Numbers off the charts!

[harrenst]

Alrightee. In wanting to add borates to my picture, I added a box of dissolved-in-pool-water borax (76 oz) and muriatic acid (about 60 oz) to my little pool last night. To help stir it up I went around the edge of the pool scooping up gallons of water and throwing it back in, probably a dozen times. I let the filter run all night.

This morning my test numbers were pretty nutty. My chlorine levels, off the chart to begin with before I started (I had just finished adding the rest of the dichlor to get CYA into the system, so I wasn't too concerned. That will burn off, right?), are still off the chart, we're talking orange on a chart that reads up to yellow. The ph says to add acid, which I did, but I'm thinking I've already exceeded the recommended level.

Is this all going to work out? :x

 

[JohnT]

Off the chart really doesn't tell us much. The OTO test will turn brown when the chlorine gets really high, so orange isn't insane. What pH do you measure?

 

[JasonLion]

You will be fine. Give it a few hours and the levels will be back down to more reasonable numbers.

When FC does come down, check the PH again. The PH can be thrown off by very high FC levels. It isn't clear if your FC level was actually high enough for that to be an issue or not.

 

[harrenst]

Thank you both. The ph before I added this last round of acid was more intense red than 8.2, which is as high as my tube goes. I'll keep mixing it up with my gallon throw-ins. I'm going to say, Jason, that the FC must have also been high as it turned this deep orangy yellow right off the bat.

I feel like I'm turning into a pool nerd. It's like a living breathing thing, this little pool. :fish:

 

[Isaac-1]

It sounds like your next step toward pool nerd will be a good test kit like the TF-100, etc.


Ike

 

[harrenst]

Sigh. I guess so. I'll order one today...