Newbie needs assistance with "chemical" balance of new pool

Jump to latest Follow Reply
T

tech_east

Well-known member
May 18, 2020
55
DE
Hey all...recently joined the forum but have been lurking for awhile. Read through a lot of the threads including the Pool School and explanations for chemicals etc. Within the last few weeks my family and I put up a new intex AGP with an upgraded pump (3000 gph and SWG). Did the entire initial startup procedure and everything appears to be running fine. The pool is 6400 gallons so I added 160 lbs of salt and let it sit then ran the filter for 24 hours to ensure all salt dissolved etc. I bought the TF-100 kit due to the great recommendations from this site and decided to do a complete test for all chemical balances in the pool and so far this is what I have:

K1000 Test for Chlorine / pH
No chlorine showing or very very light (if at all) and pH for this test appeared to be 7.2

FC = 0.5

CC = 0.0

CH = 100 ppm

TA = Not sure about this test. Directions say add drops to turn to red but no matter how many drops I added it was more of a pink color. So I went with just enough to turn it pink and that was 1 or 2 drops and it turned pink so that would be 2 drops x 10 = 20

CYA = 0? No matter how much solution I put in the container even all the way to the top I saw the black DOT. So I guess this means 0?

K1766 Salt Test
This test was difficult for me to know when it turns to salmon or brick red as the directions state. Somewhere around 17-19 drops of solution and it turned to salmon color and then at 19 or 20 it went to a dark red or even brown. So I guess I will go with 17-19 drops which indicates 3,400 to 3,800 ppm.

pH (with meter) = 6.9

Any assistance you can provide to steer me in the right direction to ensure all my chemical levels are where they need to be would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
 
First thing you do is add enough baking soda to get to 60. It doesn't have to be exact. Let poolmath figure up a dose and if it comes out to some odd number, round up or down to a convenient amount. If it asks for 8.5 lbs and you find it in 5 lb bags, use 2 bags. 4 lb bags, 2 bags. 1 lb box, 8 or 9. See what I mean? It doesn;t have to be precise.

Then you'll need to add some stabilizer. There will be no CYA in tap water. You have to add it. That's why your FC is so low -- the sun is getting it.

Recommended Pool Chemicals - Trouble Free Pool will tell you what does what and how to add it.

If you need help with poolmath, let us know.But try it first and if you're unsure, someone can check your math.

Your pH should rise a little with the baking soda, but may lower with the CYA, since it is an acid after all. So check it the next day and see if it's still in acceptable range.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tech_east
Richard-

First thanks for all your assistance....I really appreciate it beings I am a newbie and not experienced with adding chemicals or taking care of a pool:)

So I took your advice and did some pool math (downloaded app) and my starting point is 20 and you are saying I should get that up to 60. So my pool is roughly 6000 gallons and pool math is saying to add 4lbs, 6 oz. I feel pretty good to go about that and will go by the store tomorrow to pick up some baking soda.

Now onto the CYA. My level is 0 because I never added anything to the water since filling up our pool. So starting a 0 and getting to ? (this is my confusion), my intex booklet states 10ppm min, 20-40ppm ideal and 50ppm max yet pool math app states 60 - 90 recommended and 70 - 80 ideal? Not sure which one to follow in order to do my calculation. If I use pool math of target CYA of 75 and I am starting at 0 that means adding 3lbs, 12 oz.

I did see that my local lowe's has Clorox chlorine stabilizer in 4lb bags which I believe is CYA and what I need. So I wanted to pick this up as well as the baking soda tomorrow while I am out. Just wanted to post my math for baking soda and my question for the CYA so you or someone with more experience than me can make sure I am doing the calculation correctly.

Also...one last question, when I add both the baking soda and the stabilizer do I run the filter pump and the SWG as I would normally?

Thanks again!
 
I get 3½ lbs baking soda. Don't mess around saving half a pound, just throw in 4 lbs.

For the CYA, target 70 since you have a SWG. I get 3½ again. That one you may want to go easy on... start with 3 lbs, just in case the pool is smaller than you think. You can always add more later. Removing excess means draining water, and you'll lose some salt in the process. You don't want that.

