Tips for a new pool owner?

[PoolStored]

@negativez0 can you do us a favor?

1. Share your pool math logs (home page, upper left hand corner, scroll to bottom, enable TFP sharing. Make sure you use same ID/PW as the forum in Pool Math.

 

[negativez0]

@negativez0 can you do us a favor?

1. Share your pool math logs (home page, upper left hand corner, scroll to bottom, enable TFP sharing. Make sure you use same ID/PW as the forum in Pool Math.

I believe I have the sharing enabled now.

It's interesting to see the link between TA and pH. With how close I am to the upper limit of the ideal range for TA and how much I need to raise the pH, wouldn't I see a spike in TA by adding so much Borax? Would I be better off building an additional aerator out of a sump pump or something to more rapidly raise the pH without impacting the TA?

 

[PoolStored]

I believe I have the sharing enabled now.

It's interesting to see the link between TA and pH. With how close I am to the upper limit of the ideal range for TA and how much I need to raise the pH, wouldn't I see a spike in TA by adding so much Borax? Would I be better off building an additional aerator out of a sump pump or something to more rapidly raise the pH without impacting the TA?

Sharing works, I can see them. Thanks.

It is better to not worry about TA and focus on pH. pH, high or low will cause more issues. Borax will adjust your pH without having a big impact on TA.

Let's just manage your pH in for now. When you manage pH, over time your TA will come down. Borax will raise your pH and not impact your TA much.

 

[negativez0]

I think I'm headed in the right direction!

FC was back to nothing this morning so I added another half gallon of 10% bleach.
A couple hours ago I added 5lbs of Borax 20 Mule.
4lbs of stabilizer is nearly completely dissolved from the skimmer.
I continue to have the jet aimed up to aerate the water.

Test results as of now:
1.0 FC
7.2 pH
80 TA

I'll continue to monitor FC and add more stabilizer when Amazon drops it off later today.

Should I add a bit more borax to get that pH up towards 7.6 or just hope that aerating gets it there eventually?

 

[PieterS]

7.2 is just fine for pH. Get that FC up!

 

[PoolStored]

Should I add a bit more borax to get that pH up towards 7.6 or just hope that aerating gets it there eventually?

No. For now, don't worry about pH. Any Ph that starts with 7 is OK. Recommendations are that, recommendations, not rules. Some of us like to say, don't be a slave to the machine. Once you understand that any pH in the 7s is fine, and you know pH will rise over time, you will end up adjusting less and enjoying the pool more. My TA is 60 and my pH is PARKED at 7.4. Even if I try to raise it, it will REVERT to 7.4. I test pH once a week. 7.4? Good to go. We are trying to help you make your pool as trouble free as possible.

Now that we know your pool size, you should add enough to get your FC back to 4ppm each time you test. Let's see how much your pool consumes and not let it get below 1.

 

[negativez0]

Awesome!! I suppose the pH will raise as we use the pool and the kids splash. We've had to stay out as they said to wait a week or two for the sand under the liner to compress so it didn't leave footprints.

I see the app shows a recommend FC of 1-3. Are you saying I should be getting this up to 4 right now? I thought I'd be ok since I'm at 1, which is in range.

Again, I'm so grateful for everyone's help!

 

[PoolStored]

Awesome!! I suppose the pH will raise as we use the pool and the kids splash. We've had to stay out as they said to wait a week or two for the sand under the liner to compress so it didn't leave footprints.

I see the app shows a recommend FC of 1-3. Are you saying I should be getting this up to 4 right now? I thought I'd be ok since I'm at 1, which is in range.

This is your logs. You have gotten to 0 twice. It is consuming FC. You have no stabilizer. It is ok to add 5ppm per day until you get your stabilizer. Can you test more often?

 

[bertschb]

I see the app shows a recommend FC of 1-3. Are you saying I should be getting this up to 4 right now? I thought I'd be ok since I'm at 1, which is in range.

I would recommend following the TFP Chlorine/CYA chart to determine where your FC should be. You can find that here.

 

[negativez0]

Got it! Thanks for the reminder about the FC chart. I had that open in one of my many tabs.

When I do the stabilizer test with the Taylor kit I can tell that it's starting to work with the 4lbs I put into the skimmer. It's still lower than what the kit can detect, but there is some cloudiness to the water. I'll get the rest added tonight when Amazon delivers.

The FC is currently at 1.0. I can see it in my app added about 1 hour ago. I'll get that bumped up to 5ppm in a bit here so it doesn't drop to 0 again overnight.

 

[negativez0]

Chlorine dropped a bit as I've come to expect. I added 4 additional pounds of stabilizer and gallon of bleach. The water in the CYA test is getting foggier, but I can still see the black dot on the Taylor test tube.

I noticed there's now detectable Combined Chlorine as well, but the tiny touch of cloudiness that had crept into the water is gone. Do I just keep an eye on the CC or do I need to take action?

 

[PoolStored]

Chlorine dropped a bit as I've come to expect. I added 4 additional pounds of stabilizer and gallon of bleach. The water in the CYA test is getting foggier, but I can still see the black dot on the Taylor test tube.

I noticed there's now detectable Combined Chlorine as well, but the tiny touch of cloudiness that had crept into the water is gone. Do I just keep an eye on the CC or do I need to take action?

