So many adjustments...where to start?

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tkrunche

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Aug 22, 2018
21
Shakopee, MN
Hi - my first post! Hope I do it right! Anyway, my water chem isn't terrible but isn't great. I recently had trouble holding chlorine and think it was a low CYA issue and am going to resolve it but I have other stuff to resolve too and since everything effects everything else I don't know where to start. Here are my numbers this morning (I used the Taylor 2006 kit)

FC: 4.6
CC: 0.2
pH: 7.2
TA: 180
CH: 180 - although I get more purple sediments than a "blue color" so this could be wrong.
CYA: ~32 (didn't quite get to 30 before the dot disappeared; this is an estimation)

So, I read pool school and know with a SWG I need to up my CYA to 70-80. But my pH is a little low, and I'd also like to lower my TA. And I get white deposits in my pool which I'm guessing is calcium so maybe CH needs to go down too? I was thinking this order:
1) replace water to lower CH
2) retest and then lower TA w/muriatic acid and aerate to bump up pH
3) add CYA (solid through sock in skimmer) to 70-80

Does that sound right? I'd really appreciate your thoughts - Thanks so much!
 
Welcome to the forum! :wave: For your chlorine/CYA issue .... is there ANY chance of algae? If not, then yes, increase the CYA to 70 and keep the FC balanced as seen on the [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]. Now if you suspect algae or have ANY doubts, then you should do an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test before increasing the CYA. It's important to rule-out algae first in case you need to do a SLAM Process.

As for the calcium, what "type" of pool do you have? Plaster, vinyl, or fiberglass? That will tell us what your CH needs to ne (if any) and what actions to take next.
 
Welcome to TFP.

Do not worry about your TA. It is not a problem for you with a PH of 7.2 Just manage your PH. PH of 7.2 is fine. With your TA your PH should increase naturally.

Do not lower your CH. It is either ok or low depending on your pool type and equipment.

Only action you should do is raise your CYA to 70. With a CYA of 70 your FC target will be 5. See [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]. So increase your SWG % output or increase your pump runtime.

Test your fill water for PH, TA, and CH. That will tell us which way things should naturally go.

Calculate your CSI using PoolMath
 
Ok, thanks. I do think there is a chance for algae. The pool is clear, but the rate it was losing FC lately, I think there might be something lingering so I will do the overnight water test.

My fill water:
pH - 7.3
TA - 330
CH - 300 (but again, I get more purple than blue...?)

I'll keep you posted on the Overnight FC test.
 
Good call. Thanks for the sig update as well. :wink: Now that we know you have a vinyl pool, CH is basically N/A...…. assuming yoru spa is also vinyl. If the spa is plaster, then you would want to maintain a minimum CH for the health of the plaster. For the CH test, try a few more drops past purple. I used to stop too early until I realized I got more of a light baby blue at the final end-point. It made about a 50-75 ppm difference in my reading.
 
Your TA jumped from 180 first test 330 second test. If at the higher test number, you are susceptible to calcium scale sloughing from your SWCG. As your TA drops you should see that calcium scale from the SWCG reduce.
 
mknauss said:
Your TA jumped from 180 first test 330 second test. If at the higher test number, you are susceptible to calcium scale sloughing from your SWCG. As your TA drops you should see that calcium scale from the SWCG reduce.
Click to expand...

Marty, that TA 330 was his FILL water, not his pool water. Something to watch over time in his pool, but no action required today.
 
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