New pool, new to pools, chemistry is off. Help!?

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SiriusDoggy said:
Last night the pH was 7.8 so I added 22oz of acid. This morning the pH is 7.5 so I added 6 more oz of acid. Hopefully this is going to get my pH in line?
What about my other numbers? The TA doesn't seem to be moving and the CH is still off the chart at 525. The math calc says to replace 53% of the pool water? Really?
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Go look at Effects Of Adding Chemicals near the bottom of poolmath. See what that acid dose will do. Ignore the pH part -- it'll be wrong except under very specific parameters. But the TA reduction will be right. You'll see that it might not be enough to register on the test, but it is going down if you;re adding acid.

525 CH is far from ideal but easily managed. High CH is just going to be a fact of life for you where you live. We can discuss that later. I believe the current problem is an insatiable chlorine demand, is it not? Fix the pH and SLAM. It might only take a day since the water doesn't look too bad.
 
My numbers are off again. I'm really getting concerned that I'm quite literally throwing money down the drain with all these chemicals.
This morning the pH was finally starting to come down and was at 7.5 so according to the pool math calc I added 6 more oz of acid. Well, it's 11pm now and I just ran all the test again and here's the results.

FC = .5
CC = .5
pH = 7.8
TA = 230
CH = 525
CYA = 50

So the pH has went back UP to 7.8 from the 7.5 this morning even after I added the acid. So I punched the numbers into the calc again and it recommended 24oz of bleach and 22oz of acid. I put the acid in first, waited 30 minutes and put the bleach in and will check everything in the morning. If the FC and pH hasn't moved in the right direction then I'm probably gonna have to hire a pool service to fix it. I'm just lost at this point.
Any suggestions?
 
I know it's frustrating and somewhat confusing, but it will become more clear to you and make more sense if you manage this instead of getting a pool service involved.

The pH is going to rise quickly with a high TA. It's ok, you can address that tendency later. Getting your pH to 7.2 for a SLAM is a one-time deal: add enough acid to lower the pH. Check it in 30-60 minutes. If it's still too high, add more acid, but it doesn't have to be perfect and start a SLAM. The longer you wait, the longer it will take to correct and the more bleach you will need.

Once the SLAM is done you can work on lowering the TA which will help slow your poool's tendency for pH rise. It takes time and repeated additions of muriatic acid to lower TA. You can do it and it will be far cheaper than using a pool service.
 
SiriusDoggy said:
Last night the pH was 7.8 so I added 22oz of acid. This morning the pH is 7.5 so I added 6 more oz of acid. Hopefully this is going to get my pH in line?
What about my other numbers? The TA doesn't seem to be moving and the CH is still off the chart at 525. The math calc says to replace 53% of the pool water? Really?
Click to expand...
Poolmath is telling you what you want to hear. You picked the target. That target is probably impossible with the water in Las Vegas. Poolmath is working off the assumption that the water you refill with is zero CH -- which it won't be. Nowhere even close. Not in the Southwest. My personal experience is that CH can be managed easily up to about 800. The sticking point is that to do so the TA must be down to 60 or 70. It's going to take a while and a lot of acid to lower it that much. Just keep pounding away at the pH the way you've been doing. Yes, it's annoying and time-consuming, but not really all that expensive. Calling in a pool service will cost you twice as much as the chemicals and you probably won't be happy with the results anyway.
 
OK, so after a good night's sleep I don't feel so overwhelmed. After a 14hr work shift yesterday coming home to see almost no change was just a gut punch. I'm not ready to give up yet.
So I ran the test again this morning and it's moving in the right direction again.

Today the FC is .5, CC is 1 and TA is 190

I thought the CC is supposed to stay at .5? Am I creating a new problem?

I punched those #'s into the pool math calc and it recommended 16oz of acid and 24oz bleach so I've added those 30 minutes apart.

Is 30 minutes ok or can I add the acid and bleach at the same time?

I feel like I'm getting there and I'm home all day today to try and get this in order.
 
You need to get your FC up. Change your target to 20 in pool math and try to keep it there so you can do an OCLT. With the CC being one that means you have algae being eaten by your chlorine. Keep maintaining the FC of 20 until you can pass the OCLT. and your CC is 1 or less.

Is your water still looking clear?

edit: Change your pH target to 7.2 too. It's fine to add acid and bleach within a short time period. It usually takes me a couple minutes to walk back to where I store my chemicals. I also pour them very slowly, a gallon takes me 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.
 
FC of 20!? The calc is telling me to add another 130oz of bleach to reach FC20. Are you sure I should try to reach 20? That seems off the chart high.

