TA Level

[Rafalski]

Well water often times has high calcium hardness (mine is in the 300s) so if you have added it to your pool off you may raise your CH level...but as you noted 1/8inch would not be much (but over a few weeks time it can add up). Did you fill the pool with the well originally?

The Cal-hypo added a little and the test accuracy is +/-10%.

No, I did not fill any well water into pool, just let rain and snow accumulate over the winter and melt into the pool. with Gunite pool I only drain it enough to close the plugs. How soon after adding Calcium can I test CH? and finally, if I finished adding calcium and since I was shocking last night, can I shut down the pumps and the filter untill I get back home tomorrow after work? Since the water is already clean and SWG is off is there a point to run it?

 

[Rafalski]

well I got impatient and tested, came up at CH 250 after adding 29lbs instead of 30 recommended so ur volume estimate should be pretty accurate. Question is is it enough time for calcium to dissolve already that I can add the additional amount to bring it up to 300 today, then shut down the filter in the morning for the day?

 

[linen]

I might wait to add the rest until after testing tomorrow.

You should be able to turn of the pump while at work.

 

[Rafalski]

I might wait to add the rest until after testing tomorrow.

You should be able to turn of the pump while at work.

Thanks Linen, can I just set the filter back on regular schedule starting saturday or should I still continue running it constatly while I adjust the little things here and there.

 

[linen]

I think you can get back to the schedule, just make sure to run for an hour or so after adding something.

 

[Rafalski]

I want to put in additional couple of inches of water and will be adding from well water, do you guys think I should leave the CH at 250 for now and not add any more considering my well water might be calcium rich or for 2 inches it should not make much difference?

 

[linen]

Post a current set of test results, to help with the decision. TA, ph

 

[Rafalski]

Ok, just tested the water and here are the results:
FC - 11.5
CC - 0.5 or below
TC - 12
ph - 7.5
TA - 120/130 (not sure cuz it turned blue at 120 which it states valid result with high FC, but turned red with another drop i used to see what happens)
CH - 240
CYA - 42 (this one confused me unless its dissolving this slow, I will wait a few more days since i added tuesday,enough to bring it up to 65, also does the dot really have to disappear completely before checking level? it kinda dissappeared way before getting to 42 but I could still see if faintly for a long while untill around that level)

Now the questions are, should I bring up CH any and how much since I will be adding well water? Secondly is this water swimmable for tomorrow? and thirdly if I continue to bring down ph to 7.0 to lower TA can we swim or should we wait till it comes back to 7.5? I can only aerate on the weekend when we are all home and want to use the pool.

 

[linen]

Now the questions are, should I bring up CH any and how much since I will be adding well water?

I wouldn't for now. Have you tested the well water for metals, TA and CH?

Secondly is this water swimmable for tomorrow?

If the FC is at or below shock level, ph between 7.2-7.8, and you can see the bottom...go ahead and swim. I also like my CC <0.5, since some forms can cause skin and eye irritation.

CYA - 42 (this one confused me unless its dissolving this slow, I will wait a few more days since i added tuesday,enough to bring it up to 65, also does the dot really have to disappear completely before checking level? it kinda dissappeared way before getting to 42 but I could still see if faintly for a long while untill around that level)

Yeah, wait till it's been a week since you added and test again.

 

[Rafalski]

how can I tell if its less then 0.5? the water turned pink so slightly it was hardly noticable, went right back to clear with 1 drop.

 

[jblizzle]

Well, 1 drop means it was less than 0.5ppm.

 

[Rafalski]

My well water shows TA of 100, but its weird, at 10 drops it turned slightly red then went to blue, took 12 drops to completely turn red. How can there be high level of chlorine in well water? I just have a inline filter so no chloring added. The CH came in around 140, but its strange, even though the colors changed they didnt seem to dissolve completely, there seemed to be some colored particles floating around. It seemed to turn more purple then blue at first.

