what Chlorine test should i do ? free and combine or free combined total

[mgtfp]

Have you or the PB put any CYA in? There is definitely none in your fill water, so if nothing has been added so far, then it's zero.

Liquid CYA is easier, but more expensive. And most of the CYA settles to the bottom of the bottle, so it really only works when using the whole bottle so you can rinse everything out of the bottle with pool water. If only using a bit, then you'll never know how much you actually added.

 

[Dirk]

I burned my brand new pebble finish with liquid CYA. Don't use that. As mgtfp points out, the stuff doesn't stay suspended well, and settles to the bottom. I was pouring it in, all around the pool, then when it was almost all in I thought I'd just pour in the last of it. Well, the last of it was a big clump of CYA, which very quickly sank to the bottom. In the seconds it took to grab a brush to swish it around, it stained the pebble. Stain is still there, years later. Use the granule CYA. If you do a search for "adding cya," (on the TFP website) you'll get lots of ideas. Personally, I'll never add any kind of CYA in my pool, only in the skimmer. But in a sock, so that it dissolves well before being sucked into the filter. Pros and cons to those two MO's. Do the search and see what works for you. But even with the granules, keep them off surfaces: pool bottom, deck, too.

 

[FIESTA62]

i just added a litre of liquid chlorine just to make sure its up there as 1.4 ppm was low, as for CYA i thought PB added some but i just checked the 1 litre bottle he put in is Clarifier, so there no CYA in it now, i will get to the pool shop tomorrow and get CYA but not liquid as you guys advise,
and get some calcium chloride to raise the CH

 

[Dirk]

Had to click your location to find out where Beacon Hill is. Down under! Winter there now, right? By summer you'll have all this down and be ready for some fun! Cheers.

 

[FIESTA62]

Had to click your location to find out where Beacon Hill is. Down under! Winter there now, right? By summer you'll have all this down and be ready for some fun! Cheers.

yes winter here so not swimming yet i think mid october i will be in the pool, i got a heat pump installed today yay, but still a bit chilly outside so ill wait, gotta get my head around these chemicals its a bit of a steep learning curve, i am feeling a bit like why did i do this pool, as many said pools for fools, i hope there wrong....

 

[FIESTA62]

i know all have said use a sock for CYA, but what about using one of those floating pool dispensers, see pic would that be the way to go

 

[mgtfp]

And be careful with the calcium chloride, it gets quite hot when it dissolves, you don't want a pile dissolving in one spot. Make sure it gets well stirred with the brush. I actually prefer to pre-dissolve it in 1kg batches in my 10l bucket. But don't add more to the bucket in one go or that will get quite hot.

Not sure if the dispenser works for CYA granules, might get flushed out too quickly. They are designed for tabs.

 

[FIESTA62]

And be careful with the calcium chloride, it gets quite hot when it dissolves, you don't want a pile dissolving in one spot. Make sure it gets well stirred with the brush. I actually prefer to pre-dissolve it in 1kg batches in my 10l bucket. But don't add more to the bucket in one go or that will get quite hot.

Not sure if the dispenser works for CYA granules, might get flushed out too quickly. They are designed for tabs.

oh ok i better get down there and brush i put some in but i did spread it around...better go do the brushing thanks

 

[CrystalRiver]

The openings in the floater are too large for CYA granules. The granules will just fall through. Might as well just dump it on the floor (don't do that!). Use a sock. I use a woman's knee high nylon, and tie it around a pool noodle.

 

[FIESTA62]

i went to pool shop for stabalizer to get the CSA levels going he said dont bother until summer comes, as its winter now he says they dont bother with CSA levels, he said wait till it warms up, but i now realize i cant do the CSI levels with the CSA calculation, do i need to get the CSI levels going now or wait ?
at this point i am doing PH, FC, TA, CH, .....i dont intend on swimming till around early october its still chilly outside now in downtown Australia

 

[mgtfp]

That's why I suggested to only add a bit of CYA for now.

You have the chance to get your CYA up in steps to reach your final level by October. Like that you won't have to deal with having to dissolve a few kilos all at once, but in a few steps. It also offers you the opportunity to to get used to the CYA test, learn how different levels look like in the test.

If you leave the CYA for too long at zero, you might run into problems with holding chlorine once the sun gets a bit stronger, which won't take too long in Sydney.

