First time pool: 2200gal 12ft round temporary/seasonal vinyl built and filled a week ago. Added stabilized chlorine granules and a stabilized chlorine puck in a floaty thing to start. Then I added about 25% of the recommended amount of algaecide as the box recommended for start-up. (Maybe it wasn't needed for fresh water, which is why I only used a quarter of the amount.) Initial measurements were FC=4, pH=6.7, TA=0, CH=0, CYA just above zero as per an AquaChek 7 test strip. Pool Math app recommended adding over 1kg of baking soda to increase TA and borax to raise the pH. I added 500g baking soda, waited 24hrs, and re-tested TA=40 -- perfect, half the amount raised TA by half the target. Added the other 500g and waited 24hrs and the TA=80, which was great. However, pH was still a touch low at 7.0-7.2 and the app recommended 8oz of Borax so I added half of that (4oz) and waited 24hrs. The pH raised to 7.6 but now there's an odd smell. I took a sample of water to a pool store for a professional test and they said: FC=1.1, pH=7.6, TA=118, CH=24, CYA=5 and gave me a clean go-ahead to swim. Shrugged when I asked what the smell was. (I brought enough water that you could smell it.)
The smell definitely started after adding the borax, and it persists now 48hrs later. Any ideas? It's not a typical "pool smell" (i.e. chloramine) but something entirely different. Sort of musty? Any ideas? Given it's been a ~week I thought maybe I would shock the pool just 'cause and see if that deals with it.
The smell definitely started after adding the borax, and it persists now 48hrs later. Any ideas? It's not a typical "pool smell" (i.e. chloramine) but something entirely different. Sort of musty? Any ideas? Given it's been a ~week I thought maybe I would shock the pool just 'cause and see if that deals with it.