New to the forum, three year pool owner in Phoenix

[Jughead]

Hello all, not-a-complete-novice-but-far-from-expert pool owner in Arizona just joining the forum. This is my third summer as a pool owner, been going it on my own with some occasional internet help after using a pool service the first six months.

When we bought the house I used the pool service until I could get my feet under me, then went at it with the "help" of my local pool supply store. After we added so much garbage to the water it wouldn't hold chlorine even overnight we did a drain/refill and started over with just muriatic acid, baking soda, tri-chlor tabs, and weekly shock with liquid chlorine to keep the amount of intert solids to a minimum. The result has been satisfactory, but we are starting to get the calcium ring around the waterline again (bead blasted it previously in Oct 2019) and the CYA is, according to the pool store, around 160. Lesson learned on the overuse of tri-chlor, working on fixing that now.

I've been reading old posts and it looks like I need to upgrade my test kit and change my point of reference on what constitutes "normal" ranges based on some of what I've read. I'm looking forward to learning more about keeping the water clear and healthy and the chemistry happily balanced.

11,400 gal Pebbletec
Pentair Intelliflo and System 3 pump/filter
Heliocol solar heat

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum!

I suggest you read through Pool Care Basics - Trouble Free Pool and even look at a few of our videos TFP-TV - Trouble Free Pool

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP!

How Clear is TFP Clear? Let's See (Pics Only Please).

How clear should my water be? A very common question. Here is mine on a calm morning where I could finally vacuum. Yes I know, I'm still manually vacuuming. It took me 7 years to finally get an SWG, I'm working on a robot. :) So now let's see your water clarity.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Newdude]

Hey Jughead and Welcome !!!! It's really best to throw out everything you've been told and start fresh.

See Test Kits Compared

The TF-100 is a completely functional budget model and you have to swirl the tube while adding drops to it. The TF-Pro comes with a real nice case and a $44 stirring device that does the work for you. Just press a button and add drops. (It's amazing). The K2006C has a nice case but no stirring device for a similar cost of the TF-Pro. It has more supplies of some of the tests, but they aren't the ones you'll use the most, so it's really not needed. It's still an option though if you'd like.

Anywho, armed with reliable test data, we can guide you until you can do it yourself. You'll have a good grip on it in a week and learn the rest of it as you go. We'll be here to help 24/7.

 

[Jughead]

Thanks for the welcome, everyone. I have read through a number of the articles and threads and have determined that I have a K-1004 test kit (Leslie's 'Deluxe' DPD Test Kit) along with a separate CYA test kit that is also Taylor so will be ordering the T-100 to really get good numbers.

Am I understanding correctly that the CYA under this program all comes from a stabilizer product and not inherently through the use of tri-chlor tablets? After our last drain/refill our pool guru (not Leslie's) had us pack the floater with tabs a couple of times to get the stabilizer level back where we needed it. It looks like the tablets are a thing of the past with this program and it's all liquid from here on out. I've been using the HASA 12% as a weekly shock along with tabs but going forward is liquid the only game in town? The sun is brutal in Phoenix and the liquid seems to burn out fairly quickly.

I also have a question relative to TA - when I use the CSI calculator on my app do I input the raw data from the number of drops used in the test kit or do I correct it for CYA? If I use the raw number the CSI is .19 and the software is happy; if I use the corrected value it says it is -0.52 and that it is detrimental to my pool. I don't want to fix anything that isn't actually broken so want to make sure I'm using the right number and getting good data. Garbage in, garbage out as they say...

 

[Newdude]

It looks like the tablets are a thing of the past with this program and it's all liquid from here on out

Unless your CYA is low. Then you can use some tabs to increase it. They come in handy for vacations also, *if* you have some wiggle room with your CYA. But repeated use is out, or you'll be draining again and again.

I also have a question relative to TA - when I use the CSI calculator on my app do I input the raw data from the number of drops used in the test kit or do I correct it for CYA?

Just plug the test numbers into poolmath and it will do all the calculations for you.

 

[bertschb]

... but going forward is liquid the only game in town?

Welcome to the forum! Most folks here use a saltwater chlorine generator (SWCG) to add chlorine to their pool. It produces chlorine whenever the pump is running. It's much more convenient than liquid chlorine or tabs. Cost is around $1,500.

 

[Jughead]

Welcome to the forum! Most folks here use a saltwater chlorine generator (SWCG) to add chlorine to their pool. It produces chlorine whenever the pump is running. It's much more convenient than liquid chlorine or tabs. Cost is around $1,500.

Thanks - I will look into that for sure, especially since I do some traveling for work and want to make pool maintenance as easy I can for the missus while I'm on the road.