Newbie and nervous - trying TFPC

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colosnyders

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May 12, 2014
24
Pueblo, CO
My husband and I just finished the DIY installation of our pool (see signature. Literally turned on the pumps last Sunday night. So busy with pool construction that I didn't get "schooled" enough on chemistry. Because of rain and other delays, our pool turned green before we could get the pumps on. I put chlorine in the pool as soon as possible but I now know it wasn't enough. Long story, short, my pool is eating chlorine like crazy. It was clear for a few days but my PH was pretty low (6.0). Upon trying to raise my PH and keep chlorine in the pool, I now have a milky pool. I am working the PH issue now and hope to have it in range by tonight. I realize from LOTS of reading that I will need to SLAM my pool. I am off of work for 3 days so I hope that I can give it the attention we need. We have a very short time before the season is over and I really would like to enjoy my pool before I close it. I hope that I can report progress soon.

THis morning's test:

FC 10 (last night 12 and by noon today zippo)
PH 8 (oops - adding muratic acid slowly)
CYA - 20 (last night 20)

I have the Taylor K2006. I am still learning but I hope to figure this out soon. Wish me luck as my husband is not a believer and keeps telling me to buy pucks :testkit::-(
 
When you get your pool the sparkling blue it will be if you use the tried and true methods here, your husband will believe. Nothing to be nervous about. Just do your reading and following the advice you'll certainly get here. You'll want to get your cya up to 30 to protect your FC. You'll also want to continue your SLAM as long as necessary. Which could possibly take somewhat longer than 3 days. You'll need to do at least 2 tests and fc replenishment Every day. If your do it more often in those 3 days, it should make it a little easier.
 
colosnyders, when the FC is at or above 10ppm, the pH test can read high. I would add a small amount of muratic acid to bring it down by like 0.1, so the chlorine will be more effective. Once everything clears up, and the FC goes down, then adjust the pH further.
 
You are heading in the right direction. You have the kit and this website! Tell hubby to hold off on puck buying. If he wants to buy something have him buy chlorine LOL

It can be done and you will have a clear pool soon!

Kim
 
Have you done measurements of total alkalinity (TA) and calcium hardness (CH)? The full set of results could help distinguish different possible issues. Knowing the TA is crucial if you want to predict how much chemical (acid, sodium carbonate, or borax if you decide to) to add to hit your target pH.
 
I would not concern myself with the pH at this moment, you have vinyl. You can always adjust your pH after the slam, and that is what I would be doing. I would want to get rid of the green and cloudiness first. pH has little or no effect of how well your chlorine works.

I would suggest reading this article more than 4 times.....

http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/125-slam-shock-level-and-maintain-shockingl

SLAM - Shock Level and Maintain
 
Coonspool, Ph does have a major factor in how well chlorine works.

The flollowing was taken from the CDC website here

Why is pH important?

Two reasons. First, the germ-killing power of chlorine varies with pH level. As pH goes up, the ability of chlorine to kill germs goes down. Second, a swimmer’s body has a pH between 7.2 and 7.8, so if the pool water isn’t kept in this range then swimmers will start to feel irritation of their eyes and skin. Keeping the pH in this range will balance chlorine’s germ-killing power while minimizing skin and eye irritation
Click to expand...

Colosnyders, Adjust your Ph first. After the chlorine level gets above 10ppm the Ph test is unreliable.
 
Coonspool said:
To keep this thread on topic, I disagree with that, why would you tell someone to stop the SLAM to adjust pH?

OP has already started SLAM and needs to continue on with that and not worry about pH right now.
Click to expand...
I don't see it as stopping. FC is at or below 10, so the pH test is accurate. Add the next load of bleach, wait half an hour, add the acid. An hour or so later, recheck them both again. If pH is in range, ignore pH from then on out.

To calculate the acid needed, you'll need to know TA. With high FC and low CYA, the color may shift from green>pink to blue>yellow or anywhere in between. When the color changes, that's the TA.

CH is immaterial at this point. It's a fresh fill, so whatever is in the pool is pretty close to what's coming out the hose. Low CH doesn't matter, and there isn't anything to do about high CH if the replacement water is just as hard.
 

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Welcome to the forum :wave: We'll try to be gentle since you're new !

