New pool owner.. Want to go BBB but very very nervous.. Help calm my nerves.. :)

[Richard320]

I wouldn't do anything. 60 TA and 7.2 pH are acceptable. You aren't going to etch plaster in a vinyl pool.

Down near the bottom you can set up Suggested Goal Levels in poolmath.

 

[tbird2340]

I wouldn't do anything. 60 TA and 7.2 pH are acceptable. You aren't going to etch plaster in a vinyl pool.

Down near the bottom you can set up Suggested Goal Levels in poolmath.

Thanks for the reply Rich.. Can you explain what you mean by "I'm not going to etch plaster in a vinyl pool." ?

Also thanks for the tidbit about the suggested goal levels. Hadn't seen that. When I set it to "troublefreepool.com, bleach, and vinyl" it says TA should be between 70-90+.. Mine being 60 is OK then?

 

[Richard320]

Thanks for the reply Rich.. Can you explain what you mean by "I'm not going to etch plaster in a vinyl pool." ?

Also thanks for the tidbit about the suggested goal levels. Hadn't seen that. When I set it to "troublefreepool.com, bleach, and vinyl" it says TA should be between 70-90+.. Mine being 60 is OK then?

If you had a plaster pool, you would have to worry about corrosive water. You don't, so you don't have to worry.

The goals are suggested -- they are not absolutes. If the water coming out your tap is 300, you'd be forever exchanging water in a futile effort to achieve the recommended level. Likewise, some people who have flat line pH get obsessed over lowering TA when there is no good reason. Or micromanaging things; adjusting pH when it gets up to 7.6 when they want 7.5. They're just suggested levels. The only absolute is the low number under the FC targets - that's the minimum you should maintain. The next time you add water, your TA will likely climb. If it doesn't, your pH will likely drop after the addition, in which case you fix it and the TA at the same time.

 

[tbird2340]

Thanks Rich! Still trying to wrap my head around all this!

 

[rick6668]

See the recommended levels here

For me, I monitor FC daily or every other day. This is the most important thing to watch. Don't let it drop below the min for your CYA.
I test my pH once or twice a week. I rarely have to adjust, it's usually between 7.2 and 7.5. I would think anything between 7.2 and 7.8 is fine actually. Most people seem to have to adjust this down with acid. I've used acid 3 times in 3 years. I test TA maybe once a month, mine rarely moves and only seems to do so when adjusting pH. I have never purposely adjusted my TA. It's always been between 80-120 for me.

 

[DR3J]

Tbird, Follow the advice here and you'll be fine. I'm in your area and I have yet to find a pool store that even rises to the level of incompetence. When we started the pool store had us adding flock, antiflock and every other expensive chemical they had. The pool went from bad to so terrible that my kids tried to light the methane coming off the surface. Now, with the advice from this site and a TF-100 test kit, I add very little other than water and bleach and the pool is always crystal clear. As Richard said "The goals are suggested -- they are not absolutes." Worry the most about the FC. We test every day or every other day and add bleach as necessary.

 

[tbird2340]

Today's test results:

FC: 5
pH: 7.0
TA: 60

I don't mean to beat a dead horse here but should I be adding anything to get into the recommended levels for pH and TA? Also, I added the stabilizer on Friday via the socks.. When should I test my CYA level? I believe I read a week but want to verify that.

Thanks

 

[Richard320]

That's odd that your pH is dropping. Is there still CYA dissolving? Any pucks in a feeder?

If you're really at 7.0, raise it up. You can plug the recommended doses of borax or soda ash into Effects of Adding Chemicals at the bottom and see what each will do to TA. Then decide what to get. If you already have something to raise pH, use that. Don't run out looking for washing soda late at night of you have borax already, or vice-versa.

 

[rick6668]

I agree with Richard. I would raise the pH a little.
Read this for recommended chemicals.
I recommend Borax. Borax is available as 20 Mule Team® Borax Natural Laundry Booster. It is sold in the laundry detergent section of most larger grocery stores and some big box stores. Borax is best added by pre-dissolving it in a bucket of water and then pouring that slowly in front of a return.

Use pool math to see how much you need to add to raise to 7.2 and see the effects, you can always add more to raise it higher if you feel the need.

 

[tbird2340]

That's odd that your pH is dropping. Is there still CYA dissolving? Any pucks in a feeder?

If you're really at 7.0, raise it up. You can plug the recommended doses of borax or soda ash into Effects of Adding Chemicals at the bottom and see what each will do to TA. Then decide what to get. If you already have something to raise pH, use that. Don't run out looking for washing soda late at night of you have borax already, or vice-versa.

No, the CYA socks were pretty much done the day I put them in (Friday).. No pucks or anything.. I'm doing it all the TPF way!

Remember my pH was 7.8 and I was told to put 12oz muriatic acid in and since then it tested at 7.0, 7.2, and 7.0 (so close between the colors)..

Unfortunately I only have about 12oz of 20 mule borax laying around.. Should I dump that in or not even bother? Just pick some borax up tomorrow?

Tell me the way Yoda..

Thanks!

 

[rick6668]

No, the CYA socks were pretty much done the day I put them in (Friday).. No pucks or anything.. I'm doing it all the TPF way!

Remember my pH was 7.8 and I was told to put 12oz muriatic acid in and since then it tested at 7.0, 7.2, and 7.0 (so close between the colors)..

Unfortunately I only have about 12oz of 20 mule borax laying around.. Should I dump that in or not even bother? Just pick some borax up tomorrow?

Tell me the way Yoda..

Thanks!

Use Pool Math to see how much Borax it recommends for the level you want. You can add if you wish if it is less than the goal and pick up more and add later.

 

[tbird2340]

So I just tested my CYA (been 1 week since I added 4 lbs to my new pool).. The solution never really got that cloudy and I'm not sure if the black dot is supposed to be completely invisibile or not but I could still see it even with the water to the top of the tube.. I'm guessing it's low 30, if that?

I added the 76oz of Borax on Wednesday and my pH went from 7.0 to 7.8 the next day and 7.6 today..

Here are my numbers so far:

Thoughts? Should I add another 19oz of stabalizer?

 

[Abigail K]

The black dot is supposed to be completely invisible. If the solution is partly cloudy but the dot doesn't disappear, it means you have some CYA but less than 30.
Can you post your FC and CC?

 

[tbird2340]

Just tested FC and CC (first time I've ever tested CC)..

FC: 6
CC: .5

 

[Abigail K]

Do you know what was the FC last night? If you do, and if you passed OCLT you could bring the CYA up.

 

[tbird2340]

FC was 2.5 last night at 8PM.. I added 74oz of 8.25% bleach and this morning FC is 6.

 

[Abigail K]

74oz of 8.25% bleach increases FC by 3.5, that would have gotten you to FC 6.
Add the CYA and dose accordingly.

 

[tbird2340]

Right.. My FC went up the exact amount the poolmath calc said it would.. How much CYA are you saying to add? I'm guessing I'm not quite at 30 since it was still visible so I am safe to assume it's around 25 and I should add 29oz of stabilizer to bring it to 40?

 

[JVTrain]

40 is a good number to shoot for. You don't want to go over but my pool in a similar climate works well so far at 40. Use less bleach each day than when I had it at 30 for sure.