 

[jblizzle]

Your post confuses me .. you start talking about TA and then switch to chlorine and the CH with particle

Have you read this for more details on the tests:
extended-test-kit-directions-t25081.html

 

[Rafalski]

linen asked me what they are for my well water to help decide if I should increase CH before adding it to my pool. I think its easier to ask all my questions in one post rather then open a new one for every question I am new to pools and have a lot of questions Here comes another one ! Since I shocked my pool I noticed the last day with filter off the FC dropped from like 24 to around 12. How exactly am I to keep the FC in the 5 range if it drops so much in a day? My filter and SWG will run about 6 -8 hours lets say, is it increasing it by lets say 10 so that its still 5 when it kicks on again the next day?when exacly should I be measuring the FC, while the pump is running or in the evening long after it stopped?

 

[linen]

linen asked me what they are for my well water to help decide if I should increase CH before adding it to my pool.

Sorry about that jbliz, I was looking at the Calcite Saturation Index (csi) to see where Rafs pool is. It is right in the middle by the way, which is good...even at 240 ppm CH. But your last test was 140 ppm CH?

I think its easier to ask all my questions in one post rather then open a new one for every question

That is the way we like it for now.

Since I shocked my pool I noticed the last day with filter off the FC dropped from like 24 to around 12. How exactly am I to keep the FC in the 5 range if it drops so much in a day?

Your drop will be more like a percentage then an offset, meaning if you were just dosing with bleach (not the continuous swg) then you would dose to 10 ppm in the evening, then the next evening when you dose you would hope to see 5 ppm. In you case you will likely run the swg during the day, trying to keep you FC above 3 ppm at all times (for you cya of 65 ppm).

My filter and SWG will run about 6 -8 hours lets say, is it increasing it by lets say 10 so that its still 5 when it kicks on again the next day?

You probably won't get to 10 and that is okay since your using up your FC on organics on the way.

when exacly should I be measuring the FC, while the pump is running or in the evening long after it stopped?

You need to have the pump running (I like an hour) to measure most accurately, I would do it at/near the end of you cycle if you can since that is probably when FC will be lowest...i.e. if it is low then, you need to increase run time.

 

[jblizzle]

You need to measure just before the SWG turns on I would think to make sure the FC does not drop below the minimum.

Although your daily drop should only be in the 2-4ppm range.

Posted with Tapatalk ... sorry if I sound short ... hate typing on phone

 

[linen]

If you have significant OCLT, then jbliz is right on...but you shouldn't. I differ just a little with jbliz, since I check my FC at night to make sure I made it through the day with enough (my target is to produce just enough FC during the sunlight/swimming hours to keep above the minimum). That way you do not have to wait for an hour in the morning if that is when you turn you pump on. There are a few ways to skin this cat.

 

[Rafalski]

So I should basically watch that it doesnt drop below 4 each evening? Do you guys think my drop was too much for two day's time? I shocked last wednesday night, I believe that thursday morning FC was 27, then friday evening it was at around 12. Mind you I did not run the SWG at all during this time. It did pass the OCLT from wednesday to thursday.

 

[linen]

So I should basically watch that it doesnt drop below 4 each evening?

Yes, basically you want it above 4 at all times, If it is always above 4 ppm at night, then unless you are having some OCLT (i.e. excessive organics in your pool requiring chlorine sanitation/oxidation), then you should be fine during the day while the swg is running. If you do have organics (algae), then it will show up as low FC a day later when you test FC at night again.

Do you guys think my drop was too much for two day's time?

Using 50% /day drop (pools typically loose 40-60% FC per day)...Thursday 27X .5 would have given 13.5, then friday 13.5X.5 would have given 6.75...since you were at 12, I think your drop was fine/normal.

 

[Rafalski]

So I should basically watch that it doesnt drop below 4 each evening?

Yes, basically you want it above 4 at all times, If it is always above 4 ppm at night, then unless you are having some OCLT (i.e. excessive organics in your pool requiring chlorine sanitation/oxidation), then you should be fine during the day while the swg is running. If you do have organics (algae), then it will show up as low FC a day later when you test FC at night again.

Do you guys think my drop was too much for two day's time?

Using 50% /day drop (pools typically loose 40-60% FC per day)...Thursday 27X .5 would have given 13.5, then friday 13.5X.5 would have given 6.75...since you were at 12, I think your drop was fine/normal.

I was actually at 12 on friday evening so it looks like it was losing half of what your estimates are. but I guess I should not be alarmed with dropping less then normal.