6am. FC=6.5, CC=0.5, water is clear. We're almost there. Added 3qt 12.5% bleach to target FC=12. Weekend guests arrive at 4pm. We will probably wait until tomorrow to swim.
Unusual test results
- Thread starter outbacktommy
- Start date
-
- Tags
- cyaburic acid dichlor swg testing
cfherrman
TFP Guide
Bummer on the reagents.
I was thinking you were losing most of your FC due to the sun but losing half overnight is a huge bummer as well.
Really need that cya test to see if you are slamming efficiently or not. If I were in your shoes I would just keep doing the same till the test.
Check all your hidden spots for algae, lights ladders and other places.
Once you get your cya test you can hold the correct FC/cya ratio for a slam and as long as you can see the floor it's safe to swim.
FC turns into salt when it's used up. Your swg turns salt into FC. Everything you add to the pool turns into or has salt in it.
I was thinking you were losing most of your FC due to the sun but losing half overnight is a huge bummer as well.
Really need that cya test to see if you are slamming efficiently or not. If I were in your shoes I would just keep doing the same till the test.
Check all your hidden spots for algae, lights ladders and other places.
Once you get your cya test you can hold the correct FC/cya ratio for a slam and as long as you can see the floor it's safe to swim.
FC turns into salt when it's used up. Your swg turns salt into FC. Everything you add to the pool turns into or has salt in it.
- Jun 8, 2019
- 4,576
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
If you can see the bottom of the pool everywhere you can go ahead and swim. No need to wait. Worst case it may prolong the SLAM a little as some of the FC gets eaten up by sweat, etc. and you have to wait until everyone is out to add more chlorine. 
4:00pm. FC=5.0, CC=0.5. added 2.5qt 12.5% bleach to target CC=10. I didn't want too much chlorine so we could swim in a couple of hours. CYA reagent came today. it was barely cloudy but below any detectable level, so let's say it was <10 due to the pound or two of the old dichlor I tossed in at the beginning.
7pm. I added another 2qt of bleach to bring it back to CC=10. 10pm I added 20oz of dichlor (I'm out of bleach again) to target CC=10.
7am. FC=7.5. Clearly I am making progress. Added 10oz of dichlor to target FC=10. We will swim today. Water is clear, but rain clouds above for now. There is little doubt in my mind that my SWG is kaput because it is still set at 90%. It is not displaying any malfunction codes, but from past seasons, I should be able to push FC well into the teens within a 24 hour period at 100%. As it is, I'm set at 90% and still loosing FC. We've had several big pool expenses this year already- I guess this makes up for the previous 3 seasons of TFP...
7pm. I added another 2qt of bleach to bring it back to CC=10. 10pm I added 20oz of dichlor (I'm out of bleach again) to target CC=10.
7am. FC=7.5. Clearly I am making progress. Added 10oz of dichlor to target FC=10. We will swim today. Water is clear, but rain clouds above for now. There is little doubt in my mind that my SWG is kaput because it is still set at 90%. It is not displaying any malfunction codes, but from past seasons, I should be able to push FC well into the teens within a 24 hour period at 100%. As it is, I'm set at 90% and still loosing FC. We've had several big pool expenses this year already- I guess this makes up for the previous 3 seasons of TFP...
cfherrman
TFP Guide
- Jun 8, 2019
- 4,576
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Pool is always covered w/ autocover, not exposed to the sun- it might as well be an indoor pool except for a few hours on weekends. We didn't swim today until 6pm due to rain. 10pm: FC=7.5, CC=0.5. Added 10 more oz of dichlor to target FC=10. Also added 4 lb of borax- this has always been a goal in past years, but we never quite got to it. Also brushed the walls. The pH was 7.2 when I added the borax so there wasn't any need to add acid or worry about the pH test not being very accurate yet. I plan to get some stabilizer in tomorrow or Monday.
7/21, 8am: FC=8.5, CC=0. Did not add anything due to imminent swimming. Nice to see that the FC is almost holding steady. Pool looks great.
10pm: FC=9, CC=0.5. pH=7.2. FC went up slightly- could be testing variability, could be that I was wrong about the SWG not working. Either way, SLAM is done and the pool looks great. Added another 2 lb of borax and turned on the aeration to raise pH and lower my TA.
Thanks for all who provided guidance.
10pm: FC=9, CC=0.5. pH=7.2. FC went up slightly- could be testing variability, could be that I was wrong about the SWG not working. Either way, SLAM is done and the pool looks great. Added another 2 lb of borax and turned on the aeration to raise pH and lower my TA.
Thanks for all who provided guidance.
- May 3, 2014
- 58,691
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Just to clarify --- adding borax and/or aeration to raise the pH does NOT lower the TA. When you add acid to lower the pH, that lowers the TA.
Take care.
Sorry, I abbreviated my post. Borax has nothing to do with TA. It does raise pH and so does aeration. In such small quantities, borax doesn't raise it much. I'll pursue the borax addition in small quantities during pool season. As for aeration, now that you mention it, TFP posts recommend it in conjunction with MA addition to lower TA. I'm not seeing where it specifies if it is the MA or the accompanying aeration that does the heavy lifting for lowering TA. I just assumed that if you have a low pH condition already that aeration will do both. I made an assumption. Anyway, it's all interrelated and all the credit goes to TFP for providing me with the education & understanding to make this an enjoyable hobby that also save a bunch of pool store travel time and $$. Thank you TFP.