Newbie posting test using TF-100

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You should be able to test within an hour and get a good reading (assuming the pump was running).
But, one bottle can only add 16ppm to your pool ... so something is off. Did you use the right multiplier for the test based on the amount of water you used?
 
Playing around with the pool calculator, starting to think I have fewer gallons than originally thought...

going from zero FC to target of 20, based on 50 CYA, calculator said to add 151 oz of chlorine. I added 121 oz (size of bottles I bought) and the FC shot up to 25! When I set my size to 3200 gallons, 50 CYA, PH 7.5, target FC 25, calculator says: 121 oz! Please tell me I'm starting to understand some of this!
 
What are the dimensions of your pool?

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Your signature confuses me a bit since you have a 1.5HP pump and a decent sized filter with 2" plumbing, but then the pool volume is only 3500 gallons but yet in ground and gunite :scratch: ... is it more of an over-sized hot tub?
 
Well, I'm a little confused about my pool size as well. I've had estimates around 5k gallons, but when I slammed the pool today, as I said, reverse engineering the math in the pool calculator, it came up w/3200 gallons.

I replaced the existing pump motor when we bought the house, as the bearing in the old motor sounded like a Formula One engine. I went with the same size that was on the pump housing, only to learn later that I could have gotten by with a smaller motor.

It's a 10X20 kidney shaped pool, 3 ft deep in shallow end (halfway up the tiles), 5 ft in deep end. It's not heated, except by the South Carolina sun. It is a small pool. We didn't buy the house for the pool, but since my wife likes to use it twice a year (ok, maybe three times), I decided not to fill it in and learn how to deal with it. Still learning.....
 
You need to brush the walls and floor of your pool weekly!
 

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Emarshbuck said:
Ok once I get the FC up to SLAM level, then do I let it gradually lower to 8, or keep it @SLAM level for a few days?

FC. 13
CC. .5
PH. 8.2
CH. 100
TA. 120
CYA. 45

Temp. 74
Water crystal clear
Click to expand...
That depends.... those brown walls: is that staining, or does brushing loosen up a cloud still? If it's stained, it may fade with time. If it still brushes, maintain the SLAM.
You maintain it until it passes the three tests.
1) The water is clear. No haze, no tint, no algae still stuck to the walls. If you're at that stage, then try:
2) The CC is .5 or less. If that passes,
3) you take a FC reading after the sun goes down (this eliminates FC loss to sunlight) and another in the morning before the sun hits the water. This is the overnight loss test. If you lost less than 1, you passed.

When all three passed, you stop adding bleach and let it drop.
 
I think the "brown" walls are an elliptical allusion. We have 3 live oaks over the pool and as I look at the walls from different perspectives they are a nice shade of blue like the floor.

I just brushed the walls and floor, water is still crystal clear, no haze.

CC has been less than .5 for at least five days.

I'll do the over nite FC test tonite.

Thx !
 
Emarshbuck said:
No change in FC over nite! CC less than .5.

Is it safe to adjust TA now?

On to leak detection!

Ed
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Not quite. Wait until FC dips below 10 so you can see what your pH is. You'll need to know what TA is to calculate the acid dosage if pH is high, but other than that, don't worry about it. It even says in the article on lowering TA:

There are two reasons to lower your total alkalinity (TA) right away, because you want to slow down the rate that the PH rises, or if high TA is contributing to a high calcium saturation index (CSI) which puts you at risk of calcium scaling. You shouldn't lower TA just to reach a target number. Make sure you actually have one of the above issues before lowering your TA.

​
Do you have one of these two conditions?
 
I don't know why I through you had a vinyl pool and thus not mention the CH. Yes, you are pretty low, I would bring that up to around 250ppm. Sorry about that oversight, glad you caught it though. :goodjob:

The TA could come down, but by keeping the pH in range, it will drop on its own and not really something to worry about.
 

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