are the same thing if the numbers don't match!

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Water is actaully fairly clear. So when I do the check during the day, if it is at or above the shock level, is there anything I need to do that time or just check again in a few hours?

Thanks.

Nope, you only need to add bleach if your shock level falls. Check again in a few hours

 

[laurandavid09]

Also if I happen to run out of dfd powder and solution, is this the same stuff that could get me by?

http://www.lesliespool.com/browse/Home/ ... 30/I/81340

and powder

http://www.lesliespool.com/browse/Home/ ... 30/I/81331

The drop is not the same. You need a taylor r-0871 reagent for the FAS-DPD drop test. It is important to include the FAS in the title. The DPD drop test only measures up to 5ppm for chlorine and does not use the powder. As far as I know there is only one DPD powder so that should be o.k. Since Leslie's sells Taylor brand reagents, check the number on the Taylor bottles to double check before you buy it. The powder should be r-0870. Don't let the pool store tell you they are the same thing if the numbers don't match!

I am guessing this is the drop

http://www.lesliespool.com/browse/Home/ ... 30/I/81348

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

That's the one. Like said above - you can likely find better pricing elsewhere.