TF-100 is In! - Help on Fill Water Test

[Texas Splash]

Remember, Cal-Hypo increases calcium while Trichlor/Dichlor tabs increase CYA. No doubt your CH is much too low. You should speak to your builder about that and inquire about increasing the CH to at least 250 minimum, maybe even 300 for now. Until that happens, allow the pH to rise to the upper 7s which will help to keep the water from being too "aggressive" on the plaster products in the water. I would increase the CYA with granule stabilizer now for a CYA goal of 50, then if you wish to use tabs to increase the CYA slowly over the next few weeks that's fine.

In another month or two all of this will slow down when our water temps begin to drop.

 

[stack24]

Remember, Cal-Hypo increases calcium while Trichlor/Dichlor tabs increase CYA. No doubt your CH is much too low. You should speak to your builder about that and inquire about increasing the CH to at least 250 minimum, maybe even 300 for now. Until that happens, allow the pH to rise to the upper 7s which will help to keep the water from being too "aggressive" on the plaster products in the water. I would increase the CYA with granule stabilizer now for a CYA goal of 50, then if you wish to use tabs to increase the CYA slowly over the next few weeks that's fine.

In another month or two all of this will slow down when our water temps begin to drop.

Thank you for that breakdown. A couple of follow up questions.

What is the reason to talk to the builder in terms of raising the calcium hardness instead of buying products to raise it? I do see it say I would need about 12 pounds to reach 250.

In terms of letting the PH rise, how do I go about letting it rise to those levels, is that naturally something that happens if I adjust something?

WIth the weather starting to cool down, this is when I should be lowering the chlorine puck setting etc?

 

[Texas Splash]

Normally our pH tends to rise on its own every 2-3 days. If you have lots of aeration the pH may rise quicker. I mentioned the builder because for some reason I though this was a new pool since you mentioned 30 days, and if so, I thought you might want to communicate those changes and actions for any warranty purpose. But certainly feel free to increase the CH at any time you are ready.

Your end of year CYA will depend on on your weather of course. If you expect to use the SWG before the end of the year, you'll definitely want more CYA than about 40. In Oct - Nov you might get away with a CYA of 50 - 60. Once your water temp drops below 60, then the SWG will be off and you'll go back to liquid chlorine.

 

[stack24]

Normally our pH tends to rise on its own every 2-3 days. If you have lots of aeration the pH may rise quicker. I mentioned the builder because for some reason I though this was a new pool since you mentioned 30 days, and if so, I thought you might want to communicate those changes and actions for any warranty purpose. But certainly feel free to increase the CH at any time you are ready.

Your end of year CYA will depend on on your weather of course. If you expect to use the SWG before the end of the year, you'll definitely want more CYA than about 40. In Oct - Nov you might get away with a CYA of 50 - 60. Once your water temp drops below 60, then the SWG will be off and you'll go back to liquid chlorine.

Yes you are correct the pool was opened on August 24th since it was a new build. So I will communicate with them on that just in case. Don't need some major issues.

I do have bubblers and waterfalls so i can always turn them on more to let it rise as you mentioned.

In terms of the SWG, I won't be installing it until August 24th of next year to not mess with the builders warranty. So for the first year I'll be doing everything without it, Pucks, Granular and possibly liquid.

 

[Texas Splash]

In terms of the SWG, I won't be installing it until August 24th of next year

Perfect. Easy stuff then. You can just keep the FC balanced to a current CYA of about 40. Go ahead and use tabs if you wish until the CYA gets to about 50, then I'd stop those.

I forgot to note - tabs are acidic which is probably another reason your pH won't rise. So keep that in mind as well. Ask yourself which is more important for you during the week, tabs to add FC and increase the CYA slowly or sticking with liquid chlorine to keep the pH from falling due to acidic tabs. Pros & cons either way.

 

[HermanTX]

I was looking at your PM logs. I find it interesting that your Calcium has not significantly increased with the use of Cal-Hypo. I have never used that before but I thought it would have more impact - maybe the low additions you have done is the reason.

If you are putting pucks in your chlorinator - you can track those in Pool Math as well. Under Chemical Additions select Trichlor and I use 8oz for every puck - note - I put mine in a floater when I go away for the weekend. Just thought you may want to know how to track that since you are putting your Cal-Hypo in PM app.

Your FC tends to move up and down and gets close to zero at times. You just may want to watch that closely to prevent any algae from forming. Testing every 2 days or so will help you get a good feel how your pool consumes chlorine, especially as we move from high Summer sun to lower angle Fall sun.

Overall, things you are doing is great. If you continue to use pucks in your chlorinator, I find those settings are finicky so just monitor closely if you adjust it.

 

[stack24]

I was looking at your PM logs. I find it interesting that your Calcium has not significantly increased with the use of Cal-Hypo. I have never used that before but I thought it would have more impact - maybe the low additions you have done is the reason.

If you are putting pucks in your chlorinator - you can track those in Pool Math as well. Under Chemical Additions select Trichlor and I use 8oz for every puck - note - I put mine in a floater when I go away for the weekend. Just thought you may want to know how to track that since you are putting your Cal-Hypo in PM app.

Your FC tends to move up and down and gets close to zero at times. You just may want to watch that closely to prevent any algae from forming. Testing every 2 days or so will help you get a good feel how your pool consumes chlorine, especially as we move from high Summer sun to lower angle Fall sun.

Overall, things you are doing is great. If you continue to use pucks in your chlorinator, I find those settings are finicky so just monitor closely if you adjust it.

Thanks for taking a look at it and giving me your feedback. It's good to know that I am starting to get the hang of it.

I think I flirted a lot with low FC because I was starting to get used to the pool and testing and was relying on the pucks at the start to keep up. But the fact that we had super hot sunny days and I had no CYA added to the pool the FC would burn off pretty fast.

Once I got the info from others on the board, I picked up the Cal-Hypo to make sure my levels were always on par and would check a bit more frequently at least for Chlorine and PH.

It's great to hear that I am on the right track of how i'm adding and adjusting at least for now.

When I add pucks..lets say I add two of them to the chlorinator, I would just markdown that I put in 16oz of Trichlor? I know it won't assess it for how long they last, but I guess it just a good way to keep track of how long it takes before I refill?

 

[HermanTX]

When I add pucks..lets say I add two of them to the chlorinator, I would just markdown that I put in 16oz of Trichlor? I know it won't assess it for how long they last, but I guess it just a good way to keep track of how long it takes before I refill?

Correct on quantity and correct on tracking - you only get the full effect of each puck when it fully dissolves. So it does provide you a means of tracking when you put them in. Also, in the menu there is a summary and you can select dates which tells you how many you used this month, or last month or last 3 months, etc. It is very handy to understand how much of any chemical you are consuming rather than tracking purchases. Good Luck.