opening next week, preliminary test results

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Diver

Diver

Well-known member
May 5, 2011
493
South of Boston
I plan on opening the pool next week. Today I tested my water for the very first time using Taylor 2006k test kit. The water is not mixed, I just wanted to get some preliminary readings so I could have everything I need on hand next weekend. Here are the results:

TC: 0
PH: 7.3 (~7.25)
TA: 100
CH: 110
CYA: 43
Temp: 53 (I know :))

I'm wondering what results could be affected by water not being circulated before tested. In other words, what should I retest next time right before I open the pool? I'm pretty sure that I don't need to test chlorine. How about CYA? CH? I assume that I would need to retest PH/TA, right? The winter cover is still on.

It looks like the only thing that is off at this point (besides the chlorine) is PH. I'm going to use borax to bring it up.

I plan on using mostly cal-hypo for chlorination due to convenience, lots of rain and very soft fill water. I will use trichlor if/when I'm away or when I need to bring CYA up. If my numbers get too high, I might switch to bleach.

Since cal-hypo is alkaline, should I bring PH to lower level of the proper range? Say 7.5 and let it drift up with cal-hypo use? Will the rain try to bring PH down?

thank you!
 
I would wait until the water has circulated for 1 hour to retest all parameters except FC. PH, TA, CH and CYA may all be off if you have mainly rainwater/melted snow that has not been mixed together with the previous pool water.
 
got new results today after some circulation:

TC: 0
PH: 7.4
TA: 140
CYA: 40
CH: 140
Temp: 60

do i need to bring my PH up a little bit? or should i wait for TA to drift lower and bring PH up?

i box of borax would get me to 7.65. i do have borax and want to add it eventually. should i add one now? and can i shock it now even if decide to add the borax?

i found two liquefied tiny corpses of the chipmunks so i do want to shock :)

the water is clear, but greenish, i could see all the way to MD.
 
thanks dmanb2b!

i figure i should look ahead instead of simply addressing current state of things. i started shocking it yesterday. i added 5 182oz jugs which should bring it to 16-17ppm. in an hour it was 2.5 fc and <0.5 cc. so it seems like it killed a lot of stuff and oxidized cc as well. i expected a lot more cc though.

i added another 5 jugs and in an hour or so stopped the pump since i was concerned with pressure over night. so i assume it's 0 tc or some cc right now. water went from very green to almost blue :)
 
i was mistaken! i check cl and FC is at 14ppm! and CC is 0.5 or less. so i had about 2 ppm drop over night + 1 hour of the sunlight in the morning. with cya being 40, i would imagine that i dropped 0.5 in th morning along. so water is a bit cloudy, but looks blue.
 

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Shock, shock, shock. Get as much debris out of the pool as possible, as it uses up the FC. Don't forget to brush. The pH will read wrong at shock level, so stop testing it until you have clear water. It's real easy to fix, anyway.

If it were me, once the pool is clear and FC holds overnight, I'd teardown the filter and really clean it good. Then commence adjusting pH and lowering TA. Lucky you on the CH level.
 
13 ppm of FC, 0.5 or less of CC. do i keep shocking? the water seems clear with a little suspended substance. color is mostly blue with a light hint of green, the walls feel a bit slimy.

1 jug of the bleach would bring it up to 16 ppm right now
 

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