Noob Question

[TotalNerd]

So, i've been testing my water every 3 days since it was finished, I've subscribed to pool math and I just want to make sure I'm doing this correctly. Also, I had an idea and wanted to run it by the guru's to insure I'm not out of my mind.

In my tests today I got the following:

FC: 8.6
CC: 1.0
Ph: 8.0
TA: 90
CH: 200
CYA: 50
Salt: - Unknown...still waiting on the 1766 from Amazon to get here...
Temp: 86

PoolMath told me to put in 2 cups to drop the Ph down to 7.6 which is my ideal target. When I looked at TA, it said drop the Ph to 7.2 and aerate to drop TA. To do that I would need to add 2 quarters of Acid (31.45%). So, that's what I did. My question is, did I do that right? That should put the Ph still within limits and also drop the TA down to 70.

Second question. My CYA is low, but my FC is high. When I tested on Saturday my CYA was 70 and my FC was 9.1. My hairbrained idea was to leave the CYA at around 50 to bring the FC down down to the 6 range and then increase CYA to 70-80 thinking that FC will continue to drop until its "mixed in" which should hopefully have my FC around 5.5 or so. Does that make sense to do or should I just add the CYA now?

Bonus Question: My CC is 1.0. Ideal is 0. How do I get CC to 0 and is 1.0 high? Should I worry about it?

 

[jark87]

I’m not an expert, but personally, I’d leave FC where it is. That gives you some buffer in the event something happens, like a storm knocking debris into the pool. I keep my FC in the 8-10 range. Given the variance in your CYA test, I’d make sure that you truly are at 50 and not 70. It should not have dropped that much in a couple of days. You don’t want to get your CYA too high. Additionally, chlorine demand should be dropping now that fall is arriving. You could even leave your CYA at 50 until the spring. I’m in the same boat, as my CYA is at 60, but it’s ok at that level over the fall and winter months.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

-If you were only trying to bring your pH down to 7.6, you did exactly right
-But if you wanted instead to work on your TA and lower it, the higher amount of acid would do it secondary to lowering the pH. Each time you add acid your TA should lower- its a slow process. So your fine there too.

-Your FC is a fine....Its not going to hurt you or your pool in any way.

-Your CC of 1 *is* concerning though. It could be a problem blooming. Try running an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test Overnight Chlorine Loss Test to rule out a problem.
- A CC test result of 0.5 or zero are both perfectly normal.

- Until you have run an OCLT and determined if there is a reason for that "1" CC result, don't add any more CYA. If you need to SLAM the higher CYA level requires a higher level of FC to slay the beast.
- Add additional CYA after you figure out the CCs. Being in TX your pool will still be getting swimmers so we want to save the FC.

*Bonus unasked for advice!--> Your CH is too low for a plaster pool. Take it up to 300 at least, 350 is better assuming you don't have hard water?

Maddie

 

[TotalNerd]

-Your CC of 1 *is* concerning though. It could be a problem blooming. Try running an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test Overnight Chlorine Loss Test to rule out a problem.
- A CC test result of 0.5 or zero are both perfectly normal.

- Until you have run an OCLT and determined if there is a reason for that "1" CC result, don't add any more CYA. If you need to SLAM the higher CYA level requires a higher level of FC to slay the beast.
- Add additional CYA after you figure out the CCs. Being in TX your pool will still be getting swimmers so we want to save the FC.

*Bonus unasked for advice!--> Your CH is too low for a plaster pool. Take it up to 300 at least, 350 is better assuming you don't have hard water?

My apologies, when I was looking through my logs on Pool math, I noticed that I had quoted you the CC reading from Saturday and not the one I took yesterday. Saturday's CC reading was 1.0 and yesterday's was .6 so it was going down. Should I still perform the OCLT? If not I assume its ok to get the CYA and add it as well, otherwise perform the OCLT and wait on the CYA?

In terms of CH, up on Amazon there is pool CH increaser, and a 40lb tub is $47. I need exactly 40 lbs per pool math to bring it to 350. I assume this is ok to get or is that expensive?

Yes, we do have an auto fill coming from the house water and there is a water softener attached to it, and it was filled with this water as well which would make sense as to why CH is low.