Have you been using "Pool Math" to figure out how much of what to add ?? :lookhere: http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html

She's only posted once and she says from her reading she knows she needs to SLAM. That would indicate she hasn't started the SLAM yet. Most people during a SLAM have something happen (kid emergency, going to work, ran out of bleach, ... ) where their FC drops so letting it drop on purpose so you can check the pH when you know or suspect your's might be way off would seem to make sense as it does make a difference in how effective the chlorine will be.
Since she hasn't started the SLAM and her FC is 10 or less it would make economical sense to bring the pH down with muriatic acid to a 7.2-7.4 level and then SLAM. Why not get the most bang for your buck out of the bleach ?? More effective bleach, less time to complete SLAM and less bleach needed. That's a win win.

CYA once added can take up to a week to show up in a test so it's normal to wait a week before you retest it. Once you put some in a sock and add it to the pool it's common to use your target as your actual until you get a chance to test it a week later. If you added enough to go to 30 you would use 30 in your calculations for that week and then retest it to see where you are at. See CYA - > http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/123-abc-of-pool-water-chemistry

Here are some how to videos on the pool chemistry tests that might be helpful - - > https://www.youtube.com/user/tf100testkit?feature=results_main

Pucks at this point aren't going to clear up your pool. They would add some chlorine but they would also start to add to your CYA quickly making it harder and harder for the chlorine to do it's job. Liquid bleach is the way to go. You will need a fair amount of bleach and since it comes in different bottle sizes and different strengths it's hard to figure out what is a good deal. Here is a calculator so you can figure out what you are paying for the bleach itself and compare cost at a per oz price. http://poncatechsquad.com/Dan/Chlorine/
Regular Clorox, Walmart Great Value, ... or liquid pool shock (bleach) from a Pool Store or home improvement store. You don't want to get a scented or "splashless" product as it may cause problems with foaming. If it say "concentrated" that's OK, it's just a stronger bleach in a smaller container.

Remain :calm: after all it's only water.
 
Oh wow! Thanks everyone! I started the SLAM because I was sure I had Algae. My PH is registering high but I think it's because my high chlorine. I have added MA but don't want to adjust too much so I will wait out the SLAM process. I will do the other tests this morning.

8/7. 10p. FC=16 (might have overdone the chlorine a little ;-))
8/8. 8a. FC = 15.5 -historically lost all my chlorine during the day

Still very milky and now a little white foam. Hubby I think expects results faster and got up to look this morning. Imagine how disappointed he was. I am holding the faith and am off to get more chlorine at SAMs club. I will be testing every two hours and will get you all the CC, and TA numbers. Since he test is not accurate, I have given up on PH for now.

P.S. I have all the articles repeatedly (that's why I know I need to SLAM). Thanks SO much for your guidance. My hubby will feel better knowing someone is helping me:cool:

P.S.S. Pool math is up on the iPad as well as all the forum articles I have been reading into the night :D
 
8/7. 10p. FC=16 (might have overdone the chlorine a little )
8/8. 8a. FC = 15.5 -historically lost all my chlorine during the day
Click to expand...

Looks like you have passed the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test, assuming you didn't add any chlorine between these measurements. If so, this means most/all of what was alive in your pool is now dead. The other two requirements for completing your slam are having less than 0.5 CC and having clear water. The clear water should come as your filter does its job and filters out all that dead algae. I don't think this has been mentioned, but make sure the filter is running 24/7 and you clean it when needed.

Keep it up! This feels like the home stretch.
 
It seems as though we all got this thread back on track, but I want to clear a couple things up before moving on....

pH should be between 7.2 and 7.8, mostly for bather comfort and to protect against damage to equipment. While it is true that at a lower pH the FC becomes "more powerful", in between the 7.2 to 7.8 range the ratio/rate of change isn't really enough to be concerned about - the dividing line is relatively flat. You'd have to get pH well below 7 to make a difference, and for the reasons above, that becomes impractical.

Before SLAMing, the pH needs to be adjusted to the low 7s, because you won't be testing pH during the SLAM (because, as stated above, the test is invalid with FC above 10).

For now, let's all focus on assisting with the SLAM. I also agree that you are in the home stretch.
 
achianese said:
Looks like you have passed the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test, assuming you didn't add any chlorine between these measurements. If so, this means most/all of what was alive in your pool is now dead. The other two requirements for completing your slam are having less than 0.5 CC and having clear water. The clear water should come as your filter does its job and filters out all that dead algae. I don't think this has been mentioned, but make sure the filter is running 24/7 and you clean it when needed.

Keep it up! This feels like the home stretch.
Click to expand...

8/8 10:15a. FC= 5. CC=.5. Adding chlorine to get it to the shock value of 10+
 

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