Pool opening for the season

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frustratedpoolmom said:
You can use 3 of the bags of dichlor, pre dissolve them in a bucket of water and pour slowly in front of the return. That will raise your FC up to 10 and your CYA by 9. Wait an hour or so and test the FC again, and then test again in the morning and see if the FC is holding or not. You can use the other three bags of Dichlor tomorrow to raise it up again. This should raise your CYA up to almost 20, so if you had a little in there to start, it should show up on the test in a couple of days.

If you prefer to go the CYA/stabilizer route - you can use a sock or a nylon, tie a knot in it and set in front of the return or set it in the skimmer so it doesn't block the water flow. This allows you to backwash. If you pour it directly into the skimmer, you can't backwash. Make sense?

Save the tablets. Did you pick up some bleach? :wink:
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help !
"That will raise your FC up to 10 and your CYA by 9."
How do you know that'll bring the CYA up by 9?
I'll do as you say tonight w the 3 bags initially. I'll be up for hours, so I'll probably be able to test every hour for 3 hours. At these hourly tests, I will shock w bleach & keep the bags for for tomarrow unless you want me to use the bags hourly tonight. If you want me to use the bags hourly tonight I just use the calculator for "dichlor" rather than bleach, right?

Thanks again to Jason & FPM
 
Right, use the pool calculator and select Dichlor instead of bleach on the drop down menu. If you need smaller amounts of Dichlor, at those intervals, it will tell you how many oz to add "by volume" so you just use a dry measure cup for those ounce measurements.

At the bottom of the pool calc - the "effects of adding chems" section. If you put in the 48 oz of Dichlor, it tells you how much the FC will go up and how much the CYA will go up. It will also lower your PH a tad bit.

So those 6 bags of dichlor, if you use all of them, will increase the CYA by 18.
 
1:30am
pH 7.5
First Shocking dose per above, target 10

2:30am, 1 hour after 1st shocking dose:
FC 6 (prior Shock Target was 10)
CC 0.5, (so it wasn’t bogus, cool)
Shocked with Target 10, so added 18oz by volume of dichlor
I anticipate shocking with dichlor until its gone to get the CYA from it, then I’ll ask if a CYA test is indicated or still too early to determine (I understand it takes a few days to show up); Jason thinks I started with no/zero CYA, but perhaps some CYA was present.
Still haven’t brushed the walls yet but will after adding this shock dose.

4:00am, 1.5 hours after last shocking dose
FC 8
Did not bother testing CC
Added 9 oz of dichlor
Everything getting brushed

8:30am, 4.5 hours after last shocking dose (only 4.5hrs so unsure if this qualifies for TFP’s “Overnight-FC-holding”), about 2 hours after “sunrise" but 15 minutes before sunlight strikes the pool (sun blocked by building not by trees)
FC 11.5 (prior Shock Target was 10)
CC between 0.5 - 1; looked like 0.5 to me but hard to believe 0.5 because still some green algae.
Water remains clear, plenty brushing of the dead debris & algae needed & am doing. Do you guys want to say CC =1 because of this? If so then I’ll need a higher Shock Target, so what is a good Shock Target?
I have left on hand:
- 1.1 bags the aforementioned of dichlor Shock Plus (A 1 lb bag treats 12,000 gal) meaning 5.9 bags have been used in the past 10 hours : FPM said that all 6 bags “should your CYA up to almost 20”.
- 3lbs (haven’t used any) of Cyanuric acid 100%, “Stabilizer”; granules, directions state “add 1lb per 4,000 gal at opening if stabilizer is <30ppm”.

I’m away to backwash & should be able to check in 30 minutes or less, then will have to be away for an hour or so then I ought to be able to be poolside all day.

Not sure how to proceed other than brushing & backwashing.

Thank you.
 
Go ahead and add 2 lbs (via sock method) of the CYA. This will only add 12 to your CYA, so with that and all of the Dichlor is only 30, so even if there is still some in there from before, you won't over shoot the 50ppm mark. :)

Your FC is good where it's at right now - and that's a very good sign... :)

You can target 12 for your FC as your shock level after adding the CYA you should be above 30.

I think tonight you should be able to do a regular Overnight Test to see if it's holding. You can use up the last of the Dichlor today/tonight.

Test for the CYA level in a couple of days, and then again in about a week.
 
frustratedpoolmom said:
Go ahead and add 2 lbs (via sock method) of the CYA. This will only add 12 to your CYA, so with that and all of the Dichlor is only 30, so even if there is still some in there from before, you won't over shoot the 50ppm mark. :)

Your FC is good where it's at right now - and that's a very good sign... :)

You can target 12 for your FC as your shock level after adding the CYA you should be above 30.

I think tonight you should be able to do a regular Overnight Test to see if it's holding. You can use up the last of the Dichlor today/tonight.

Test for the CYA level in a couple of days, and then again in about a week.
Click to expand...

Wiil get the 2lbs of CYA in a sock at the Returns (skimmer to valuable & too full right now)
"You can target 12 for your FC as your shock level after adding the CYA you should be above 30."
I can Target 12 TONIGHT, right?

