New pool - second filling

[craig in nola]

We got the COVID pool like many others. Initially I decided I wanted to do the frog system. We got the 21x43 oval pool and it required ether 3 frog floaters plus a chlorine floater or an inline system. I installed the inline system and added the chlorine capsule and could never dial it in. Using strip tests kit from King pools and the store the revelation of zero CYA came to me all of a sudden. Like many buffoons before me I went to the pool store with water in hand. Explained the strip test results. They stated due to COVID their test kit refills were not available so we we went with my test. The sweet child grabbed a 5 pound canister of CYA increaser and told me that I needed to pour half into the skimmer and then 4 hours later pour the other half into the skimmer and it should be perfect. Well it shot through the roof. My pool went from crystal clear to a green monster within about a 4 week lapse of time.

So I had been reading on this site tying to balance my "mineral" pool and I bought the test kit. Then I came to terms and drained about 80% of my pool according to some calculations I noted in the forum. Now my pool is full, I did my first round of tests and here are my results form the XL TF100 test kit.

Confession, I did use the auto vacuum and some chlorine pucks while filling it to hit hard with chlorine to fight that algae. I knew this would increase my CYA some but frankly my CYA was likely too high to even test properly. I also did a non chlorine shock product before draining and two straight days of 3 gallons of bleach 6%. According to my opinion of the test results I knew enough abut chemistry to come short of getting myself into pool trouble again!!

PH - 7.5
FC - 10
CC - 1
CYA - 60
Alkilinity - 120

So what now? What I am concerned is the process/timeline of figuring out chlorine needed daily as I plan to do bleach 6% or 10%. Seems like I missed something with the test kit about how to test for CH, other than the color barred box for that and PH. I say that because I believe it maxed out at 5 and with FC of 10 I must have more CH right?

Should I lower Alkilinity a little or leave it?

I am at the top of limits for CYA, should I be concerned?

What did I miss on CH test?

I have ordered borax and muriatic acid to add that to the pool. The chlorine struggle was real and it seems like this could help to stabilize the pool going forward. Are my test scored good t go for that? Should I wait until I sort out daily chlorine needed?

Figuring out daily bleach needed??? Any already written dialogue I should look at?

Also, I buried my AGP about 2 feet. I am tossing the idea of surrounding it with concrete decking. Will that create issues? I am trying to figure out how to have a "no growth" zone next to the pool and I have never had success myself or hiring a landscaper making one. Seems like the weeds here in New Orleans will grow anywhere except for concrete!

Thanks in advance.

 

[PoolNewb2020]

Hi and welcome to the forum! You came to the right place.

However, it does help the experts a lot of you fill out your signature about your equipment. You can follow this link Create Your Signature - Further Reading

What do you estimate your pool volume to be? If you know it, you can download the Pool Math app, enter your pool info and it will calculate for you how much bleach, and any other chemicals you may need for that matter, to add in order to reach a certain ppm level.

 

[Chasarms]

5 lbs of dry stabilizer (CYA) only adds 37 ppm to my 18x38 oval ABG, so I wouldn't have expected your addition to raise it an unreasonable amount. My pool is 16,000 gallons. Yours is probably about 23,000 or a little more. Unless you have used a bunch of trichlor already, your CYA shouldn't be super high.

 

[craig in nola]

21x43x4.3 pool dimensions comes to about 27200 gallons. Not sure about the signature you are asking me to do but I will look into it.

I was shocked myself. I suspect the test strips, even though not expired on the label, were not precise. However, considering the current level it is safe to assume after having drained roughly 80% of the pool and refilled that it was quite high. The test kit black dot tube showed over 100 but it is unknown as I did not do a dilution to check the specific number. Frankly I suspect my test strip was wrong and there it fell.

Looking forward to getting this under contrl and maintaining it!

 

[Chasarms]

21x43x4.3 pool dimensions comes to about 27200 gallons...

The walls are 52", but the water is only about 46-47" deep. So, it is really more like 21'x43'x3.9' or so of actual water.

 

[craig in nola]

The walls are 52", but the water is only about 46-47" deep. So, it is really more like 21'x43'x3.9' or so of actual water.

corrected it, thanks!

 

[PoolNewb2020]

With 60ppm CYA you can still manage you FC quite effectively, but you will most likely have to us liquid chlorine. Definitely no trichlor or dichlor as they contain CYA and since we do not know your CH level, calhypo should be out of the question as well.

So with CYA of 60ppm your target FC should be 7-9ppm with minimum of 5ppm. Don't let the FC drop below the minimum and your pool should be fine. Test your FC daily and add liquid chlorine daily to the maximum 9ppm level. Pool Math will tell you how much liquid chlorine to add based on your tests.

Your PH and TA look fine, no need to do anything. With liquid chlorine your PH will tend to go up. Let it go up to 8 and then lower it to 7.5-7.6 with muriatic acid. This will also lower the TA a bit. Overtime, if your fill water is is not high TA, TA of your pool will come down as well.

