Need advice - shouldn't have listened to kid at pool store!

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T

Torengo

0
Jul 18, 2018
6
Collierville, TN
I am fairly new here at TFP- we just moved into this house last fall and the swim season was about over. We closed the pool for winter but didn't realize the mesh safety cover would create a swamp! So, when we opened the pool we SLAM'd it and worked on it for a week or so to get the water cleared up.

I went to local pool store with a water sample and the young feller told me to add 10 pounds of baking soda (among other things) - and I should have listened to my "little voice" that said - 'hey, that sounds like too much', but I didn't. And, UP went the pH and TA!

Here are today's test results (using AquaChek 7 strips - I am ordering the test kit ya'll recommended):
FC - 0
TC - 0
Hardness - 250
pH - 8.2
Total Alkalinity - 220
CYA - between 50-100

The water is CLEAR!

I added 1 1/2 cups of Muriatic Acid yesterday using Pool Math because the pH and TA were so high - they are a smidge lower this morning. Free Chlorine was around 2 yesterday.

I don't know what to try to fix first - pH and TA or the FC? I figure one must trump the other?

I don't have liquid chlorine - I am trying to use up the CalHypo granules (68%) we have first.

Any help will be greatly appreciated!
 
Welcome to TFP! An expert will chime in soon I am sure. Good choice to take control of your pool, i doubt if you regret it!

They wont be able to fine tune until you get your test kit, pool store and test strips are notoriously unreliable. In the mean time check out pool school for some of your answers.
FC needs to be higher, see cya/CL chart. You can add liquid chlorine per pool math to stay safe while waiting on kit. While waiting I would go to store and stock up on CL
See what they say about cal hypo but I wouldn't add.
TA and PH are intertwined, see process for lowering TA. But you need good tests before making any big changes, could make things worse.
 
Since you don't know what your CH is yet, the cal hypo might increase your calcium hardness. You'd be better off to add liquid chlorine. You could add 3ppm of FC each day until your test kit arrives. I'm sure a true expert will chime in soon. You could try to aerate the pool to offgas CO2 and lower your TAas Msch99 stated. It is discussed in pool school.
 
Steve_in_C said:
Since you don't know what your CH is yet, the cal hypo might increase your calcium hardness. You'd be better off to add liquid chlorine. You could add 3ppm of FC each day until your test kit arrives. I'm sure a true expert will chime in soon. You could try to aerate the pool to offgas CO2 and lower your TAas Msch99 stated. It is discussed in pool school.
Click to expand...
I will go to the store and get some liquid chlorine - I had not thought about the CalHypo increasing the calcium hardness.
Any other advice out there? Should I just add LC until my test kit comes? And is it ok for us to swim in it?
 
If PH is 8.2, might burn eyes a bit? Not sure. Safe enough to test yourself then let kids in if it was me doing it.

As far as CL, I would probably go a little higher, use 60 or so cya level...but we really aren't sure cya level. Maybe 5ppm.
 
Torengo said:
I will go to the store and get some liquid chlorine - I had not thought about the CalHypo increasing the calcium hardness.
Any other advice out there? Should I just add LC until my test kit comes? And is it ok for us to swim in it?
Click to expand...

The number you have for "hardness" may be your calcium hardness. We just don't know if it's reliable. A proper test kit is on the way and then you will know. You really need to keep some chlorine in the pool. Pools will require daily chlorine. For now just add 3ppm or even 4ppm each day until the test kit arrives. As far as swimming goes, algae is a surrogate marker for other microbes. It is just a visible marker that microbes are living in the pool. This is kind of like the canary in the coal mine. If the oxygen is too low, the canary is a visible marker of low oxygen. If your pool is visibly clear, then there are fewer microbes present. However, you can't guarantee this. It's safest to wait to swim until you are sure you have adequate FC for proper sanitization.

By the way, it looks like you SLAMMED without a test kit. You just added cal hypo repeatedly not knowing the FC? You got lucky if it worked.
 
Every commonly available chlorine source affects something besides just chlorine level (pH, salt, etc.)
Trichlor and dichlor add CYA, salts
Calcium hypochlorite adds calcium, salts
Sodium hypochlorite (bleach) adds salts
Lithium hypochlorite adds salts, costs a lot

Sodium hypochlorite (liquid chlorine or bleach) has less unwanted effects than the other products.
 

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Yes it is plain bleach, 6%. I added aproximately 5 cups in the deep end, in front of a return, by very slowly pouring it in.

An hour later, I get a "3" on my test strip - so, at least I have some chlorine now. Thank you!

I feel like I need to add more muriatic acid because the pH is still high. Pool Math suggests 1cup 3 oz. Is it safe to go ahead and add that now?
 
Of all the various chemicals the kid could have overloaded you with, be grateful it's just baking soda. It's easy enough to fix without water replacement. I'd say you were lucky. Your pool-stored story is relatively mild and inexpensive.

Yeah, you can add acid. Ordinarily I'd suggest you go slow, but with that much TA the pH will bounce back fast if you overshoot. Don't try to get it all balanced using test strips. You'll likely have to redo everything when you get your kit.
 
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