Pool chemistry all jacked up

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nastynate84

nastynate84

0
May 15, 2018
15
Murfreesboro
Hi my name is nathan and im a pool newb. So new that i cannot get my pool chemistry right . Its a relatively small pool 10' x 30" 24 in water line summer waves pool. So the volume us around 1180 ish .
The chemicals i have are: ph up , ph down , pool shock ( pool and spa xtra blue sodium dichloro), 1" coordinating tablets (tricholoro) ,six way test strips ( Clorox smart strips).

I seem to be having sever ph swings so severe its never in range as well as that high alk. Is there something im missing here? Ive attached a screenshot of the test strip today. I have also added .25 cups of ph down that the stupid app recommends.

Another question here is how do i know exactly how much ph up or down to add? How is that configured seems like the ole clorox app isn't doing its job? The pool has a crappy little skimmer and pump seems to work ok . There is no algae or clouding yet lol.

ANY TIPS ARE APPRECIATED ANY

Screenshot_20180515-172644.jpg
 
Welcome! :wave:

Short answer: throw away the test strips and buy a drop-type test kit -- even a simple 2 way kit will be an improvement. See Pool School - Guide for Seasonal/Temporary Pools

Looking at those results, I see Free Chlorine at 3 and Total Chlorine at 1. That's impossible. Total Chlorine can never be less than Free Chlorine. And if you can't trust that one, how can you trust the rest?

Both the trichlor and the dichlor are acidic, so they will tend to drive pH down. But you have high TA, which will drive pH up, especially if there's a lot of aeration, such as a kid or two splashing around.

If you haven't read anything in Pool School yet, start with ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry
 
Thanks this should clarify things. I figured something was up with that clorox app. its weird telling me to do things you shouldn't and me being new at this doesnt help lol .what test kits would you recommend that are affordable and would you recommend any other chemicals i may need that i haven't listed?
 
Recommend you don’t use ANY of that stuff! Once you read through Pool School, you’ll see what you’ll need to keep pool safe and healthy for the kids, and you’ll save money too!
 
nastynate84 said:
Thanks this should clarify things. I figured something was up with that clorox app. its weird telling me to do things you shouldn't and me being new at this doesnt help lol .what test kits would you recommend that are affordable and would you recommend any other chemicals i may need that i haven't listed?
Click to expand...
Taylor makes several kits. There's also an HTH kit that Walmart sells ( or has in the past) that is more than adequate for your pool. My preference is a TF100, but that's a bit much for your pool; the kit approaches what you probably paid for the pool! The beauty of your pool is that if it really gets haywire, draining and refilling is an easy option.

As far as chemicals, the pH up and down are just dry acid and soda ash. As long as you have it, use it as needed. But there are better, cheaper things to use when it's all gone. The dichlor and trichlor are good to use on initial fill to get the CYA level up, but continued use will lead to CYA buildup, which you don't want. For daily chlorination, plain old bleach -- not splashless, not fabric-guard, not scented -- is the thing to use. This time of year you might also find higher-strength pool chlorine at big box stores that will work out cheaper than bleach. zPool School is full of information. It will have answers to questions you haven't thought to ask. Definitely check out those two links I posted above, and then skim through the recommended chemicals and how to chlorinate. They'll expand a lot on what i just typed.
 
Richard320 said:
Taylor makes several kits. There's also an HTH kit that Walmart sells ( or has in the past) that is more than adequate for your pool. My preference is a TF100, but that's a bit much for your pool; the kit approaches what you probably paid for the pool! The beauty of your pool is that if it really gets haywire, draining and refilling is an easy option.

As far as chemicals, the pH up and down are just dry acid and soda ash. As long as you have it, use it as needed. But there are better, cheaper things to use when it's all gone. The dichlor and trichlor are good to use on initial fill to get the CYA level up, but continued use will lead to CYA buildup, which you don't want. For daily chlorination, plain old bleach -- not splashless, not fabric-guard, not scented -- is the thing to use. This time of year you might also find higher-strength pool chlorine at big box stores that will work out cheaper than bleach. zPool School is full of information. It will have answers to questions you haven't thought to ask. Definitely check out those two links I posted above, and then skim through the recommended chemicals and how to chlorinate. They'll expand a lot on what i just typed.
Click to expand...

Reading on . Last thing how do you use this pool calculator? Do you put your ph reading under where it sais goal not setup? Or somewhere else?
 
Use PoolMath.
Enter you test results on the left column and your target on the right column.
Enter your pool volume at the top and input you pool parameters at the bottom.
 
Ok so i got an hth tell meif im wrong?
Ph 8.2
Cl 1
Br 2

How and where on the pool tool is the the total chlorine is it combined chl cc or free chlorine fc? I bought some liquid chlorinating 10% how is this adjusted on the pool tool ? I can see where the ph can be adjusted kind of confused abot the cl and br . My cl is supposed to be 1-4 did i read that correctly?


20180516_152251.jpg
 
Keeping in mind that this might look different in person or against a totally white background, but it looks to me as if you are probably over 8.2 on PH and over 5 on FC. I wouldn’t pay any attention to the Br.

Sun will bring your chlorine down. Need muriatic acid to bring the PH down.
 
Use the FAS-DPD if you want a value for FC. The OTO is, at best, an indicator there is some amount of chlorine in the water.

Take care.

My apologies - did not review enough of the thread -- soldier on --------
 
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How closely did you read the link about temporary pools that Richard gave you?
Are you following it?
Did you add any CYA?

Try holding the test up to the blue sky as you want a uniform background to do the color comparison.
 
kellyfair said:
Keeping in mind that this might look different in person or against a totally white background, but it looks to me as if you are probably over 8.2 on PH and over 5 on FC. I wouldn’t pay any attention to the Br.

Sun will bring your chlorine down. Need muriatic acid to bring the PH down.
Click to expand...

Ok i do have ph down got that . I also have a pool top it is raining crazy here right now plus thats the only way my landlord woukd let me have it. So the cl would be the fc on the pool tool to tell me how much liquid chlorine to add?
 
mknauss said:
Use the FAS-DPD if you want a value for FC. The OTO is, at best, an indicator there is some amount of chlorine in the water.

Take care.
Click to expand...
They have a 1200 gallon pool ... that test kit would cost more than the pool ;)
They are trying to follow the Temp Pool maintenance procedure.

- - - Updated - - -

Correct. The Cl is the FC in PoolMath.
 
nastynate84 said:
Ok i do have ph down got that . I also have a pool top it is raining crazy here right now plus thats the only way my landlord woukd let me have it. So the cl would be the fc on the pool tool to tell me how much liquid chlorine to add?
Click to expand...

Yep, FC is chlorine in Pool Math.
 
Read it a couple times and no cya yet. But i am mildly dyslexic. trying to figure this out one at a time here with that pool tool its a tad confusing . I thought someone said i would not need cya ?

- - - Updated - - -

Whoop whoop now time to calculate yay im sure ill have more questions lets start here then ill retest mana
 
The sun will destroy all the chlorine in just a few hours.
You should add the CYA as described in the article and then just add bleach daily to keep the FC up and add acid as needed to lower the pH.
 
Ill test again tomorrow i had trouble with weight and gl oz but i undercut it by .1 of an oz. so shouod be in a better place ph and chlorine wise ill test for rhe other stuff to just to get good at it then take a sample to my pool store to see if im close should be. Thhanks for all the patience and help everyone.
 

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