New Pool Water, new to pools, help with testing

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I've got the CYA in socks in the pool as I type, with the pump on, hoping they will dissolve (it's been 12 hours).

The ice melt that the store carried was NOT mostly calcium chloride, so I'm back at square one. I can have the right stuff on Friday for half the price of buying the hardness product at LPS. Is there any real danger to waiting three more days? And can I start correcting the other chemical levels prior to the CH being corrected?

Thanks - I know it's a lot of questions!
 
Have you added the baking soda? If not, add enough to get TA to 70 or so. Leave pH high and as soon as you get the Calcium Chloride, add it.

You need to get your CSI to at least -0.6 as soon as you can.
 
okay, I'm so sorry to keep asking basic questions. I have spent hours now trying to find calcium chloride snow melt products. Most say CC but are really sodium chloride. I found one that is 94% CC, which is great, but when I called to verify with them, they told me that it will NOT dissolve in the pool. So. Any suggestions?

I will have to buy it from Amazon, or purchase the LSP Hardness Plus for $63. I guess this is just the price of having a pool!
 
Search for Peladow Ice Melt Pellets. Some have purchased through Home Depot/Lowes with ship to store, or you can look at Amazon.

Or, get the Leslies. That is your cost for having such good water! My water has 250ppm calcium hardness to start! So we have to drain every 18 months or so due to calcium buildup!

Take care.
 
Unless you remove water due to overflow (rain) or other it should remain close to the same with a slight upward trend due to evaporation.

I would suggest getting the amount you need to get to at least 250ppm calcium hardness. If the 25# gets you close, go with that.

Take care.
 
My Taylor TF-2006 requires the use of 44ml water and 5 drops 004 reagant. Then match color to scale.

Not sure OP is using the correct method or I have missed something. I never run the base/acid demand tests.....
 
Thanks all. My pool is finally (mostly) balanced. After adding Hardness Plus, baking soda, CYA, and bleach (all at different times), my numbers today are:

FC - .6 (added more bleach to correct, will retest tomorrow)
pH - 7.2
TA - 80
CH - 300
CYA - well, I cheated here, because the test uses us so much reagent, so I used the guess strips, and it showed up on the low end of the range. Will test properly on Monday.

So now my question -- how often do you do a full testing? And how often should I be planning to add chlorine to keep it in the 3-7 range? We will NOT be swimming in it but perhaps once on New Years for a polar bear dip.

Grateful for this community!
 

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Your FC will be only fall by 1 or 2 ppm per week when your water is below 60F. Test it twice per week until March. Then you need to ramp up testing and adding.

Test pH at the same time you test FC.

Do your TA weekly, CH and CYA monthly. You need to get more reagents for CYA. TFTestkits.net sells reagent refills.

Take care.
 
Jennifer, I am going to share a set of links I put together for new pool owners. You might have seen some of it but wanted to make sure you got them all.

Print these out:
Pool School - Basic Pool Care Schedule

Pool School - Recommended Levels

Bookmark these:
Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals

PoolMath

Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

Make sure to ask any and all questions you might have no matter how small! We have all been where you are at one point.

If you water is not 60 or below you need to test your water every day for FC and get/keep the FC at the correct level for you CYA.

:hug: I am so glad things are going in the right direction!

Kim:kim:
 
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