I'm one of those stupid women who walked out of the pool store last week confused with boat loads of chemicals...even though I already knew better. So I'm starting fresh here...I love testing, always have. My pool is 1 year old, was installed last year. Here's the scoop:
Highlands Ranch Colorado, IG, plaster, 8000 gallons, Tahoe swim system, UV, Pentair 320 cartridge 120gpm.
FC: 0, PH: 7.6, TA: 300, CH: 410, CYA: 80-90
Keep in mind I'm very new here and until just now did not *know* BBB---so all this was pre-BBB. All last year I managed my pool by using UV and very little chlorine. Every thing seemed just great. Crystal clear, testing was balanced, no growth. Tap water is naturally hard and naturally high PH. This year my UV canister cracked due to bad winterization and for almost 2 months I had to learn to manage the pool using more chlorine than I used last year. As things became increasingly out of balance I decided to pop in to the local spa store last week. All day yesterday I read *my* story relayed here (dealings with spa/pool stores). Long story short I was advised to add massive amounts of TA increaser and chlorine. *They* kept telling me my CYA was over 150 (they never mention dilution, only adding more and more chemicals). When I tested my own CYA it shows 80-90 after I had done about a 15% dilution.
Obviously I've got issues with FC, TA and CH above. If I add liquid bleach at night (which I've been doing) won't the UV unit just neutralize it? The pool calculator shows I need some calcium chloride for the hardness...where is the best place to buy that? The pool calculator also shows I need 376 oz of baking soda to treat the high TA...but I thought baking soda was used to INCREASE TA (which is already too high).
I will definitely be a BBB convert and will support the cause. Thanks!!! And special thanks to the people who take their time walking newbies through.
Sue
Highlands Ranch Colorado, IG, plaster, 8000 gallons, Tahoe swim system, UV, Pentair 320 cartridge 120gpm.
FC: 0, PH: 7.6, TA: 300, CH: 410, CYA: 80-90
Keep in mind I'm very new here and until just now did not *know* BBB---so all this was pre-BBB. All last year I managed my pool by using UV and very little chlorine. Every thing seemed just great. Crystal clear, testing was balanced, no growth. Tap water is naturally hard and naturally high PH. This year my UV canister cracked due to bad winterization and for almost 2 months I had to learn to manage the pool using more chlorine than I used last year. As things became increasingly out of balance I decided to pop in to the local spa store last week. All day yesterday I read *my* story relayed here (dealings with spa/pool stores). Long story short I was advised to add massive amounts of TA increaser and chlorine. *They* kept telling me my CYA was over 150 (they never mention dilution, only adding more and more chemicals). When I tested my own CYA it shows 80-90 after I had done about a 15% dilution.
Obviously I've got issues with FC, TA and CH above. If I add liquid bleach at night (which I've been doing) won't the UV unit just neutralize it? The pool calculator shows I need some calcium chloride for the hardness...where is the best place to buy that? The pool calculator also shows I need 376 oz of baking soda to treat the high TA...but I thought baking soda was used to INCREASE TA (which is already too high).
I will definitely be a BBB convert and will support the cause. Thanks!!! And special thanks to the people who take their time walking newbies through.
Sue