CYA also moderates the harshness of chlorine. FC 4 w/o CYA is actually a lot lot stronger than our SLAM FC with CYA - and we don't recommend SLAMMING in the start up period.

It will be very difficult to maintain the right levels of FC w/o CYA. That would be about 0.07 ppm. FC 0.64ppm would already be SLAM level (equivalent to FC 10ppm at CYA 20). That is impossible to maintain w/o a closed loop chlorine feeder system.

I'd recommend to get 20ppm worth of CYA in and manage your FC according to the FC/CYA table for non-SWG pools.

Then you can add more CYA over the course of spring and increase the FC accordingly. Like that you can also use CYA to get your pH down when required instead of muriatic acid ( at least partially).

Cheapest CYA you can get at Bunnings, they have a no-frills brand in a white bag with black writing on it.

 

[mgtfp]

And about CSI calculation: Just put CYA in as zero in PoolMath, if you have no CYA in the water yet.

 

[FIESTA62]

That's why I suggested to only add a bit of CYA for now.

You have the chance to get your CYA up in steps to reach your final level by October. Like that you won't have to deal with having to dissolve a few kilos all at once, but in a few steps. It also offers you the opportunity to to get used to the CYA test, learn how different levels look like in the test.

If you leave the CYA for too long at zero, you might run into problems with holding chlorine once the sun gets a bit stronger, which won't take too long in Sydney.

CYA also moderates the harshness of chlorine. FC 4 w/o CYA is actually a lot lot stronger than our SLAM FC with CYA - and we don't recommend SLAMMING in the start up period.

It will be very difficult to maintain the right levels of FC w/o CYA. That would be about 0.07 ppm. FC 0.64ppm would already be SLAM level (equivalent to FC 10ppm at CYA 20). That is impossible to maintain w/o a closed loop chlorine feeder system.

I'd recommend to get 20ppm worth of CYA in and manage your FC according to the FC/CYA table for non-SWG pools.

Then you can add more CYA over the course of spring and increase the FC accordingly. Like that you can also use CYA to get your pH down when required instead of muriatic acid ( at least partially).

Cheapest CYA you can get at Bunnings, they have a no-frills brand in a white bag with black writing on it.

hi great info as usual thanks so i will do the CYA i wanted to just so i can get used to doing all tests, and from what you said it makes sense to do now, so if bunnings stuff is as good as any i will head there tomorrow and get some, then i will also do the CSI..... steep learning but its only been a few days and i am really getting the hang of it....sorta

 

[FIESTA62]

i have put the bunnings stabilzer in a skimmer sock 900 grams in front of return, been in most of the afternoon and all night, i cant see any sign of residue coming from sock like it does not seem to be dissolving, or if it is i cant see anything, is this normal ?

it seems like it will take ages to dissolve, if i squeeze the sock lots comes out but i guess thats not the way to do it, as a big cloud of stuff comes out of sock and i guess might stain pool surface as some say....

so do i just leave it and wait...........see pic

 

[mknauss]

Squeeze that sock whenever you can. Clouds of stabilizer will come out and disperse.

 

[FIESTA62]

ok i can do but a lot comes out, i thought too much at once was a issue or is it dissolved enough at that point,

 

[mknauss]

Unless you see it settle on the floor it should just dissipate. Mine does. Or take it over to the skimmer with the pump on and squeeze it there. It will get sucked into the system and be dispersed.

 

[FIESTA62]

ok i can do but lots comes out when i squeeze the sock like a big cloud of residue, i thought that was some kind of issue if too much is in one spot, or as t comes out of sock with a squeeze does that mean it dissolved enough and no problem, so i can keep squeezing as much as i can till it stops coming out of sock

 

[FIESTA62]

ok i get it now...onto it, thanks

 

[FIESTA62]

i held the stick holding the sock full of stabilizer walked around pool dragging sock in water leaving a trail cloud of stabilizer , did about 10 laps walking around pool and the stabilizer completely dissolved so spread around evenly, 900 grams is about half what pool math recommended, i wanted to take it slow see how it goes,
i been putting quite a bit of chlorine in trying to get FC level up to 3ppm, i tested FC was 0.6, thats before CYA was dissolved fully, about 2 hours after stabilizer was dissolved i put another 1000ml of chlorine in....

i guess wait till tomorrow morning and test after 900 g stabilizer and 1000ml chlorine has fully circulated , will then add CYA levels into pool math.....