New to bbb method and cya question

[tessajade]

I am new to this forum and new to the bbb method . I have a 24 ft x 52 " above ground hard wall vinyl lined pool ... 15,000 gallons . here are my levels as of this morning

cc 5
ph 7.5
ta 110
cya 20
I will be ordering the taylor test kit this week so I can get more detailed readings. My question is do I need to raise my cya levels ? I am losing between 3 and 4 ppm a day of chlorine . I bring the chlorine up to 6 in the evenings just before sundown and by sundown the next day it is 2 or 3 . Also does anyone know of an easier test for cya ? The black dot test is hard for me to read , I'm not sure when it is correct . Thanks :)

Tessajade

[Watermom]

Hi TJ and welcome to the forum. I would probably bump the cya up a little to around 40, but go slow. If you get it too high, the only way to lower it is to do a partial drain. As far as the CYA test, they are all the black dot test. it is subjective and definitely the hardest test to read, but you get better with practice. BTW -- I'm assuming that you meant that your FC was 5 and not your CC.

[tessajade]

Hi TJ and welcome to the forum. I would probably bump the cya up a little to around 40, but go slow. If you get it too high, the only way to lower it is to do a partial drain. As far as the CYA test, they are all the black dot test. it is subjective and definitely the hardest test to read, but you get better with practice. BTW -- I'm assuming that you meant that your FC was 5 and not your CC.

Oh yes I did mean my FC was 5 .. sorry :) I don't know what my cc is yet because I don't have a more detailed test kit yet. Is it normal to lost that much chlorine in 1 day? I live in Baton Rouge Louisiana and the temps have been around 100 all week

[aylad]

Looking at your location, I would suggest that you bump the CYA up to 40 like Watermom suggested, and then give it a week or so of testing morning and evening to see if your chlorine loss slows down. If not, you might want to consider bumping it up to 50 or 60. That is high for most pools, but I'm up around Shreveport, and I lose a lot less chlorine on a daily basis by keeping my CYA at 80-90. That's pretty high, though, so I would recommend bumping it up a little bit at a time and see if you get less chlorine loss. When you get to a point where you're losing 1-2 ppm a day, then that's about the best you can hope for!!

Janet

[tessajade]

okay I'll bump up the cya slowly .. what is the best method for adding it ? Also what range do you keep your fc ? Is there a chart that tells you what the chlorine levels should be depending on your cya levels ? Thanks for all the help !

[Watermom]

You can add it slowly to the skimmer while the pump is running. Then, keep your pump on for 4-5 days to give it time to dissolve. It may take up to a week to dissolve, so don't add more or test for it before then. The chart you are looking for can be found in my signature below -- "Best Guess" chart.

[tessajade]

great .. Thanks !!

[tessajade]

Okay I tried to start a new thread but the forum says I am not authorized so I'll reply to this one . I finally got my new kit in and here are my numbers :
fc 4
cc 0
ph 80
ta 140
ch 100
cya 60 - i think , that test is so hard to read , I don't know if it is 70 or 60

I'm thinking my ph and ta are a little high , is there anything I should change ?

[aylad]

The CYA test is pretty subjective and can be hard to read...the key is to try to keep your testing conditions (lighting, position relative to direct sun, etc) as consistent as you can. Whether it is 60 or 70, you need to get your chlorine up....you don't ever want it to go below 5 ppm, and in our climate you really need to keep it a tad higher just to give yourself some "wiggle" room.

The pH definitely needs to come down a little. The TA is okay where it is, but will lower at the same time the pH lowers, if you add acid. Here's the step by step guide to lowering alk... http://www.poolsolutions.com/gd/lowering-swimming-pool-alkalinity-step-by-step.html

Janet

[tessajade]

The CYA test is pretty subjective and can be hard to read...the key is to try to keep your testing conditions (lighting, position relative to direct sun, etc) as consistent as you can. Whether it is 60 or 70, you need to get your chlorine up....you don't ever want it to go below 5 ppm, and in our climate you really need to keep it a tad higher just to give yourself some "wiggle" room.

The pH definitely needs to come down a little. The TA is okay where it is, but will lower at the same time the pH lowers, if you add acid. Here's the step by step guide to lowering alk... http://www.poolsolutions.com/gd/lowering-swimming-pool-alkalinity-step-by-step.html

Janet

Thanks ! So I should keep my chlorine between 6-8 ?

[Watermom]

With a CYA of 60, you need to keep your chlorine between 5-10. See the Best Guess table in my signature.

[tessajade]

Okay I'll add more chlorine via the pool calculator at sundown . What should my target ph be ?

[Watermom]

Although anywhere between 7.2-7.8 is ok, I prefer 7.4-7.6.

EDIT -- I just now saw that you are going to work to lower your alk. In that case, you'll want to drop your pH down to 7.0 and then aerate it back up. Be sure to read the link Jan posted for you above that explains the lowering alk process.

[tessajade]

Although anywhere between 7.2-7.8 is ok, I prefer 7.4-7.6.

EDIT -- I just now saw that you are going to work to lower your alk. In that case, you'll want to drop your pH down to 7.0 and then aerate it back up. Be sure to read the link Jan posted for you above that explains the lowering alk process.

what should my target alk be ?

[Watermom]

Anywhere between 80-120 is fine.