Tap fill water test

[zmike]

Upgraded my oto kit to tf-100

Getting ready to fill pool soon, plus try out new test kit

test water from the tap
FC - .5
PH - 7.2
TA - 80
CH - 80
CC no test
CYA no test

From what I can tell, ph seems a little low, excluding FC, does everything else seem good?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[ajw22]

Looks like fine fill water.

pH of 7.2 is ok.

If you ever did need to raise your pH just aerate the water. Aeration - Further Reading

What Are My Ideal Pool Levels?

Use our tool to find ideal chemical levels for any swimming pool. Check TFP recommended levels on pH, free chlorine, cyanuric acid, and more.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Looks pretty good actually. Get some liquid chlorine and CYA stablilzer in there right off. TA is fne, pH acceptable too. You don't need to add calcium because you're getting a vinyl lined pool. Vinyl doesn't need calcium.

Welcome to TFP!

Maddie

 

[Richard320]

Those numbers are great. By the time the pool is full, your pH may be higher, so having it at the bottom of safe now is ideal.

Fill it up, get the pump running and check leaks, test pH, fix if needed (probably not in your caee), add CYA in the sock, add bleach, add kids. Maybe an hour? You don't need to wait for the CYA to fully dissolve.

 

[zmike]

Great, that is what I thought, but was not 100% sure. The tf-100 is new to me, I have always used ph & cl tester until this year!

 

[jobondur]

You may also want to test for metals. I was noticing metal stains on my liner and tested my fill water which is well water (I'm on city water but have a well for irrigation). It tested positive for metals and when I got a new liner I decided to fill with city water. I haven't seen any stains since.

All the stuff you already tested for can be relatively easily corrected with methods/chemicals outlined on this site. But metals can't really be gotten out of the water once they're in, they can just be neutralized - and you'll have to add chemicals to neutralize them on a regular/indefinite basis. Chances are you're good - but this is another test you MAY want to run.

 

[zmike]

To jobondur
Thanks, for the info, this is season 10 for this pool, just my first time with tf-100 test kit.

Thank you,
Mike

 

[Nathan J]

Similar question. I have a gunite pool. I'm currently doing a partial empty due to high CYA (120). My hardness was at 110. Tested the tap water and the hardness is 80. Planning on adding calcium chloride anyway. Would it be a good idea to just plan on adding some calcium any time I have to add water?

 

[Richard320]

Similar question. I have a gunite pool. I'm currently doing a partial empty due to high CYA (120). My hardness was at 110. Tested the tap water and the hardness is 80. Planning on adding calcium chloride anyway. Would it be a good idea to just plan on adding some calcium any time I have to add water?

No. Water evaporates. Calcium stays behind. If you're topping off due to evaporation, you're actually going to raise CH.

Let's say you're at 500 CH totally full and you lose 5% due to evaporation. Your CH is now 526. Add pure water back, and it goes back to 500. Add water with 80 CH in it, it's 530.

But testing will tell you when you need to add more. You don't need a schedule..

 

[zmike]

So, I helped my neighbor set up a new pool, water tested the same as mine.

Here are the numbers so far.
OTO chlorine turned orange (might have put a little too much in at first)
PH 7.6 - 7.7? (color did not match, above or below, so that is my guess)
Chlorine 9.5 (started at 15)
CC 0
TA 80
CYA 30 (2 days latter added for 40, still need to do test to make sure)
Water temp at fill, was 55, and now at 68

tf-100 is a nice kit, still a little slow doing the tests, but seems easy so far.

Soon as I get my new filter next week, I'm pulling off the cover, and filling the
the pool, its about 1/2 full. 10 yr Summer Waves pool, always left up during the winter, and still going strong.

Mike

 

[Richard320]

You don't need to use the OTO test if you're using the FAS-DPD test. It's not as accurate and it will just confuse things. It can be useful as a sanity check, but otherwise I think it just comes with the TF100 because they don't sell that pH block without a chlorine test

 

[zmike]

I was showing my neighbor how to use the oto test, they never had a pool before. I'm teaching them, how to use it, just thought it was funny when it went orange, I thought it would have gone clear.

I have had pools as a kid & an adult, I kind of got it most of it wright here and there, but up till this year, from TFP site makes me understand why I did most of it wright, I've always added cya and liquid chlorine, never used the pucks. I get cya and chlorine levels now. Only time my pool turns green is when I was lazy and did not keep chlorine levels up.

I have my neighbors, learning from this site also.

Thank you, for your input
Mike

PS
The poolmath app is really cool, wish I had found this site years ago