Proper order for achieving water balance

Jump to latest Follow Reply
B

Bucci

0
Jun 3, 2017
7
Peachtree City, GA
Hi everyone,

I was glad to find this site. Im a relatively new pool owner (1yr) and have been very frustrated with my pool. Last year I decided that I wanted to follow the BBB method of pool care. I was very successful for the most part. I still had some algae issues but I was able to work through them. The pool looked very good but I know there were things (or procedures) I was not following correctly mostly out of ignorance. This year I opened the pool like I did last year but since that day I have been fighting to get the water balance. My FC, for example, has been less than 1ppm (CC has been between 1-2ppm) and I have not been able to increase it no matter how much chlorine I add. After reading through your website I realized that I need to reach the chlorine "break point" before I can raise my FC level. I do have several questions about how to go about it.
1. Normally, what would be the proper "sequence" in which to adjust my water balance? In other words, which should I adjust first, PH or FC or ALK or CYA?
2. How long should I wait after adjusting one parameter before adjusting the next? Can I adjust several parameters at the same time?
3. Your CYA chart states that for a CYA of 40 I need a shock level of 16. Is that 16 ppm per 10k gals?

I have a 27k oval Vinyl liner chlorine in-ground pool with a sand filter. These are the numbers I took earlier today:
FC=0
CC=2
PH=7
ALK=80
CYA=40

Thank you in advance for your help!
 
Welcome to TFP!

There is no order or sequence for adjusting things. Which is why it isn't mentioned in Pool School. The only thing you shouldn't do is add acid and bleach at the same time because they shouldn't be mixed. More about adding chems to your pool here, Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals

16 ppm is the same no matter how many gallons is involved.

There is very likely algae growing in the pool consuming your chlorine quickly. Anytime FC is below minimum for your CYA level the pool is not sanitary and algae can grow. To kill the algae follow the SLAM Process process.
 
Pooldv,

Thanks for the reply.
Ok, so for normal everyday maintenance no real sequence of adjusting the parameters is need. That's good to know. I added borax last night to bring my PH up so this morning Im going to ck were its at. Then if back to normal I will start adding chlorine.
 
Is there some reason you arent raisong the chlorine level? With chlorine at 0 it is very likely that algae is growing in the pool or will be soon. Chlorine must always be maintained above minimum for your CYA,[FC/CYA][/FC/CYA], to keep the pool sanitary and algae free.

More here, ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry And here, Pool School - Getting Started
 
Well I was going to start adding chlorine but the steps specified in the SLAMING process specified that it was important to have the PH level set correctly before starting to add chlorine. Did I misunderstood that? Im eager to start the add chlorine.
 
You can test pH about 15 minutes after adding acid. And you can raise FC up to target any time. You just don't want to test pH when FC is above 10 ppm because the higher FC interferes with the pH test. Anytime FC is close to minimum you want to raise it to target level immediately. FC needs to stay at target all the time.

From here, ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

FC - Free Chlorine

Maintaining an appropriate FC level is the most important part of keeping your water in balance. It is important that you do not allow FC to get too low, or you run the risk of getting algae. If FC gets down to zero, or you have algae, the pool is not safe to swim in.
Click to expand...
 
So, with 2 CC, you need to bring SLAM your pool. With a CYA of 40, bring your FC level up to 16 using bleach or liquid chlorine. Don't forget the Maintain part of the SLAM. Keep it at 16 by testing and adding chlorine as much as you can, even hourly if your schedule can manage that. Do this until pool is clear, your CC is less than 0.5 and your OCLT is less than 1.
 
Thank you for the clarification. That helps a lot. I have started to add chlorine. According to the chart on the taylor test kit, I will need 48oz of chlorine to raise to 1 ppm in my pool. I want to increase it to at least 3 ppm. I have calculated that I will need 144 oz of chlorine X 16 (the CYA shock level from tfp chart) = 2304 oz or 18 gals of chlorine. Now this was calculated at 10% chlorine content in each gal. I only have an 8.25% content so I may go up to 19-20 gals. Is my math correct?
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Pooldv,

Man I am so frustrated. I have added 28gal of chlorine to the pool the day before yesterday and I see little to no results. As a matter of fact my CYA just dropped to about 20. I have spent what it seems to be a fortune in chlorine and have gotten nowhere. How much chlorine does it normally take to do an average SLAM? I know every pool /conditions are different but it seems Im spinning my wheels and getting nowhere.

- - - Updated - - -

Sorry it was yesterday I applied the 28gal of chlorine. I about to commit SIN and go to the pool store and load this pool up with chem's
 
What is your process for testing and adding chlorine? Test, add how much to what level? Test again how much later? Add how much to what level? Etc.

It is possible that bacteria has grown in the pool and is consuming your CYA and converting it to ammonia which will consume a large amount of chlorine. To confirm this and eliminate the ammonia follow this process.
Raise FC to 10 ppm
Test in 10-15 minutes
If it is 0 repeat
Repeat until FC holds at 5-6 ppm or more

Then resume following the SLAM Process process, Pool School - SLAM - Shock Level And Maintain Which will includes rechecking pH, CYA, etc

The key to a quick and successful SLAM Process is to diligently follow every step of the process. Skipping steps, over or under dosing chorine, not brushing, not testing often, etc all make a SLAM Process take longer. In fact, it is actually possible to SLAM Process your pool forever if you let the FC level drop too much between testing and adding more FC because the algae will start growing again and you effectively keep starting over.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply