Simple Questions...I Hope:)

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rob.mwpropane

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In The Industry
Jun 9, 2015
213
Baldwin, Maryland
Short story - I've just opened my pool this year to find that the cover did not hold well, nor did it keep the sunlight out. Underneath was a green pool filled with all of God's wonderful creatures that thrive in the water! Not to mention it did a nice water change and I lost any chemicals that should of been left from last year out the skimmer line.

FC - 0
CYA - 0
TA - 50
pH - 6.8 (probably a little higher now due to aeration)

It's a salt water pool, but I haven't tested salt level yet, nor have I turned on the SWG. My question is since I'm basically starting over again, should I treat this as a regular pool? The chlorine/CYA chart dictates that my CYA should be around 70 for salt. I have one sock sitting with CYA in the skimmer (should bring it to 35), and another ready to go when that one's done. In an effort to save a little on chlorine, can I get the CYA to say 35 or so, and keep the FC @ 14 (which based on the chart is considered "shock level").

I'm asking because in an attempt to start the process I dumped 4 gallons of bleach into my 12K pool as per the calculator late yesterday to bring FC to 28, and this morning my FC is .5 :( Boooo on organics...

If it won't save any on chlorine (maybe it takes "x" amount of chlorine to take up all the organics?, and it doesn't matter what system / level you use, so long as you stick withing the guidelines as per the chart?)

Example; @

CYA of 35 and FC @ 14 it'll take 20 gallons bleach

or

CYA of 70 and FC of 28 it'll still take 20 gallons of bleach in the same system.

Just trying to get some clarification here, and maybe a deeper understanding. I'm leaning towards thinking it doesn't matter, and I should shoot for a CYA of what my end goal is for a saltwater pool...

FWIW, I have followed TFP religiously since the beginning of my pool, have never been to a pool store (well maybe once before I got the recommended test kit), and am ALWAYS complimented on how clear my water is. And while I may take some of the credit, I give 90% to TFP and I send all my clients here. You guys rock!
 
You didn't ask about pH...

But, how did you get the 6.8 reading? And did you know why it is low?

I get concerned when I see a 6.8 reading, because, that's how low many tests go, which often means you don't know how low it really is.

Also, if "6.8" is where your pool naturally finds it's equilibrium, then you likely want to increase your TA.
 
Get the pH corrected before starting the SLAM. You won't get accurate readings once you raise the chlorine level.

Not a bad idea to just bring the CYA to 35 and treat it as a standard chlorine pool until you get the water clear and balanced. Then you can add salt and bring the CYA up to salt recommendations before turning on the swg. It may save a little bleach and the SLAM process is just a bit easier to manage at lower required chlorine levels.
 
I suggest not adding any more CYA. See if what you put in so far shows up. You 'may' have the CYA destroying ammonia issue with a pool that has gone that green. There is a protocol to test. Raise your FC to 10, wait 15 min, test, if FC 5 or more you are OK, if less than 5, repeat the process, until your FC holds. If you add CYA with this issue before killing it with chlorine the CYA is food for the bacteria.

Hope that helps. Take care.
 
Thanks everyone for the replies. Just to clarify, pool water was clear but had a lot of stuff on the floor. In vacuuming a lot got stirred up and now the pool is green.

Ahhh, maybe my question was not so simple...., at the end of last year I tried to remove some stains from the liner as per Pool School - Metals in the Water and Metal Stains or more importantly here; Ascorbic Treatment to rid Pool of metal stains

It worked wonders and I never really followed through with the raising the pH back up and testing to get it where it should be and closed the pool....now wonder I have no CYA and can't hold the chlorine. So first order of business would be to get the pH up? I didn't know that the test could be lower than 6.8, I assumed that the color would have been lighter if it was lower than 6.8, so assumed it was 6.8 because it was not:(

Any recommended dose of soda ash to bring the pH up? Since I don't know where I'm starting, should I just attempt to raise the pool by .5, test and see where I'm at? Goal would be 7.3-ish to shock

Edit: low pH is probably also what killed my cover I would imagine?
 
I actually like using Borax better to raise pH. Check the pool calculator yourself, but I am seeing that 115 oz of borax will raise your pH from 6.8 to 7.2.
 
rob.mwpropane said:
I'm fine with that, but what's the reason? Just curious... I did a quick search and all it says was they could both be used.
Click to expand...

It helps buffer your pH. (Though, honestly, I'm not sure of soda ash helps with that).

It adds borates to your pool which gives the water a softer feel.

It helps control algae.

Can purchase it at the grocery store, and is usually right next to bleach.

I get to take it away from my son, who would otherwise be tempted to use it in an ingredient in "slime".

Only caution I would have would be if pets drink out of your pool... then high concentrations (over 50 ppm) could be toxic.
 
So....plan of action is to stop with chlorine and CYA, raise pH w/borax as per calculator. When pH is at 7.2, test CYA / chlorine and begin again? Does this sound about right? I'm going to try to raise pH by .4 and then test (I guess give it 15-30 min between tests???) and repeat until pH is @ 7.2

Let me know that all sounds good and I will proceed. Thanks!!
 

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rob.mwpropane said:
So....plan of action is to stop with chlorine and CYA, raise pH w/borax as per calculator. When pH is at 7.2, test CYA / chlorine and begin again? Does this sound about right? I'm going to try to raise pH by .4 and then test (I guess give it 15-30 min between tests???) and repeat until pH is @ 7.2

Let me know that all sounds good and I will proceed. Thanks!!
Click to expand...

The pool calculator is pretty accurate. If you put in the recommended amounts, and it didn't hit your 7.2 target, I'd wait at least an hour before adding more. You don't want to start playing whack a mole with your pH.
 
Got home, found out my wife added chlorine, so now;

FC - 18.5
CYA - ~30

I measured pH again, but it's still reading at 6.8 (and I understand this is both inaccurate because the test won't go lower than 6.8, as well as because the chlorine is so high).

At what level chlorine do I let it fall to to accurately measure pH?
 
I'd put the Borax in now to target your 7.2 and see what your numbers look like in the morning.

Your pH was likely this low all winter, so I don't imagine it would have jumped up that much over night... especially given your low TA values.

And, I probably wouldn't suggest taking any action on your pH as affected by the Borax addition anyway right away to avoid playing whack a mole.

Start trusting your pH results once you get back into your target range for your CYA... given 30... around 5 ish.
 
I understand. Add borax to bring pH up from 6.8 to 7.2, wait until morning to test everything. Wait until FC has fallen to 5 before getting an accurate pH reading. Adjust TA accordingly, adjust pH accordingly, then again start to shock based off of CYA reading.

So thread was simple questions with loooooong complicated answers! I'm always in for a good challenge. Very happy to learn something new. I've never had low pH, it's always on the high side, so this was new to me. I will report back after the FC has fallen to 5 and at least share my experience.

Thanks to all who helped!
 
Ok, so I've done all the above and here's where I'm at;

pH - 7.2
TA - 70
FC - 14 (throughout the night I lost 2.5, but brought it back up this morning)
CYA - 35

I hate to be impatient (it's too cold right now to go swimming anyway), but how long should this process take? Normally, it takes a day or 2 at the most to have things up and running, and be clear. It's going on day 5, and still can't see the bottom. I know I'm making headway, as the green is definitely turning more blue, and my chlorine demands are nowhere near what they were. I just thought this would be over by now, lol...

I know the answer is just to stay at it, but man this is taking a while:-?
 
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