Tested water for first time.

[StacyLT]

10/3/2020
FC - 10.6
CC - 0.8 maybe 0.6 or less but my eyes were playing tricks on me. Is it normal for a lag in time to turn pink?
PH - 7.6
TA - 140 (104 with cya adjust)
CH - 210
CYA - 110

Good afternoon!! I’m a newbie at best. New pool built over the summer and filled 8/2/2020. Was using BioGuard Pucks and smart shock. After tropical storm beta in houston a couple weeks ago my chlorine levels were 0.2. There was no algae but I had blood worm (midge) eggs all over the sides of the pool. I didn’t know what it was for a few days. Per pool store rec (before I saw the eggs) I increased the alkalinity, lowered the ph, and added 3lbs of smart shock. Whilst doing that I found the eggs on the water line. The next morning I rushed back to pool co bc they were back after I scrubbed and balanced the day before. Again the FC was 0.2. They had me add 5lbs of burnout 73 and algicide 2 days after. The eggs were back despite all this. I kept seeing what I thought was mosquitos, but after a ton of research I found they are midges which lay blood worm eggs. I tried several things to stop them (moved lighting, etc) but they are going lay in the pools. Especially after a huge tropical storm. Now that the chlorine is up the eggs are zapped to death in the mornings and if it were not for my absurd detailed eye I would never have seen them.
During all my research I found this website and decided to switch over too BBB bc of the ridiculous rising cya levels. I can’t keep adding pucks. Despite my pool calling for 3 a week at 14k gallons we blew through 6 a week in August. 4 kids plus friends x 5-6 hours a day in the pool took more than 3 pucks.
So here I am as of today. The chlorine is so high from the shock and I kept it high with heb brand bleach until I got my kit today. I added the 5 lbs of burnout 8 days ago and the algaecide 6 days ago. that’s the history to how I got here with the pool and this website. Here are my questions.

1) Will the cya levels go down over the winter naturally since I’m no longer using pucks? I would like to not drain any water. We get enough splash out so have to top off several times a week.
2.) the Slam process I see takes days?? Why can’t I just throw a pack of burnout 73 (no cya) in to get the CC down. It’s going to be impossible to keep the kids out of the pool for more than a day. Especially if I’m having to slam almost weekly.
3.) Will keeping the FC levels up to match the cya level damage my pool? Or is it just a wash with the numbers?
4.) PB told me to leave my pentair robot in the pool at all times or the hose will expand. I can’t anything to back up that claim and im worried about leaving it in all the time with the high chlorine.
5.) Do I need to adjust t TA and subtract 1/3 from the cya?


Thank you in advance for your time and help. I’m brand new to all this. I am a very clean person and want the pool pristine.

 

[HermanTX]

Hi fellow Houstonian,
It has been a busy summer and appears you get good use of your pool.
All is not so glum and it can be fixed by following the TFP method.

1) Will the cya levels go down over the winter naturally since I’m no longer using pucks? I would like to not drain any water. We get enough splash out so have to top off several times a week.

CYA will not go down naturally unless you remove water, you may get some decrease due to evaporation & splash out but that is won't happen much. You may want to consider some drain in addition to the splash out to get your CYA under 100. Have you done the dilution test to really know that your CYA is 110 using your K2006 test kit?

2.) the Slam process I see takes days?? Why can’t I just throw a pack of burnout 73 (no cya) in to get the CC down. It’s going to be impossible to keep the kids out of the pool for more than a day. Especially if I’m having to slam almost weekly.

Not sure why you have to SLAM weekly. Most people using TFP never SLAM if you keep your chemistry right. Do you have algae now? Not sure why you are thinking SLAM. Normally this is a 1 time event - it may take several days depending on amount of algae. Have you looked at the FC/CYA Levels. this tells you the maximum FC at a specific CYA level. So long as you are at or under SLAM level then you can swim. However, note that this only goes to CYA 100 therefore my comment in #1 above.

3.) Will keeping the FC levels up to match the cya level damage my pool? Or is it just a wash with the numbers?

Keep within the SLAM level and you should be fine.

4.) PB told me to leave my pentair robot in the pool at all times or the hose will expand. I can’t anything to back up that claim and im worried about leaving it in all the time with the high chlorine.

Not sure why the PB would state that. It appears it is a pressure cleaner - not a robot (robot uses electricity not hydraulic pressure). It is fine to keep the cleaner in the pool or you can remove it.

5.) Do I need to adjust t TA and subtract 1/3 from the cya?
Your TA is not outrageous. Suggest you test your tap water that you will use to fill your pool. This will tell you if you are increasing TA or CH when you add water.

Other points
Stop using pucks. Go to Leslie's or Pinch a Penny pool store to buy Liquid Chlorine (LC). Walmart, Home Depot have depleted their LC inventory and not quick to restock now that summer is nearly over. Don't buy anything else at the pool store.
The FC and CC test will go back to light pink if you let it sit. The test should be done rapidly and then dispose of sample once you get your results after counting drops.

After your review please come back with additionally questions or concerns.

