It's been a LONG time since I've had any problems with my pool (see signature, but it's an indoor pool).
Typically we've had to add acid to keep the Ph correct but this year the Ph has been running low.
We didn't use the pool last winter because we where traveling for a good bit and didn't want to leave the pool heater on while we were gone, so we didn't start using it again this year until June.
And another point to add, we replaced the pool cover, which was 20 years old and starting to rip at the edges a year ago.
I ordered and received and new TFT kit at the end of season sale last year, so the kit is a year old from when I got it. The initial testing in June showed the CYA was close to zero. You could see the dot with the water in the tube at the top. So I ordered some Clorox brand trichlor pucks from Amazon and have been using them keeping the CL level between 2 and 3 (using bleach as needed). I've used 6 pounds of pucks so far. Which according to pool math should have raised by CYA by 17. I've used 3 different CYA test solutions from TFT test kits, the newest solution and the one from 2015 both show very low (I can see the dot when tube full), the the one from 2017 reads about 20. And I remember someone saying on the forum the test solution doesn't go bad. Go figure.
Anyway, last week I noticed an oil film on the top and the water slightly cloudy (we did have my niece and her 2 year old in the pool that week), so I got some scum balls (in the shape of turtles) from Amazon and added 20 of these to the pool to soak up the oil. And added about 2 pounds of borax to raise the Ph from 7.0 (color between the 6.8 and 7.2 numbers) to 7.3. The next day the Ph was still low, so I added 1 pound of soda ash which brought it up to 7.2 the next day. But the next day water was much more cloudy. I've added bleach to bring the CL level up to 6 and another 2 pounds of soda ash last night to try to raise the Ph to 7.5. And I also changed out the cartridge filters yesterday, but the old ones where not that dirty. And cleaned up rather easily (they are soaking in filter cleaner right now).
So here's the numbers you've been waiting for:
Ph 7.2
CL 5.8
CC 0.4
TA 90
CH 300
CYA - 0 to 20
water temp 84.
Typically we've had to add acid to keep the Ph correct but this year the Ph has been running low.
We didn't use the pool last winter because we where traveling for a good bit and didn't want to leave the pool heater on while we were gone, so we didn't start using it again this year until June.
And another point to add, we replaced the pool cover, which was 20 years old and starting to rip at the edges a year ago.
I ordered and received and new TFT kit at the end of season sale last year, so the kit is a year old from when I got it. The initial testing in June showed the CYA was close to zero. You could see the dot with the water in the tube at the top. So I ordered some Clorox brand trichlor pucks from Amazon and have been using them keeping the CL level between 2 and 3 (using bleach as needed). I've used 6 pounds of pucks so far. Which according to pool math should have raised by CYA by 17. I've used 3 different CYA test solutions from TFT test kits, the newest solution and the one from 2015 both show very low (I can see the dot when tube full), the the one from 2017 reads about 20. And I remember someone saying on the forum the test solution doesn't go bad. Go figure.
Anyway, last week I noticed an oil film on the top and the water slightly cloudy (we did have my niece and her 2 year old in the pool that week), so I got some scum balls (in the shape of turtles) from Amazon and added 20 of these to the pool to soak up the oil. And added about 2 pounds of borax to raise the Ph from 7.0 (color between the 6.8 and 7.2 numbers) to 7.3. The next day the Ph was still low, so I added 1 pound of soda ash which brought it up to 7.2 the next day. But the next day water was much more cloudy. I've added bleach to bring the CL level up to 6 and another 2 pounds of soda ash last night to try to raise the Ph to 7.5. And I also changed out the cartridge filters yesterday, but the old ones where not that dirty. And cleaned up rather easily (they are soaking in filter cleaner right now).
So here's the numbers you've been waiting for:
Ph 7.2
CL 5.8
CC 0.4
TA 90
CH 300
CYA - 0 to 20
water temp 84.