It's also saying another 10oz of acid to get the pH down to 7.2

I just want to confirm you meant 20 and not 2.0 before I dump 130oz of bleach into my pool.
 

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No hassle, we just want you to be smiling like Richard is.

Take a FC test after the sun is no longer hitting the pool and try to get one before the sun is hitting it in the morning. Do the CC portion of the test in the morning and post back the results.

I'm glad to hear it is still clear!
 
OK, Once again I'm at a total loss for what to do. Late yesterday after the sun was no longer on the pool I ran test again and came back with these readings.

FC - .5
CC - .5
TC - 1
TA - 180

Taking the advice here I added 130oz of bleach and 10ox of acid to SLAM it.

Well, this morning I checked the FC and CC before the sun hit the pool.
And now the FC - 0 and CC - 0

How is this possible. I started wondering if the pool size that the builder told us was off so I got out with a pencil and paper, did the measurements and I came up with 5,100 gallons, not the 3,300 we were told. I checked my math multiple times so I'm going to change my signature to show this new number. But even still, I expected my FC number to be very high and I'm stunned to see it lower.
 
Normally I just read these threads and leave the advice to the experts. I haven't noticed any mention of the bleach you are using and all bottles of bleach are not created equal. So, a dollar store bottle of bleach isn't as strong as Clorox and Clorox isn't as strong as you'd get from a pool store. The bottle should have a percentage on it. Make sure that's the percentage you have in the calculator.

I'd recommend taking a FC and CC reading 30 minutes after adding the last dose of bleach. That way you know what was lost over night.

I look forward to seeing you master driving your pool. I'm also really curious how such a clean pool could eat that much chlorine.
 
Hey guys, once again I'm at a loss. I feel like I need to talk to someone rather than going back and forth here. If anyone is willing to spend 5 minutes with me on the phone please PM me and I'll give you a call. Here's my situation.
Yesterday morning my wife and I decided to try and SLAM the pool. We were starting with a FC level of .5 and CYA level of 40.
I watched the video about SLAMing and it says to get your CYA level right first so punching the numbers into the Pool Math Calc it said to add 53oz of stabilizer to get to a CYA level of 80 and 24oz of acid to get the pH down to 7.5.
I added the 53oz and waited 3 hours - CYA level 70. and ph7.2
I figured that was close enough to get started adding the Chlorine into the pool. I purchased 4 gallons of 10% chrlorine and had 4 gallons of 7.5% bleach.
Next step according to the chart was to get the FC level up to 28 and once again the calc said to add 224oz of 10% chlorine. I did that, waited 2 hrs. and it was only at 17. Added more chlorine and did one final check at 10pm and the FC level was only 19. I went to bed and tested it again at sunrise this morning and it was down overnight to 13. So once again I've added chlorine to try and get it up high and I'm added the amount the calc says to and it's barely moving. The calc said 46oz of chlorine would get me to 28 but after 2 hours it's only back up to 17.

I really need to talk to someone before I waste another drop of chemicals....
Thanks ~
Greg
 
I'm not an expert, but I have to wonder about the quality of your chlorine. Bleach has a very limited shelf life, with the concentration of chlorine dropping by the day. It goes down even faster in hot temperatures. Las Vegas is hot this time of year. Where is the bleach being stored? I would also check the date code. I buy Chlorox 8.25% bleach at Costco in 3 gallon cases. The date code on the outside of the box. It starts with a letter and a number which I believe is the plant code. Then the year, "17", and then a three digit number for the date manufactured, with 1 representing Jan. 1. I just bought some, and the code was "A817163", meaning it was made on June 12th, or about 3 weeks ago. When I buy it, I don't let it sit in a hot car either. I bring it straight home, and put it in the garage out of the sun.

After the bleach has mixed with the water with the pump running for about 30 minutes, the chlorine level should rise about what the pool calculator says.

Also what is the temperature of your water? I would expect chlorine to drop faster with higher temperatures.

I have to add bleach and acid all the time. It's part of having a pool. Some days I have to add more than others. I added about 8 oz. of acid this morning. I checked my pH, and it looks like I will have to add 16 oz. tomorrow morning. It probably got a bunch of wind on the water today. If I let my chlorine get too low, I have to add extra chlorine for at least several days to clear everything out. It's the nature of the beast. Eventually, you catch back up.
 
I wish I consider myself my than an advanced noob. I'd be more than happy to talk to you, but I think you need greater experise.

In the very beginning, you mentioned adding $200 worth of chemicals. Do you recall what they were? I wonder if we're getting a reaction from mixing chemicals or the degradation of one of them.
 

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