New owner with a bunch of questions (updated)

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R

rocker93

Active member
Aug 15, 2019
34
Great Lakes
Pool Size
10400
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
FC: 1.8
CC: 1.8
pH: 7.7
TA: 120
CH: 100-125
CYA: ?
Water temp: 79 deg

Hello all, I had 2 pools growing up and helped with assembling them, testing, vacuuming, backwashing, winterizing, etc. so of course I thought I knew it all! ? However, my family has had our first pool for 3 days and I'm already getting confused.

The first thing is the chlorine. We have some sensitivities to it in our family (we think) and so I started out aiming for the minimum level of 2 ppm FC. That in mind, I added a quart (32 oz.) of 10% bleach from Walmart the past two nights in a row. When I tested the water yesterday morning, the FC and CC were both 0.6. So I added another quart of bleach and we had a couple relatives over to "test drive" the new pool. Last night about 11pm I added more bleach (maybe 1.25 qts) and this morning at 10am the FC was again only 0.7 with CC showing a bit higher, maybe 0.8. So it seems this pool is a chlorine eating monster right now.

Stabilizer -- I haven't added any but obviously need it. I don't know how much to add because my current test kit doesn't test CYA... our local stores don't carry the "good" kits so I have to order one ASAP but in the meantime I don't want to screw up the water.

Acid demand -- the test indicated 1 cup is needed. I have some dry acid from Leslie's.

Yesterday, pH was 7.8, today it is 7.7. TA has shot up, from 100 yesterday to 120 today. I should also mention that both nights, we ran the filter all night (about 10 hrs). The pool has so far remained uncovered.

The kids are complaining that the water stings their eyes and noses, and according to them it happens immediately, the very first time they go under the water. This probably isn't a sunscreen/goggles issue because they swim in other pools with both those factors and no problems.

OK, so after all that --- What to do next? I've added the last of my chlorine today (a little less than a quart) which brought my FC and CC to 1.8, so I'll be making a trip to Walmart. Should I also add some acid and/or stabilizer? How much? And more importantly (according to the kids anyway) when is the next time they can go in?
 
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Chlorine that isn’t buffered by CYA is likely the issue with the burning. Have you added anything other than chlorine or bleach to the pool? If not, you can add stabilizer to get to 30 ppm before you get your test kit. Or you could err on the side of caution and only add 20 ppm.

Keep adding chlorine daily while waiting too.
 
Thank you for the advice. Following your reply I added about 1.5 lbs of Sparco Stabilizer (CYA) using the sock + skimmer method, then 45 mins later added 26 oz. of plain bleach (6%) to bump up FC to about 3 per PoolMath... will test again in a little while. The jet is making churning sounds so hopefully that sock is OK in the skimmer. Will just keep checking it while the powder dissolves.
 
A CC of 1.8 says you have algae in the pool. We don’t trust pool store tests. So get one of our recommended test kits and post your own test.

In the meantime read up on the SLAM Process as that is likely in your future. Don’t raise your CYA over 30.

I suggest you review ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry
 
As already stated, I am in the process of getting a better test. And I didn't have a pool store do a test, nor did I ever state that I did -- actually I declined pool store testing because I don't trust it either. I did my own test using the kit shown in my signature.

In the meantime, surely you can recognize that I can't just add nothing to the water.
 
How do you get
FC: 1.8
CC: 1.8
from the Poolmaster kit?

Add CYA to 30 and maintain your FC. Your pH, TA and CH is fine.

Water stinging the eyes is likely from your CCs.
 
ajw22 said:
How do you get
FC: 1.8
CC: 1.8
from the Poolmaster kit?
Click to expand...

Ha -- I thought someone might ask that. The color is between 1.0 and 2.0, but very close to 2.0 hence the estimate of 1.8 (and the need for a better test).

ajw22 said:
Water stinging the eyes is likely from your CCs.
Click to expand...

That seems to be the general consensus. Stabilizer has been in for 24 hours now so when the kids go in later we'll see what they say. Yesterday a few hours after adding it, the report was "it's a little better." :unsure: I may brave it myself, though the water temp has gone down to 76. ? A little while ago I added 48 oz. of 10% liquid which should bring FC to about 5 according to PoolMath.
 
You are just fooling yourself guessing at 1.8. If it is close to 2 then call it 2. FC does not need decimal point precision.
 

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Just an update here, it seems I misunderstood how to figure FC & CC and I've been reading my CC wrong. My test kit says to read FC immediately, then wait 1-2 minutes more to read CC, and I took that literally, reading the CC to be the same as FC (instead of reading it as "no change"). So it turns out CC has been 0 all along. FC is pretty stable at 2-3 throughout the day and pH is 7.6, so I think it's going well. Should have the CYA test today when I'll know for sure what my FC target should really be.
 
I may have an answer to the mysterious eye and nose stinging.
I received my TF-100 test kit today! So to back up a bit, I was thinking for a few days now that something must be wrong with the other kit (Poolmaster 5-way). Every morning, no matter how much chlorine I added, the FC would always read 2. This was true whether I added 24 oz. or 64 oz. so it was quite frustrating. I checked the age of my chlorine -- pack date of 8/5/19 so that was good. In fact, this is the past week's worth of chlorine usage:

8/16 -- 48 oz. am / 32 oz. pm (80 oz.)
8/17 -- 34 oz. am / 42 oz. pm (76 oz.)
8/18 -- 32 oz. am / 48 oz. pm (80 oz.)
8/19 -- 0 oz. am / 56 oz. pm (56 oz.)
8/20 -- 24 oz. am / 40 oz. pm (64 oz.)
8/21 -- 40 oz. am / 56 oz. pm (96 oz.)
8/22 -- 0 oz. am / 64 oz. pm (64 oz.)
As you can see chlorine usage was all over the place even after adding the stabilizer sock (on 8/17 or 18 I think). And yet FC was at 2 all the time, a couple times just barely edging up to 3.

Today, these are my test results with the brand new TF-100 kit:
FC: 7.5 (old: 2)
CC: 0
pH: 7.6
TA: 190 (old: 100-120)
CYA: 0
CH: 300 (old: 100)

I mean, holy (insert your epithet of choice here)!! Pretty much the only good news here is that the pH was accurate and the CC is 0.
So what now?
 
Well you proved again why we insist folks get the TF-100 or K-2006C test kit.

Add stabilizer for CYA 30 and adjust your chlorine using the FC/CYA Levels

Use the sock method for adding stabilizer and don;t dump it in the skimmer. See CYA in ...

www.troublefreepool.com

Recommended Pool Chemicals

Which should I buy? TFP's recommended pool chemicals are cheap, easy, and won't unbalance your pool water.
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ajw22 said:
A CC of 1.8 says you have algae in the pool. We don’t trust pool store tests. So get one of our recommended test kits and post your own test.

In the meantime read up on the SLAM Process as that is likely in your future. Don’t raise your CYA over 30.

I suggest you review ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry
Click to expand...

I trust a pool test store when its someone I know. I bought the test kit from here to support the site. I will say they give you a little crib sheet and its so easy I save 1 hour doing my own. I love it!
 
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