I'm not sure what you mean about the CH test. Do you mean you didn't get it, or are you having trouble performing it?

 

[craig in nola]

With 60ppm CYA you can still manage you FC quite effectively, but you will most likely have to us liquid chlorine. Definitely no trichlor or dichlor as they contain CYA and since we do not know your CH level, calhypo should be out of the question as well.

So with CYA of 60ppm your target FC should be 7-9ppm with minimum of 5ppm. Don't let the FC drop below the minimum and your pool should be fine. Test your FC daily and add liquid chlorine daily to the maximum 9ppm level. Pool Math will tell you how much liquid chlorine to add based on your tests.

Your PH and TA look fine, no need to do anything. With liquid chlorine your PH will tend to go up. Let it go up to 8 and then lower it to 7.5-7.6 with muriatic acid. This will also lower the TA a bit. Overtime, if your fill water is is not high TA, TA of your pool will come down as well.

I'm not sure what you mean about the CH test. Do you mean you didn't get it, or are you having trouble performing it?

I overlooked it, the CH test. I did it today and the pool is at 300.

Definitely going the bleach route. Home Depot has 10% 3 gallons for under $10 plus I am aware the CYA is high and frankly I am amazed at the level after having drained about 80% of the pool.

So essentially, chlorine daily test and add as needed to keep in those numbers.

Is it better to add at any particular time of day or is it insignificant?

When I tested this morning I was surprised that in 24 hours my pool went from 10 FC down to 2.5 FC. Is that normal??

 

[PoolNewb2020]

I don't think it matters much what time you test and add chlorine, as long as you stick to it. So don't add chlorine in the morning one day and then do it the next day, but in the evening because that will be way over 24h period.
I prefer to do it in the evening because I simply have more time and also because by then all swimming activities are pretty much over, so no worry about FC dropping after my addition from swimmer load.

Now, 10ppm to 2.5ppm drop is quite a lot, more than normal 2-4ppm most see here. Only two things consume chlorine, UV and organics. I would perform an overnight chlorine loss test (OCLT). This way you eliminate UV, so if any chlorine is consumed during night time, we will know it is from organics.

 

[red-beard]

Plastic liner AGP, I don't believe CH matters.

 

[red-beard]

10 FC was "slightly" high for your CYA. FC/CYA Levels But with a CYA of 60 you shouldn't have lost more than 2-3 ppm to UV. The rest is killing organics. As is said here often, you will need to SLAM that baby. SLAM Process

 

[craig in nola]

Today's results

PH 8.2 (up from 7.7 yesterday)

FC 4.5 (poured bleach according to pool math goal of 9ppm)

CC .5

CH 275 (whether or not it is relative to my pool)

TA 110 same

CYA 50-60 (this test is subjective pending light, reading glasses on or off and also if I "move" my vision improves or declines while doing test. Is is possible I am doing it wrong since I can see it a little if I refocus my eyes or sway??? Should I do that to make sure it has disappeared from "all angles" of sight?)

I added the recommended Muriatic Acid and bleach. I wanted to test the calculator and evaluate levels once more in a couple hours after having added the doses and the majority of the pool should have circulated.

While swimming today I did notice cloudy brown or green on the floor. If I shake water with my foot they cloud off the floor. Our landscaping is a big mud pit right now so it is hard to say it is anything other than mud/sand but the check up is to determine if that is a creeper getting ready to take over.

I will start a new thread on what is a concern/question about water circulation.

 

[mknauss]

I will start a new thread on what is a concern/question about water circulation.

Keep everything in this thread.

 

[craig in nola]

Wit hour pool It seems to me that there are some almost dead zones. with 21x43 oval and only one jet it seems impossible to effectively keep water moving enough. From day one I noticed on the opposite end from the jet there is a "pooling" of any debris as if it were a deep end. There is also one to the right of the jet and a the opposite end of the pool one stretches over about a third of the pool. Is this a common issue? The pool warranty will be void if we add another jet, however it seems that one jet is not enough to get the job done.

Any other options other than another jet? Am I thinking wrong about the dead zones and need to vacuum more?

Thanks in advance

 

[mknauss]

Are you brushing the pool a couple times a week and vacuuming when necessary? Nearly all AG pools have issues with circulation. You can improve it with modifications. Adding returns spaced out around the pool with control valves on each would be great, but that is more work and more holes in the liner.

 

[craig in nola]

Are you brushing the pool a couple times a week and vacuuming when necessary? Nearly all AG pools have issues with circulation. You can improve it with modifications. Adding returns spaced out around the pool with control valves on each would be great, but that is more work and more holes in the liner.

Brushing and running auto vacuum too. I will routine myself to specific days for the time being to make sure I am not missing any.