Updated results - I’m learning

[JW1]

Opened pool April 3rd, which is my very first spring. Things seem to be going well. Tested early this morning right before sunrise after adding last night to prepare for the overnight test.

FC - 7.5
CC - 0
CH - 350
TA - 90
PH - 7.8

CYA - from previous test is 40 from 11 days ago. CH has stayed the same. TA dropped from 110 to 100 to 90. Getting better at testing? Naturally sliding down? PH continues to be 7.5 -7.8 Couple of observations. One, it rained all day and as very cool on Friday. The sun never showed itself. My testing showed I did not lose any FC. I had added on Thursday night to get to my target of 7.0 and Friday night testing showed it stayed there. Yesterday, was full bright sun. I tested at sunset and lost 3.5 of FC. It made me pause. I added LC to get back to 7.0. May have slightly overshot it because I was to add 29 ounces and test results showed 7.5 a hour later and again this morning. I am using 8000 gallons on additions and so far seems pretty good. Following revitup on his similar path with pool capacity. Anyway, tested at sunrise this morning and FC stayed the same at 7.5 and CC was 0.

So my pool is full sun. So I’m thinking I could increase my cya to 50 or use the solar cover to limit uv rays during the day to add a bit more protection to the FC. I’m digging through the forums and read that rate of FC loss from sunlight is fairly independent of the temperature of water per chem geek. I’m just tying to learn the process, my pool, and anticipate daily FC loss now, but also in the summer. Normal to lose 3.5 of FC on cloudless bright day in spring? Pool water looks sparkling clear. I’ve ordered the speedstir to hopefully increase testing accuracy. I’ll stop rambling now....

 

[Texas Splash]

You seem to be on the right track. Here at TFP, we like to see FC loss that does not exceed 4 ppm in a 24 hr period. So as long as you are below that, you are fine. Now if FC loss begins to get excessive, you have to look at either:
- Algae trying to bloom; perform an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test
- Heavy swimmer's load (i.e. a party); I doubt that's happening right now
- CYA too low allowing the fun to burn-off FC; more of a factor once it wamrs up.

So just keep an eye on things and go from there.

 

[Cmelser]

I am kind of in the same boat as you. I am new to caring for a pool and learning the testing. The TA test is tricky, make sure you wipe the tip like the directions say, this helped me get my TA test more consistent. My issue is PH rise but I am getting that with adding acid every few days, working my TA to a better level also. I started burning chlorine rather quickly as well which I have a thread about. I was holding steady at 5.5, weather cooled off a day or two I jumped to 8ppm then kept dropping to 3.5. Raised my swg up still not climbing quick but holding more at 3.5 to 4. Today I felt something was up so I retested my CYA. I thought it was 70. Well reading the more detailed instructions and a few tips
From the pros on here and I realized my CYA was actually about 50 or a tad lower. Florida weather is a pain, so I think my loss is UV related with my lower CYA, so I added 2 quarts of stabilizer tonight in between rain storms. Will recheck my FC and stabilizer tomorrow evening. Have a feeling I will burn through reagents quick the first few months of learning but it’s better than paying for a ton of items I don’t need. Take your time with the tests. Read the tips section on here it gives more hints that the printed directions in the kit don’t. I am far from a expert but you look like
You are on the right track and similar to the one I am on. Good luck! And the pros on here will keep you going the right way!

 

[JW1]

I kept retesting my cya today, with the same sample. Had the wife kids participated as well. Consensus was a shade under 40. After finishing I hit the forums and read to just pour it at each level. If you see the dot just add to the number. Keep adding at every integral until you don’t see it. Certainly seems easier versus adding and staring at that black dot to eventually disappear.

I’m was glad to open early to learn my pool and develop these successful routines. Still a learning curve, but getting better. I’ve loss some chlorine during the bright sunny days, but still playing with my pool size on the app. I put on the solar cover this evening to watch those results. Lastly, I’m relying on measuring my FC with the fas-dpd testing each night. I haven’t been using the oto as I want specific results. I agree that there is a lot of great knowledge within the new and old postings in the forums.

 

[Cmelser]

Funny your reply is exactly my day. With struggling with my FC trying to head off summer. I tested my sample at 4 or 5 times, had my 9 year old look and then later I pulled another sample and had my wife check. So instead of what i thought it was it was a consistent 50. So I purchased and added some liquid stabilizer to bring my level up to hopefully 80. Funny to see I wasn’t the only one out there trying to double check my testing lol!