Partial BBB Questions

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Thanks everyone, I'll give the calculator another try tomorrow, cause I'm frustrated and tired.

Again, I'm sorry for starting off the way I did.

I will be finishing season 4 of pool ownership this fall with still a lot to learn.

I just wanted to get my values up as quickly as possible before it became really out of control (like in the spring), that's all.

I'll leave you with my pool pics from spring, so you'll get a better understanding of what my local retailer was telling me and what I ended up doing (which I posted earlier).

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What kind of questions do you have about the pool calculator? If you say what confuses you we can help. The 6-way rest mentioned is available at Walmart and while it is far from the best - it is most assuredly better than most strips.
 
Just chiming in here to agree that you need to make friends with the Pool Calculator. Put your pool size in, then go to the bottom and select the pool surface and either TFP goals or whatever you want. Play with it a bit. Enter the numbers that you have now, and after you decide what goals you want to follow, use that value as the goal for a chemical addition. Just toy with it. I keep it bookmarked and it saves the last data I entered but do check those until you are comfortable with it.

Don't add any chemicals to the pool until you check back with us to be sure that what you've done makes sense. There is a right order to doing things. For example, your pH is dreadfully low and that needs to be addressed now, before you damage metal equipment.

Then, if you toy with the Calculator a bit more you will see that the numbers you enter for the "now" values make a big difference in what you add in every situation. So accuracy there is important, and test strips are far from accurate. And, as you have seen at the pool store, it is easy to spend $30, $60, $100 on chemicals there. Better to be certain of what you need before you go to the store, so you are not persuaded to buy things on impulse. We have all found that the $68 plus shipping costs for our most favored test kit is well worth it if only one or two stupid purchases are avoided.

Now, as for your CYA levels... when did you last empty and refill the pool? Where are you located and how long is your swim season? I ask because when you refilled the pool you began with 0 CYA and perhaps we can calculate the additions from there via how many tablets you've added per week and how many weeks.
 
anonapersona said:
Just chiming in here to agree that you need to make friends with the Pool Calculator. Put your pool size in, then go to the bottom and select the pool surface and either TFP goals or whatever you want. Play with it a bit. Enter the numbers that you have now, and after you decide what goals you want to follow, use that value as the goal for a chemical addition. Just toy with it. I keep it bookmarked and it saves the last data I entered but do check those until you are comfortable with it.

Don't add any chemicals to the pool until you check back with us to be sure that what you've done makes sense. There is a right order to doing things. For example, your pH is dreadfully low and that needs to be addressed now, before you damage metal equipment.

Then, if you toy with the Calculator a bit more you will see that the numbers you enter for the "now" values make a big difference in what you add in every situation. So accuracy there is important, and test strips are far from accurate. And, as you have seen at the pool store, it is easy to spend $30, $60, $100 on chemicals there. Better to be certain of what you need before you go to the store, so you are not persuaded to buy things on impulse. We have all found that the $68 plus shipping costs for our most favored test kit is well worth it if only one or two stupid purchases are avoided.

Now, as for your CYA levels... when did you last empty and refill the pool? Where are you located and how long is your swim season? I ask because when you refilled the pool you began with 0 CYA and perhaps we can calculate the additions from there via how many tablets you've added per week and how many weeks.
Click to expand...

I live in MS, I only drop the hose in for top off when needed.

I open in middle May, with about 6" below the skimmer (never do a total drain and refill) and close sometime in late Sept or Oct.

I have pumped the excess off to waste about 2 times this season and do the occasional backwash to keep my filter clean (norm is 11-12 psi) (have maybe hit 13 psi when dirty).

By your questions, I can see that a "real test kit" is needed to accurately answer what I am seeking.

I'm adding about 2-3 tabs per week on average.
 
Over the winter the CYA can be consumed by bacteria in some cases so you may have started with a clean slate. But since then every 10 weeks you've dropped about 50ppm of CYA in the pool.

How do I know? I used the poolcalculator.com site.

First I set the volume at the top of the page in the orange section labeled size. I set this to 13500 gallons since that is close to some of the estimates given for your pool and it happens to match my pool.

Next I ignored EVERY OTHER COLORED BLOCK. This is not the normal use. I went down below the notes to the section labeled "Effects of adding chemicals". I then put 14 ounces of trichlor (each puck weighs ~ 7 oz) and clicked on the effects box (after the word "will" then I noted the values it gave me. I did this for 21 oz also.

The rest of the calculator is actually just as easy. You start by filling in volume (or if not known using the volume estimator just above the effects section) and the you go to the bottom to the suggested goals section and fill in the type of pool surface you have, the chlorination method you are using and the goals type (trouble free pool) to use.

After that you go to each block and change "current" to your measured value and then if desired adjust the goal - this value is automatically set for you when you selected the goal source and surface type below - but as you learn more there will be reasons to alter the goals slightly. Make sure you look in the details on the right of the goals to ensure the chemical you plan to use to adjust with is selected.
 
Welcome Vel! These folks here will certainly help you!! I'm new here too, and I cant tell you how much money I have saved, and how much time everyone her has spent getting me (and lots of folks) on track. For people to help calibrate your pool, it helps to have the kit. To save a little bit, you might just order the refills..? Just a thought. Good luck, I'd help you if I could, but I'm still learning too!
 
The refills don't give you the cylinders and test blocks needed. The TF50 is a good option if you are short on money - it does not include a pH test block which is needed and it has fewer reagents - the Taylor k2006 is a similar choice when $ is tight.
 
UnderWaterVanya said:
The refills don't give you the cylinders and test blocks needed. The TF50 is a good option if you are short on money - it does not include a pH test block which is needed and it has fewer reagents - the Taylor k2006 is a similar choice when $ is tight.
Click to expand...
See, I'm new.. Don't listen to me!! Lol!
 

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Okay, here's what I've come up with and my thoughts.

I remembered I had a pH test kit for my aquariums, so I used in on the pool and sure enough (after the TS Isaac) my pH is now in the 6.0 range.

I tested with another strip and I'm dead on the color of 40 for TA.

The pool calculator told me that I needed to add 293 oz of borax and 190 oz of baking soda - but raising one or the other will affect the others values.

Just taking the borax into consideration, it's $3.37 for 76 oz = 4 boxes = $13.48 plus 7% tax. (that's a lot of powder)....... Then I read at the online pool supplier recommends 16 oz per 10k gal for a 0.5 raise in pH of their soda ash, which works out to roughly the 5 lbs pail for $15.00........... then I look at the pool calculator and it tells me I need 9.1 lbs of soda ash achieve my 7.5 goal.

I didn't price the baking soda yet.

To be honest, I don't check my pool twice a week like I should. I usually check it when I think about it or when we have a event planned. We are a 3 person family and it really doesn't get much use. The most attention it gets is a visual out the kitchen window (I can see the pressure gauge from there), vacuuming when needed, topped off or pumped when needed, throw a puck or two into the floater once a week and that's about it.

However, I'm trying to get onto the right path and start taking care of it better than I have in the past.

What's my question? I guess that's for me to figure out, which way to go and how to go about doing it.
 
Thanks everyone, for the push on the calculator and all.

I decided to take the Borax route and so glad I did.

Got my pH up with just 3 boxes (76 oz each), just like the calculator said.

TA followed to the upside as well, just like I figured it would, so all is good now.

I'll do lots more reading on the bleach and see if it is really cost effective in my situation.

Thanks again all - even you too Bama Rambler :)
 
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