Walking a tight rope with levels here, need advise.

[LadywithIron]

My Taylor kit readings are
FC 1.5
CC 1
PH 6.8
CYA 0
TA 70
TH 300
Last night, my chlorine readings were
FC 0
CC 1ppm, so I added enough bleach to raise the TC to 3ppm. Now it was 10am before I checked the levels this AM so sunlight had played a part. But the CC did not rise any. Is 1ppm CC anything to worry about removing as long as it doesn't rise?

I have been fighting Iron staining, upon filling the pool, I had green water, this turned out to be because the water is treated with chloramines. You are supposed to shock it, and when the chlorine burns off, the green will go away. Since I was also dealing with Iron, I got tea colored water. using PH down cleared it up, except for a light stain on the whole liner, I used bioguard stain remover and a metal sequesterant to get that out, and the pool turned a beautiful blue.

I need advise on how to keep it that way. This PH is lower than the reading that I was getting with the htp drop kit, so I know that it needs to be raised, and the TA needs to be raised also, so I should use borax for this? And the calculator will tell me how much.

But should I go ahead and shock the pool first to get rid of the CC if that is a problem? I only plan to use household bleach now, because high chlorine with a higher PH is what gave me the Iron stains, of course I didn't have the metal control in there at that time.

And I would like to know if I should add stabilizer or just forget that idea for now and keep adding the household bleach according to the bleach calculator? That worries me because I will lose all of the FC on sunny days if I do not stay right on top of it. And sooner or later, it's going to get warm enough for someone to want to swim surely......


16X4ft Metal Frame Intex Pool
6000 Gallons (we are to the brim from rain)
2000GPH Intex Filter/Pump
Hayward Aqua Critter Vac (Somehow this works)

 

[JasonLion]

You don't want to leave the CYA at zero. Raise that up to at least 30. Without any CYA you won't be able to hold a chlorine level during the day and are asking for trouble. Once you have some CYA in the pool it will be much easier to maintain your chlorine level and you will use less bleach.

When CC is above 0.5 you should shock the pool. However this can be delayed until you are sure you have the iron under control. If you shock too soon after staining problems the stains can come right back. If you are lucky the CC will go down on it's own over the next few days.

You probably don't need to worry about your TA. Bringing up the PH will bring up the TA as well. Borax is ideal for bringing up PH. You should bring the PH up gradually, keeping an eye out for the stains returning. If you see any staining returning add some more sequesterant and stop raising the PH for a while.