Pool guy is leaving in a few weeks, what will I need?

[Drip]

Bring it to SLAM which is 40% of your CYA. You should be fine for 3 days.

SLAM for my CYA(50) is 20 ppm. Are you saying get my fc to 8 ppm (40%)?

 

[Drip]

I've never not had an android / windows PC. I don't know how the google store and Apple store would handle the subscription. Somebody from the website could probably tell you? @Leebo ?


Before I had my SWG we left for several days on a trip. Dropped pH to 7.2, Raised to SLAM, put a few tabs in the floater and inline chlorinator, set the robot to run every day. If you don't have all those things, just do what you can. Raise to slam and put a few tabs in a $10 floater if you don't already have one. You probably don't have to drop pH, looks like your TA is well under control. I was just doing it because my TA was still making it skyrocket up to 8.2... If you are noticing pH trying to rise higher than you'd like in that time frame you're gone, you might consider lowering it down a few points. A day or two at high pH won't cause scale if you come back and immediately take care of it.

If I slam it to 20 Fc, would the burn off rate be the same as before (.5-1 ppm per day) or does slamming burn off at a much faster rate? And will I need to have my pump running 24/7?

 

[Newdude]

If I slam it to 20 Fc, would the burn off rate be the same as before

It does burn off at a %, so the higher the FC the faster it goes…. But it’s something like 1/3 so you’ll keep most of it.

would the burn off rate be the same as before (.5-1 ppm per day

Oh my. Your FC loss is almost nothing. That’s awesome. You wouldn’t in theory need to go to SLAM for 3 days as your expected FC loss will be around 3. But. It also won’t hurt and it will be total piece of mind. If you come home to 12 FC (?) and a stupid clear pool, then woohoo. Ya know ?

And will I need to have my pump running 24/7?

SLAMS need to be constantly mixed/filtered for the algae killing and removal. You can run your regular schedule because that’s not your concern.

 

[TexEdmond]

If you come home to 12 FC (?) and a stupid clear pool, then woohoo. Ya know ?

And it's safe to swim at any FC level below SLAM as long as the water is clear. And the quickest way to lower FC levels back down to normal is... HAVE A POOL PARTY TO CELEBRATE YOUR RETURN AND RELAX FROM TRAVEL.

 

[Drip]

just did another complete set of measurements and notice some changes from 2 weeks ago...

	9/10	9/25
FC	8	8
PH	7.5	7.8
TA	70	90
CH	625	325
CYA	50	65

The PH seems like it's approaching the 8-8.2 range. What can be causing this? I am only introducing liquid chlorine every other day or so.

The TA and CYA seem to be increasing as well. Thoughts on this? What about the CH levels dropping by a significant amount?

 

[mknauss]

pH increases with aeration (wind, swimming, etc). Your fill water you are adding due to evaporation is high in TA. Increasing TA also pushes the pH up.

The CYA can only increase if you have added some. Or test error.

The CH can only fall if you drain pool water and replace with tap water. So again, test error.

 

[Drip]

Thanks! I'll need to retest the CYA, but you are right with the CH with the testing error (it's the same as before).

At what ph/TA level should I be adding Muriatic acid to lower it?

 

[mknauss]

When pH reaches 8, add acid to lower it to 7.4. That will reduce the TA that has built up due to your fill water TA.

 

[TexEdmond]

I'll need to retest the CYA, but you are right with the CH with the testing error (it's the same as before).

The great part about CYA testing is you can pour it back into the bottle and test again. It's the most subjective test. Here we just round up to the next 10. If it disappears at 65, round up to 70. Try this: fill to the 80 line and glance for the dot. If you see it, fill to the next line and glance. Repeat til the dot disappears.

CH can be tricky watching for that color change... The speed stir is a lifesaver... Keep at it and you'll get the technique down quickly.

 

[Drip]

I forgot to mention that I also have a spa that has spillway that connects to the pool. I currently have the pump to only pull from the pool area but return to both the pool and the spa. Are there any special chemistry considerations I need to look into? Didn't really cross my mind prior since the jets from the spa creates a pretty strong stream into the pool from the spillway so I assumed all the chemistry would be similar.

 

[TexEdmond]

Doing this will keep freshly filtered and chlorinated water returning thru your spa, which is good. This will also be aerating your pool water anytime the pump is running. Expect to see your pH rising continually with this setup and make sure you've got plenty of muriatic acid on hand. Like Marty mentioned back in September, just keep lowering your pH down to 7.4 or so every time it reaches 7.8-8.0. Make sure to keep testing your TA every week or so because that's an important factor for PoolMath to give you the correct amount of MA to add. You'll start to see a routine forming and it'll get very predictable.

If you have automated valves, you might want to consider doing that only for a little while during the day to keep the spa water fresh and chlorinated. Anything extra is just driving pH up quicker.