Taking over maintenance of pool, need advice...

[texantoasted]

As the title states, I am taking over the maintenance of my pool. The PB maintained it for the first 45 days or so, and now I think I'm ready to handle it from here. As it stands now, the pool water is clear, and I don't see any visible issues.

I have the TFT-Pro test kit that I've been using to get the readings .

I started to log my readings in the Pool Math app a couple of days ago, 12/5.

My first reading (12/5) was:
FC 17 (this high reading could be a beginners screw up...)
CC 1
PH 7.5
TA 90
CH 304
CYA 30

After reading the pool school and a ton of threads, I realized that I needed to get my FC and CYA at a more manageable level, according to the Chlorine / CYA Chart.

The PB had my IC40 SWG set to 50% pool and 5% spa. I figured this was causing my FC to be high, and I turned down the SWG to 0% Pool and 0% Spa on 12/5 to get it down to a decent level. I'll turn it back on once the time is right, but I will need to see if 50% is too much. I may dial it down to 30% pool and 5% spa. Feedback on this will be much appreciated.

I followed the recommended steps in the Pool Math app to raise the CYA, which was to add ~4lbs of stabilizer to the pool on 12/5. I did this by hanging a sock with the stabilizer from a ladder in front of the return (I switched from my IFCS to my returns to do this). I went out about every hour or so to give it a squeeze. It took about 3 hours for it all to dissolve. After reading other posts, it appears I should have done half the dosage and waited a week, then added the other half if needed. Lesson learned.

I took another reading this morning (12/8) and got the following:
FC 11
CC 0
PH 8.2
TA 80
CH 325
CYA 70

What I need guidance on is what to do from here. My plan is to:

• Follow the Pool Math app recommendations and add 19 oz of 31.45% muriatic acid to get the PH down, but have been reading that high levels of FC can cause inaccurate high PH readings. I'm thinking I should cut this in half and see where it takes me.
• Let the chlorine dissipate on its own. It's taking longer than I expected since we have gotten hardly any sun the past few days, and the next few days don't look any sunnier.

And...sigh...Another item to note that I'm kinda embarrassed of...
Before I started to track my readings, I did a PH test on 12/3. My PH seemed extremely high (now that I think about it, it could have been because of the high fc), so my careless thinking (I have other names for myself but we'll leave that for another screw up) thought I needed to add a gallon, (yes, a gallon) of muriatic acid to get it down. Well, that got my numbers down, to say the least. This freaked me out a bit, so I went to all places... Leslies.... to see what I needed to do to fix this. They ran their test, and my PH readings showed to be 6.5. So they sold me soda ash to get the PH back up and a couple of packs of Leslies Fresh and Clear. I added about 3 lbs of soda ash and 2 lbs of their Fresh and Clear. After this hiatus, I realized that I better get my act together. So dedicated this past weekend to the pool school and running several tests to re-enforce my learnings. And there you have it folks, my first week as a pool maintenance guy .

 

[mknauss]

Things look pretty good. Your FC of 11 may be effecting your pH reading, so wait until that is below 10 ppm before adjusting with acid to a pH of 7.6 or so.

FC will drop over the next couple days.

 

[Newdude]

You got this TT !!! There is no learning like doing and every little mess up will hammer It home. You can read and read and read but until you do it, it never quite sinks in. Check here before doing anything, the worst thing you can do is overreact and throw a Hail Mary. That way any goofs that do happen will be easy fixes and not major ones.

 

[texantoasted]

@mknauss Good to hear. I'll keep an eye on the FC over the next few days before making any adjustments. Thanks for the feedback!

@Newdude Isn't that the truth! "No matter who tries to teach you lessons about pool maintenance, you won't understand it until you go through it on you own, and screw up." Ah the joys of life...

 

[Bperry]

Your chlorine isn’t that high. What makes you think your first reading might be incorrect?

 

[texantoasted]

Mainly the swing from 17 to 11 over the course of a few days. Plus I was going off a couple readings from the pool store. They reported 13 FC then 11. But have come to understand their readings could be off.

Thinking back, the 17 reading was Friday, and we swam Saturday and Sunday. So that could be the reason of the drop in FC.

I'm shooting for CYA of 80 and FC of 6 according to the Chlorine/CYA Chart. So seeing 17, I figured that was high.

 

[mknauss]

Do realize your SWCG will stop producing chlorine at about a water temperature of 55F. At that time, treat the pool as a normal liquid chlorine pool. I would not add any more CYA to the pool until April or so.

 

[texantoasted]

That's good to know. I did not know this. Thanks for the insight.

Since I have my SWCG set to 0% to bring the FC down, when do you think I should start increasing the percentage? If it helps, the current temp of the pool is 71.

 

[wireform]

Target for 70 CYA is 5 and running a little hot is would be 7-8 so your getting close. I don't like turning off the SWCG completely but rather keep it real low like 20% and see how that works and then adjust accordingly. Eventually it'll stabilize especially this time of the year so you'll be able to see how much it needs.

 

[Newdude]

Since I have my SWCG set to 0% to bring the FC down, when do you think I should start increasing the percentage?

Your pool will tell you all you need to know if you listen to it. It might be 2 days, or 6. But with regular testing you’ll watch it fall and once you hit target range, be ready to step in and start producing. You’d be well served running a bit ‘hot’ as you learn. You have leeway above target range all the way to SLAM level (40% of your CYA). You have 1 day or less leeway below target range before you hit minimum. Whether you have one full day of daily FC loss to spare and vigilantly stay in target range, or target a couple FC more just in case is up to you. But steer CLEAR of minimum.

Also good to know is your SWG adds FC sloooooooooowly. If you ever get considerably low on FC, add liquid chlorine for a now boost. Then play with the SWG to pick up the pace going forward. If you are only 1 FC or so below where you want to be, then it’s no biggie to let the SWG handle it.

 

[texantoasted]

After waiting several days to let my fc level out and keeping my ph at bay, this is where I am at:

Pool math says CYA and CH are out of the ideal range.

Based on information I've seen on the forum, the CH is at a good number, so I am not sure if I need to adjust that. My autofill is connected to the city water which has 200ppm of CH (tested with the tfp test kit).

Latest Test Result Summary:
FC: 4.5
CC: 0.0
pH: 7.8
TA: 60
CH: 325
CYA: 60
SALT: 3400
TEMPERATURE: 62°
CSI: -0.38

What do you guys think my next course of action should be?

I have the swg producing chlorine at 20% output.

I'm thinking I should get the FC to 6 and the CYA to 80 to match the cya/fc chart and stay away from the minimum.

Since the TA is at 60 should I bring that up to 70 with baking soda?

 

[mknauss]

At this time of year there is no need to add cya at the level you are at. Maintain FC levels based on the FC/CYA Levels

 

[texantoasted]

Thanks @mknauss! Sometimes I need to be told twice before I listen

The cya chart shows 60 CYA and 4 FC at a minimum but does not recommend it. Is the reason it's good where it's at is because the pool is not being used very often and the temperature is cooler?

When the weather starts warming up and we are in the pool more often, should I increase the FC to 6 and CYA to 80?

 

[mknauss]

CYA protects the chlorine from UV degradation. There is not much UV right now at your latitude. So when late March / April comes along, test your CYA and adjust to 70/80 ppm. Then manage the FC based on that.

Keep your FC level at or near 10% of your CYA. That gives you extra coverage if you have a large party, flock of birds, etc in your pool.

 

[texantoasted]

Gotcha! Makes sense now. Thanks from breaking it down for me.