Thanks
 
7:00pm, 15 hours since last shocking dose (Shock Target was 10)
pH 7.3, a bit low, to be expected when using dichlor, my pH creeps up all season so I’m not worried unless you guys want me to add soda ash or baking soda. I’ll be using my final 1.1 bags dichlor for this Shocking
FC 7.7
CC 1
New Shock Target of 12 since CYA has been added (dichlor + stabilizer in a sock presently) but too soon to test CYA now. Perhaps I’m halfway to my desired CYA level of 30, so for the calculator I’ll enter a current CYA of 15 (tomorrow night I’ll enter a CYA of 20).



9:30pm, 1.5 hours after last Shocking (Target was 12)
FC 12.5
CC 1, so Shocking still indicated but at what Target ( and how do you know that)? We are guessing at my CYA, the Shock Target of 12 was based on FPM & the Pool Calculator. I’m hoping someone will advise me tonight so I can get another Shock in. If nobody replys in an hour or so, I’m going to Shock with a Target of 14 (a current CYA guess of 20) since 14 is OK for mustard algae so it must be ok/ non-harmful to my equipment? Please let me know if my reasoning is faulty.
Thanks
 
11:15pm
1 hour after last Shocking (Target was14)
FC 13, so shocked

12:30am
1 hour after last Shocking (Target was14)
FC 15.5

8:00am, before sunlight on the pool
7.5 hours after last Shocking (Target was14)
FC 12, so shocked, target 14
CC 1

11:00am
3 hours after last Shocking, couldn’t test sooner (Target was14)
CH: 250, just now getting around to testing it, it is in acceptable range
FC 14, so FC is holding
CC 1.5, actually climbing?, doing plenty of brushing, very little visible algae left, I can now do a bit more brushing
I need to shock right? I have never shocked when the FC is holding, so what do I do? Raise the Target? To what? I should be able to test hourly now.
Or is this an indiaction for algaecide? I doubt it from what I read here
I think we can guess that my CYA is 20 I assume, too soon to test, I'm shooting for a CYA of 30 bty test time.
Water is clear/non-colored but cloudy (but I'm brushing). There is no more dead debris on the bottom, skimmer not getting as clogged WITH POLLEN but winds blowing plenty of leaves etc, filter pressure holding longer, air pollen less but definitely persists.
Thanks
I'll be back soon.
 

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Thanks for replying Jason.
Correct, I'm not done shocking as the CC indicates & the overnight FC loss is too high (remembered that from last season & did review that link before you mentioned it).
I assumed that because the FC was holding + we don’t have a CYA test yet (assuming CYA is 20 by now) + the CC wasn’t ideal, that my Shock Target was too low. I guess this is not the case, I’ll keep a Shock Target of 14? And rather than re-test hourly, I should re-test less frequently, say, at intervals where I can see the FC not holding , perhaps 2 or 4 hours- whatever I find. Please let me know if I’m missing something.
The stabilizer in the sock. If I squeeze the sock, it pumps clouds out of the sock. Is that helpful to speed it along, or is too rapid & so undesirable, or makes no difference, or harmful to the bare hand?

Thanks
 
I've been shocking, wont bore you w the irrelevant tests

4/19/10
6:45am, six hours since last test (target was 14)
FC 17.5 (we’re guessing at my CYA level)
CC 0.5
I’m done shocking, I’ll reduce pump run-time as much as debris will allow but be sure to get enough daily turnovers.
The sock with stabilizer ended Saturday (the last dose of dichlor was Friday), when can I test for my CYA?
Historically my pH creeps up, if my pH stays 7.2 instead of 7.5 for how long should I raise it?
I’ll be addind DE to my sand filter per the instructions at TFP.
Gosh this opening was so much easier than last year; a huge thanks to TFP & to the fantastic folks here who helped me get to this point over the past year.
 
Some repeat info here so you don't have to scroll.

4/18/10
8am, hours since last shock (target 14)
FC 13.5, so shocked Target 14
CC 0.5

4:45pm, 5.5 hours since last shock (target 14)
FC 13.5
CC 1 so shocked Target 14

4/19/10
12:45am
FC 9.5 so shocked, target 14

6:45am, six hours since last test (target was 14)
FC 17.5 (we’re guessing at my CYA level)
CC 0.5
I’m done shocking,

Night test
FC 10
CC 1.5, so I'm not done shocking, shocked at Target 14

4/20/10
Sunrise test
FC 14 so holding
CC 1.5
Don’t think Ive ever had a problem with CC varying.
Is my Shock Target to low?. Make a shock Target of___ ?
 
Hmmm. Are you sure it's not testing error? I'm wondering if you are moving on to the CC portion of the test before you have completed the FC portion. How long does the solution remain clear before you are adding the R-0003?
 
From PoolSchool: " If CC is above 0.5, you should shock your pool. CC indicates that there is something in the water that the FC is in the process of breaking down."

So Iguess it is possible that my Target is OK & it is just a slower (than I'm used to )shocking process. With that amonia issue of last year I could shock hourly all day long. Maybe w this more common issue, I need only shock when my FC ALSO drops? (which may not happen for 18 hours). This is interesting. I know there is a shock Target that can damage equipment but there are many other factors to. Still learning
 

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