Use the sock method for the CYA. The Baking Soda can just get shaken out of the box into the deep end. Anything that doesn't dissolve immediately can be brushed around later to dissolve.

Leave the pump on while things are dissolving. If you want to shut it off at night, pull the sock and set it in a plastic bucket and replace it later. And I hope your FC has come up some now.


sockmethod

sockmethod

 
  • Like
Reactions: tech_east
tech_east said:
Thanks Richard for the clarification! I will pick up the products tomorrow and start the process. I also forgot to ask...how soon can people swim in the pool after the CYA dissolves?
Click to expand...
Just like Marty said. Right away. They may help disperse the chemicals.

There's only 3 conditions for swimmers
1) You can see to the bottom
2) The pH is in range
3) FC is above minimum for your CYA but below SLAM level.

You got those three, jump in.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tech_east

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
@Richard320 @mknauss-

Added the baking soda last night and the cya today. Everything went well so I decided to run some tests and see if there were any differences:

K1000 kit
Ch: 1-2 ppm
pH: 7.2

FC: 2 ppm
CC: 0.5 ppm
TA: 70 ppm
CYA: 50 ppm

Both TA and cya levels came up after the additions. Looks like I will need to add some addt'l cya to get that up even more from 50 to 70. According to the calculator to raise it up to 70 it will take another 1lb of acid. The bag I bought was "supposed" to be a 4lb bag but they shorted me about 8 oz....so guess I will just put the remaining amount of 8 oz in there instead of buying an additional 4lb bag. I would think it should put me close enough.

Does all this sound reasonable to the experts or am I missing something?
 
If you just added CYA today, wait a couple days and test again before adding any more. Needs a couple days to fully show up.
I assume you used the sock method.

Raise your FC to target range. FC of 2 ppm is an invitation to algae to come join the party.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tech_east
mknauss said:
If you just added CYA today, wait a couple days and test again before adding any more. Needs a couple days to fully show up.
I assume you used the sock method.

Raise your FC to target range. FC of 2 ppm is an invitation to algae to come join the party.
Click to expand...

Yes I use the sock method...actually the pantyhose method:)

I assume I would increase FC by adding bleach, liquid chloride or possibly by running my SWG more?

Prob going to be nearly impossible to find bleach these days due to covid.
 
Liquid chlorine or plain bleach. Find it soon. Walmart, Home Depot, etc. 'East' is a pretty big area to provide suggestions.

Can you fill out your signature?
 
  • Like
Reactions: tech_east
mknauss said:
Liquid chlorine or plain bleach. Find it soon. Walmart, Home Depot, etc. 'East' is a pretty big area to provide suggestions.

Can you fill out your signature?
Click to expand...

Apologize for not filling out location prior but I just did as you suggested (DE).

Quick question, according to my SWG booklet 2-3 ppm is "ideal" and 5 ppm is "maximum" for FC. Is that not correct or just not correct to prevent algae from growing? I am confused a bit by that...
 
TFPC uses levels based on science and extensive knowledge from 10's of 1000's of pool owners. The levels shown by manufacturers is based on old standards without CYA buffering.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tech_east
mknauss said:
TFPC uses levels based on science and extensive knowledge from 10's of 1000's of pool owners. The levels shown by manufacturers is based on old standards without CYA buffering.
Click to expand...

So according to pool school SWG pools at 60 cya should be 3 ppm min and 4 ideal and at 70 cya 3 ppm min and 5 ideal.

Guess I will wait a day or two to see what my cya ends up being but will look for some bleach while I'm out tomorrow to have it on hand.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mknauss
Just wanted to "refresh" this post to ensure I am doing this properly....I added more stabilizer to get my cya up to around 60 (was ~50 or so). My FC is still around 4 and I'd like to get it up to 5 or even 6 so I plan on adding bleach. According to the pool math app to get from 4 to 6ppm FC I should add about 3 cups of bleach. So do I just pour the bleach in and let it circulate or is there something special you have to do? And how long until you can swim after adding addt'l bleach?

Also another quick ?...whenever I do a chlorine test like the K1000 it always shows chlorine is at either 3-6 or 5-10 (nice and yellow) but the FC is not that high...what is the difference between the two tests?

Thanks...sorry for the stupid questions:)
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply