Ah. I’d go ahead and test everything anyway. It will be good practice and you can test again once it is full.
Please Help Me!!
- Thread starter BRM12
- Start date
And TA.
The speedstir is used when you need to swirl the test tube. So, to start with FC, I fill the chlorine only tube up to the 10 line with pool water. Set it on the speedstir, drop in the little magnetic pill, and turn it on. While it is stirring, follow the directions on the test. Once you have your FC and CC, dump out the tube, rinse, dry off the little pill and move to your next test.
You won’t need it for the Ph or CYA tests.
The speedstir is used when you need to swirl the test tube. So, to start with FC, I fill the chlorine only tube up to the 10 line with pool water. Set it on the speedstir, drop in the little magnetic pill, and turn it on. While it is stirring, follow the directions on the test. Once you have your FC and CC, dump out the tube, rinse, dry off the little pill and move to your next test.
You won’t need it for the Ph or CYA tests.
"How much is 1 heaping scoop of the R0870? What am I using to scoop?"
Ut oh...It sounds like you didn't receive your little scooper dip stick thingy with the R-0870 powder. The scooper should have been rubber banded to the R-0871 bottle. The little cut away in the lid is where it rests. You are supposed to put two scoops into 10 ml. of water and the water will turn pink if there is chlorine present. You then add the fas-dpd drops and count the number of drops until the water sample turns from pink to clear. Multiply the number of drops by 0.5 and that is your FC.
If you have any measuring utensils in your kitchen that can measure out .05 grams, or .10 grams, use that. 2 scoops by .05 or 1 scoops x.10 grams.
Here is what the scooper looks like.
Ut oh...It sounds like you didn't receive your little scooper dip stick thingy with the R-0870 powder. The scooper should have been rubber banded to the R-0871 bottle. The little cut away in the lid is where it rests. You are supposed to put two scoops into 10 ml. of water and the water will turn pink if there is chlorine present. You then add the fas-dpd drops and count the number of drops until the water sample turns from pink to clear. Multiply the number of drops by 0.5 and that is your FC.
If you have any measuring utensils in your kitchen that can measure out .05 grams, or .10 grams, use that. 2 scoops by .05 or 1 scoops x.10 grams.
Here is what the scooper looks like.
Ok... Heres my results...
CYA: 0
FC: Did not turn pink with 1 scoop
CC: Couldn't test because it wasnt pink
TC: Same as CC
pH: 6.8ish
CYA: 0
FC: Did not turn pink with 1 scoop
CC: Couldn't test because it wasnt pink
TC: Same as CC
pH: 6.8ish
It appears you have no chlorine and no CYA, and your ph is a bit low. Have you checked out Pool Math, either the link at the top of this page or the mobile app? You put in your test results and your targets (based on TFP recommendations) and it tells you what you need to add. I’d get some chlorine in the pool and some CYA, often called stabilizer. Pool School tells you how to add each one.
Pool School it's all there for you.
https://www.troublefreepool.com/content/123-abc-of-pool-water-chemistry
https://www.troublefreepool.com/content/123-abc-of-pool-water-chemistry
You should target pH at 7.2. Use Boraxo from the laundry aisle at the grocery store to raise it. Pool Math will tell you how much to add. Get it to 7.2 and then forget about it.
Add however much stabilizer Pool Math says to add to get CYA to 30. Put it in a sock and dangle it in front of your return eyeball and squeeze the sock every now and then to help it dissolve faster. Then forget about it. It won't show up on the test for a couple of days, so no need to test for it again.
Add the amount of chlorine Pool Math says to add to get FC to 12. Test it again in an hour and let us know what it reads. Use the new reading as you current value in Pool Math to figure out how much to add to get back to 12. You can overshoot to 14 without hurting anything. Repeat this as often as you can and brush too.
I wouldn't worry about the TA for now, and CH doesn't matter in a vinyl pool.
Add however much stabilizer Pool Math says to add to get CYA to 30. Put it in a sock and dangle it in front of your return eyeball and squeeze the sock every now and then to help it dissolve faster. Then forget about it. It won't show up on the test for a couple of days, so no need to test for it again.
Add the amount of chlorine Pool Math says to add to get FC to 12. Test it again in an hour and let us know what it reads. Use the new reading as you current value in Pool Math to figure out how much to add to get back to 12. You can overshoot to 14 without hurting anything. Repeat this as often as you can and brush too.
I wouldn't worry about the TA for now, and CH doesn't matter in a vinyl pool.
Ok.. So the pool math thing is a bit difficult for me right now and I am hoping someone can verify these numbers for me and answer a few questions.
According to my buddy Jeff, I need to focus on getting my pH to 7.2, my CYA to 30, and my FC to 12. These are the readouts I got from pool math for my approx 13,000 gallon pool.
To get my pH from 6.8 to 7.2 I need to add 55oz weight or 48oz volume of soda ash or wash soda...or 110oz weight or 106oz volume of Borax. To get my CYA from 0 to 30 I need to add 52oz weight or 54oz volume, or 135oz of liquid stabilizer. Finally to get my FC from 0 to 12 I need to add 160oz of 12.5% bleach.
Are those all correct?
What is "stabilizer" for CYA?
Borax over soda ash or wash soda for pH?
What is the difference between weight and volume?
With the pH reading it says "given a TA of 100 and a Borate of 0" I dont know what those are and didnt input any numbers...is this correct for pH?
According to my buddy Jeff, I need to focus on getting my pH to 7.2, my CYA to 30, and my FC to 12. These are the readouts I got from pool math for my approx 13,000 gallon pool.
To get my pH from 6.8 to 7.2 I need to add 55oz weight or 48oz volume of soda ash or wash soda...or 110oz weight or 106oz volume of Borax. To get my CYA from 0 to 30 I need to add 52oz weight or 54oz volume, or 135oz of liquid stabilizer. Finally to get my FC from 0 to 12 I need to add 160oz of 12.5% bleach.
Are those all correct?
What is "stabilizer" for CYA?
Borax over soda ash or wash soda for pH?
What is the difference between weight and volume?
With the pH reading it says "given a TA of 100 and a Borate of 0" I dont know what those are and didnt input any numbers...is this correct for pH?
Ok.. So the pool math thing is a bit difficult for me right now and I am hoping someone can verify these numbers for me and answer a few questions.
According to my buddy Jeff, I need to focus on getting my pH to 7.2, my CYA to 30, and my FC to 12. These are the readouts I got from pool math for my approx 13,000 gallon pool.
To get my pH from 6.8 to 7.2 I need to add 55oz weight or 48oz volume of soda ash or wash soda...or 110oz weight or 106oz volume of Borax. To get my CYA from 0 to 30 I need to add 52oz weight or 54oz volume, or 135oz of liquid stabilizer. Finally to get my FC from 0 to 12 I need to add 160oz of 12.5% bleach.
Are those all correct?
What is "stabilizer" for CYA?
Borax over soda ash or wash soda for pH?
What is the difference between weight and volume?
With the pH reading it says "given a TA of 100 and a Borate of 0" I dont know what those are and didnt input any numbers...is this correct for pH?
According to my buddy Jeff, I need to focus on getting my pH to 7.2, my CYA to 30, and my FC to 12. These are the readouts I got from pool math for my approx 13,000 gallon pool.
To get my pH from 6.8 to 7.2 I need to add 55oz weight or 48oz volume of soda ash or wash soda...or 110oz weight or 106oz volume of Borax. To get my CYA from 0 to 30 I need to add 52oz weight or 54oz volume, or 135oz of liquid stabilizer. Finally to get my FC from 0 to 12 I need to add 160oz of 12.5% bleach.
Are those all correct?
What is "stabilizer" for CYA?
Borax over soda ash or wash soda for pH?
What is the difference between weight and volume?
With the pH reading it says "given a TA of 100 and a Borate of 0" I dont know what those are and didnt input any numbers...is this correct for pH?
Here are some ideal numbers you want to shoot for.
FC 12ppm for SLAM 3 ppm minimum for maintenance with a CYA of 30.
CC less than 0.5
CYA 30. Lower part of range between 30-50.
PH 7.2 for SLAM 7.4 once out of SLAM AND PASSES OCLT TEST AND WATER RUNS CLEAR.
TA 90 is a good middle of range number between 60-120. Insignificant for now.
CH 250 is a good middle point of the range of 0-500. Insignificant for now, and if you have a vinyl liner.
Stick with these numbers and if you can achieve them on your target you will be a star and diamond sparkling in no time. Again take current test results put them into the pool math calculator and the calculator will tell you what to add, at what strength, and how many ounces. For now you're just going to need BBB or bleach borax and baking soda.
Any questions?
FC 12ppm for SLAM 3 ppm minimum for maintenance with a CYA of 30.
CC less than 0.5
CYA 30. Lower part of range between 30-50.
PH 7.2 for SLAM 7.4 once out of SLAM AND PASSES OCLT TEST AND WATER RUNS CLEAR.
TA 90 is a good middle of range number between 60-120. Insignificant for now.
CH 250 is a good middle point of the range of 0-500. Insignificant for now, and if you have a vinyl liner.
Stick with these numbers and if you can achieve them on your target you will be a star and diamond sparkling in no time. Again take current test results put them into the pool math calculator and the calculator will tell you what to add, at what strength, and how many ounces. For now you're just going to need BBB or bleach borax and baking soda.
Any questions?
Can you refer to my previous post with readings and pool math outcomes. And then my handful of questions...
Keep Jeff around, he is a good friend that is solid advice
We use borax, you can find it at any big box store or grocery store, I would grab a couple boxes to keep on hand.
CYA or its formal name is Cyanuric Acid sold or packaged as Stabilizer or Conditioner. We do not know for sure that you are at 0, we do know that you did not test high enough to register 30. So, I would suggest you add 1/2 to 2/3's of the recommended dosage. Best practice is to put it in a sock, yes a sock will hold more than you think, I got 4lbs in a size 11-12 sock, then either tie it off so it dangles in the water in front of a return or you can put it in the skimmer basket. After a few hours your choice, overnight would work too, the CYA will soften up a bit in the sock, then you can squeeze the sock with your hand and the dissolved CYA will enter the water and you can keep working the sock until the CYA is all out. Then wait 30mins to 1 hour and retest your CYA and update us with the results.
Assuming you get 12.5% Pool Chlorine or 6% bleach you can adjust the calculator with that % so it can properly measure out for you how much to add. I personally get a case of Pool Chlorine for $14.95, so I never need to chase down bleach because I get a good price in my area.
Weight is for dry measurements, oz/lbs and volume is for liquids, oz/gallons.
When you set up that calculator just put in your TA test results and then set the target to the test result, that will tell the calculator that you are not looking to adjust that.
All of these have inter-related properties and impacts to the water, the calculator is attempting to compensate for all of your changes based on what you tell it you are going to use so it can offset any increases that may carry over from other adjustments you are plugging into it.
Right now, we are worried about CYA which is sunblock for your valuable Chlorine, getting the pH to 7.2 so it makes the environment better for your valuable Chlorine to fight the algae and then your FC up to 12 to get to SLAM levels at which point you will want to test FC every couple of hours at first to keep it at 12 so you avoid FC bounces to under SLAM level.
Thanks funandsun... A few more follow ups....
1. Where can I find stabilizer for CYA?
2. Jeff didnt mention testing TA, so I have no TA or Borate reading to input for my pH
3. Should I do all three things at once? Meaning should I add the 3 different things at the same time to work on CYA, pH, and FC?
1. Where can I find stabilizer for CYA?
2. Jeff didnt mention testing TA, so I have no TA or Borate reading to input for my pH
3. Should I do all three things at once? Meaning should I add the 3 different things at the same time to work on CYA, pH, and FC?