fill water test results

[Wayne]

Hello everyone,
Finally got my pool installed, filling it now and it's about half full. I have a 16x32 oval Doughboy. 300 lb. sand filter, 1 1/2 hp pump. I tested fill water and these are my results:
FC: 1.8
CC: 0
PH: less than 7.0. color is more yellow than pink
CyA: 0
TA 90

According to the pool calculator I should be prepared to add:
Bleach 63 oz.
Borax 171 oz.
Baking soda 26 oz.
stabilizer 76 oz.

I realize I should completely fill and let the pump run for 3 or 4 hrs. and recheck before adding anything. But am I at least on the right track?

Thanks for your input,
Wayne

[Watermom]

What is your volume?

[Wayne]

my volume is 13,700 gallons

[Watermom]

You are on the right track. I'm just going to tweak some of the amounts that I would add if it were my pool.

Adding that much bleach is only going to increase your chlorine reading by about 2.2ppm. The problem with that is since this is a new fill with no cya in the pool yet. your chlorine level is going to disappear fast, especially on a hot, sunny day and leave you vulnerable to an algae bloom. I'd suggest taking your chlorine up to 5 or 6 since it isn't going to stick around long. For the first few days, you may need to add chlorine 2 or 3 times per day. After about a week when your cya has had a chance to dissolve totally, you'll be able to test and dose it with bleach in the evenings only.

Your alk is OK at 90, but if you want to take it up just a little higher, then the amount you listed is fine.

I always like to aim a little low on cya. Easier to add more in a week if you aren't where you want to be than to overshoot your target. Maybe a little less than 76 oz. Then, retest in about a week and go from there.

Since your pH is so low, I'd add one full box of Borax slowly to the skimmer breaking up any clumps. After 3 or 4 hours of letting it circulate, retest pH and add more as needed. Anywhere between 7.2-7.8 is ok. I like between 7.4-7.6 for my pool. I wouldn't add 2 boxes all at once, though. It is usually better to go with smaller doses rather than one big one.

Hope this helps!

[Wayne]

Thanks for the help,
after adding 4 bottles of clorox and 1 box of borax and letting it circulate for a couple hours here are my results

FC: 15.4
Ph : looks to be slightly less than 7.0
TA: 100
CC: 0
calcium hardness: 60

I have 30 oz. of stabilizer hanging in a sock by the return line.
I don't think I should be worried about the FC being high as I'm sure it will be coming down fast with no stabilizer. Correct?
Thanks again,
Wayne

[Watermom]

I'd probably go with about 3.5 lbs. of stabilizer for starters. See how high that takes it in about a week. (Don't test sooner than that or else you're just wasting your reagent.)

I wouldn't take the FC so high. You are right that with no stabilizer it will come down fast, but I wouldn't take it that high. Don't want to risk bleaching the liner.

[CarlD]

Watermom's absolutely correct. FC's high if the pool is clear because your CC is 0. pH is low. T/A should be ideal. Calcium is irrelevant, unless it's too high--and that doesn't happen till it hits 400.
Figure your pool at 13,700 gallons if your water depth is 4'. For quick calculations you can use 13,500 or even 14,000 and there will be no significant difference.
If your pool is clear, I'd let FC come down to 5, but no lower than 3 (I just am paranoid about levels under 3ppm).

Carl

[Wayne]

My numbers this evening,
FC-10.5
CC 0.5
PH 7.0
TA 100
water is starting to look a little cloudy. I can't seem to get the PH up. I added another 50 oz. of borax today, and also aerated for a couple hours today and didn't help.

Wayne

[Watermom]

You only have to wait about 2 or 3 hours after adding Borax before testing pH again and redosing if needed with more. Keep testing and adding bleach a few times per day and run your pump 24/7 if it is looking cloudy. You'll get there.

[Wayne]

After adding the borax yesterday I ran the Polaris 64 for several hrs. It releases excess pressure at the return line so it also does a fair job of aerating. I can see the bottom but my water still looks cloudy with a slight yellowish tint to it. I almost want to add some bleach but my FC is still high. Also it is not falling as much as I expected. Should I remove the sock with the stabilizer? I didn't check the CYA yet because it's only been a couple of days since I added the stabilizer ( one sock full dissolved already). Anyway my numbers this morning,
FC: 9.5
PH: 7.4
TA: 110
CC: 0 (maybe I did this wrong yesterday, it wouldn't just drop without doing anything would it?)

How do you subscribe to this forum?
Wayne

[madwil]

also, the aeration will increase your pH, so don't add to much borax- I'd adjust pH to 7.2, and let it creep up on its own with the aeration...

[CarlD]

I would check the stabilizer level, just to be sure it isn't too high. Let us know the number.

Carl

[Wayne]

CYA looks to be slighty less than 30. Black dot doesn't disappear at 30 but it does when tube is full, which is just a little more.

Wayne

[madwil]

if you added enough stabilizer for 30ppm, just leave it to keep dissolving; if you think you added to much, you can take out the sock then measure CYA in a few days, and add it back later if needed...
the aeration is going to increase your pH, so I'd leave that alone for now; be ready to add acid later to keep it <7.8...
If your water is cloudy, maintain shock level of FC as if the CYA was completely dissolved- IOW, if you added 30ppm CYA, then use 30ppm CYA to determine your shock level even if it doesn't show up on your test yet...