 

[StacyLT]

Thank you for your detailed reply! Also fun talking to someone local!
The pool is crystal clear. I must have misunderstood. I thought I had to slam every time the CC was over 0.5 and today I thought it was so I thought I had to slam. I was also thinking with the heavy bather load and use we would often times have a cc out of range. I did let the test sit too long and then it turned pink so based on that the cc is actually 0! Yay! So I only really need to slam if I develop algae?

I did do the dilution to test the cya.

If I choose not to decrease the cya right now is it safe for the pebble sheen to keep a FC level of the proper range on the cya/fc chart? I understand I need to keep it between 8-14 with my current cya level.

I bought 3 gallons of heb 8.25% bleach today. Is that okay to use for now?

I greatly appreciate your time and help.

 

[HermanTX]

With regard to liquid chlorine or bleach. It's important to look at the percentage of sodium hypochlorite. I have not looked at HEB brand bleach which you state is 8.25%. Clorox is about 6%. Don't get any scented or low splash or marketing gimmick bleach. The Home Depot brand Liquid Chlorine, HDX, is 10% and Leslie's is 12.5% and Pinch a Penny is 10%. So you have options and need to put the right % in pool math depending on what you are using.

CYA not only protects the Chlorine you add to the pool it also inhibits its effectiveness which is why you have to have higher FC with high CYA. Your CYA of 110 is not on the chart so it is not always accurate to try to guess to the next level as CYA is not linear. Do what you must to ensure no algae grows until you can lower your CYA.

One idea is to do a Overnight Chlorine Loss Test - OCLT. You have take a sample in the evening now that the sun is almost down and another sample in the morning before the sun hits your pool. If the difference in FC is less than 1 you are OK. If is greater than 1 (meaning the night FC is greater than 1 over the morning FC) then you may have something growing in your pool.

Let us know if you were able to do this test.

 

[StacyLT]

My apologies... the heb brand is 7.5 not 8.25. I will do that overnight test tomorrow night. Here’s a pic of the bleach.
Does it matter at all if I do overnight the test on a night we heat the spa? Thank you again for your time.

 

[mknauss]

Heating the spa is not an issue. Getting in the spa will likely reduce the FC level in the spa water. It should not have a dramatic effect on you pool water FC. Be sure to have your FC at least 15-20% of your CYA level. With your high CYA, at least 20 ppm FC. Also be sure to run the pool pump for an hour or so prior to the nights test and again in the morning before the sun hits the pool surface and you take the morning sample.

 

[StacyLT]

I didn’t do a test last night but this am the FC was still 10.6. CC 0
I plan to dilute the pool tomorrow to reduce teh cya.
Can I put the hose in the bottom of the pool and run it for several hours to drain the top water out of the overflow drain? We don’t have a pump. After I dilute do I then test and treat like after a storm? Is there a certain amount of time I need to wait after dilution to test?

 

[mknauss]

Doing a water exchange depends on several factors. Not as simple as you state. Read Draining - Further Reading

 

[StacyLT]

So my water is bubbling up. Please see the pics above for the bleach I’ve been using. This is apparently NOT regular bleach as it states??
is this bleach okay? I don’t see any fabric protection. Am I damaging my pool equipment?

 

[mknauss]

Show a picture of the ingredients. If you are seeing foam, it has surfactants in it. It will not hurt you pool equipment if kept to a minimum.
Get liquid chlorine. Household bleach is rarely available without additives.

 

[StacyLT]

Thank you for your reply. Here are both bottles. Left the one I haven’t used from Walmart and right is the stuff I’ve been using that’s apparently not regular.

 

[mknauss]

Because the surfactants, etc are 'inert', they do not have to list them.

 

[StacyLT]

is the great value stuff safe?

 

[mknauss]

No idea. Like I said, all household bleach is suspect.
When I need liquid chlorine, I get HDX liquid chlorine at Home Depot. Some in your area say you have Pinch a Penny stores with chlorine. There is a chemical distributor in Spring that sells chlorine in bulk.

 

[StacyLT]

Ok I understand now. Thank you for your patience.

 

[mknauss]

No problem. A SWCG should be in your future plans.

 

[HermanTX]

Ok I understand now. Thank you for your patience.

Home Depot is hit and miss because they are reducing inventory with swim season almost over. Definitely Pinch a Penny has some because they buy in bulk and distribute in 2.5 gal containers. They are refillable on an exchange basis. Also Leslie's has 12.5% LC they sell as 4 gals to a box.

 

[StacyLT]

Thank you. I just went to Leslie bc pinch a penny was closed. While I was there I had the water tested. My question is who is right? They show my calcium hardness much lower than my reading. The FC was 1.3 lower. Everything else was pretty much the same. Can I safely trust my kit or should I add some calcium?
Also, whats a swcg? Does that mean salt water? We have all travertine decking. I believe that will damage it. Will using liquid chlorine overtime damage the pool and decking?

 

[StacyLT]

Here’s their test

 

[mknauss]

We do not provide guidance based on pool store tests. We trust your testing with a quality test kit and so should you.

SWCG -- Salt Water Chlorine Generator. The low salinity in the pool water will not effect your travertine any more than the corrosive air in Houston all ready does.