Let's do the following.

1) Keep adding bleach, as often as you can test and replace FC to get back to 8ppm FC. Why? That is the top of the TARGET FC range for a CYA of 50. FC/CYA Levels

Why, My CYA isn't at 50 yet? You added 4lbs of stabilizer yesterday, that is at least CYA of 20. You have another 4lbs in the skimmer that will get you to 45. For our purposes at this point, your CYA is effectively 50 (we always round up on tests/additions of CYA).
But, but, but isn't that too high? Pool, people and equipment are safe up to SLAM level FC. SLAM FC for 20CYA is 10. 7ppm is absolutely ok.

2) Let the CYA dissolve. Are you squeezing? Squeeze it until it is dissolved. We want to get to 24-48 after CYA addition.

3) I think, given the fact that your FC got to zero a couple time, you likely have algae. Even if the cloudy is gone and you can't see it. You will want to perform an Overnight Chlorine Loss test. Super easy and will tell us if you have algae. Print these instructions out. Read them three times, then execute and come back with results (click this link and print)--> Overnight Chlorine Loss Test

4) Look at your test kit instructions for FC and CC. There are two tests. One that is a 10mL sample size (.5FC and CC per drop) and one that is 25mL sample size (.2FC and CC per drop). For our purposes, let's use the 10mL sample size. This is PLENTY accurate and will save reagents.

If ANY of this doesn't make sense, ask.

 

[negativez0]

Let's do the following.

1) Keep adding bleach, as often as you can test and replace FC to get back to 8ppm FC. Why? That is the top of the TARGET FC range for a CYA of 50. FC/CYA Levels

Why, My CYA isn't at 50 yet? You added 4lbs of stabilizer yesterday, that is at least CYA of 20. You have another 4lbs in the skimmer that will get you to 45. For our purposes at this point, your CYA is effectively 50 (we always round up on tests/additions of CYA).
But, but, but isn't that too high? Pool, people and equipment are safe up to SLAM level FC. SLAM FC for 20CYA is 10. 7ppm is absolutely ok.

2) Let the CYA dissolve. Are you squeezing? Squeeze it until it is dissolved. We want to get to 24-48 after CYA addition.

3) I think, given the fact that your FC got to zero a couple time, you likely have algae. Even if the cloudy is gone and you can't see it. You will want to perform an Overnight Chlorine Loss test. Super easy and will tell us if you have algae. Print these instructions out. Read them three times, then execute and come back with results (click this link and print)--> Overnight Chlorine Loss Test

4) Look at your test kit instructions for FC and CC. There are two tests. One that is a 10mL sample size (.5FC and CC per drop) and one that is 25mL sample size (.2FC and CC per drop). For our purposes, let's use the 10mL sample size. This is PLENTY accurate and will save reagents.

If ANY of this doesn't make sense, ask.

I forgot about squeezing the stabilizer. I bet that’d help it dissolve much more quickly. I’ll make sure I’m doing that frequently.

The article is a good read and makes sense.

To make sure I’m tracking, Is this the plan for tonight?
- Add bleach with the math based on a target of of 8ppm
- wait 30 minutes (pump is running 24/7 at this point)
- test and record FC
- wake up too early and test FC before sunrise

 

[PoolStored]

I forgot about squeezing the stabilizer. I bet that’d help it dissolve much more quickly. I’ll make sure I’m doing that frequently.

The article is a good read and makes sense.

To make sure I’m tracking, Is this the plan for tonight?
- Add bleach with the math based on a target of of 8ppm
- wait 30 minutes (pump is running 24/7 at this point)
- test and record FC
- wake up too early and test FC before sunrise

Yeah, you are a bit late as sundown in MN is 8:37. You are "Kinda" cheating as it is 9:30 + 30 minutes circulating, but, Yeah, let's get a baseline! It'll be good enough.

GO!

 

[negativez0]

Done!
Currently:
5.5ppm FC
.5ppm CC

Added 70oz of bleach and updated the log. I'll test again in 30 minutes, log results and take a nap

 

[PoolStored]

I'll wait. Sharing the pain.

 

[negativez0]

Yeah, you are a bit late as sundown in MN is 8:37. You are "Kinda" cheating as it is 9:30 + 30 minutes circulating, but, Yeah, let's get a baseline! It'll be good enough.

GO!

It's nearly 11pm. I can get the baseline measurement at 11:20. Sunrise is at 6:05, but there's no direct sunlight until at least an hour or two later due to a huge tree in the neighbor's yard.

 

[PoolStored]

It's nearly 11pm. I can get the baseline measurement at 11:20. Sunrise is at 6:05, but there's no direct sunlight until at least an hour or two later due to a huge tree in the neighbor's yard.

We don't care about CYA, OCLT is about chlorine loss overnight!

 

[negativez0]

30 minutes or so after adding bleach:
8.5 FC
.5 CC

I wonder if the .5 is actually less than that? The water just barely turns pink. I don't know if I'd even notice it if it weren't for the lights built into the Taylor Speedstir

 

[PoolStored]

30 minutes or so after adding bleach:
8.5 FC
.5 CC

I wonder if the .5 is actually less than that? The water just barely turns pink. I don't know if I'd even notice it if it weren't for the lights built into the Taylor Speedstir

I get the same thing daily. Just log as .5