duraleigh
05-11-2006, 09:21 AM
Good morning,
I apologize in advance if this post is somewhat self-absorptive.....but it's another example of how effective the methods on this forum can be.
My original liner was defective, so, with some good help, we replaced it Saturday last. Liner job complete, I started refilling the pool from my murky pond....41,000 gallons worth. I could see into the water about 10-12".
Here's my water test results going in.
pH - 6.8
Alk - 30
CH - 30 (I have a need for calcium even though it's a liner pool)
Had to stop most of Sunday so I filled to the top on Monday and added 4lbs of Borax and 24 lbs. baking soda. That evening, an hour before dark, I added 8lbs of Cal Hypo......enough to take it to 16ppm.
Tested an hour later for Cl and it was @ 13ppm. Four hours later, it was @ 8ppm!!! The Cl was being gulped up by all the organics in that water. I added four more lbs of Cal Hypo and went to bed. The next morning, Cl was 0ppm.
I continued this procedure of adding only at dark. By Thursday, I actually had a Cl residual of 3ppm that evening and the water was noticeably lighter....I could see down about 24"
Friday evening's test results
pH - 7.2
Alk - 90
CH - 60
By Saturday afternoon, the pool was actually a very pretty light green and I was able to read 6ppm Cl that evening. I dropped my Cal Hypo dosage down to only obtain 12ppm from that point....my thinking was that the Cl was starting to hold pretty well and I didn't want to overchlorinate.
The pool was perfectly clear and blue Monday AM. One last backwash and I added 9lbs of CYA to the skimmer.
Wednesday test results were
FC - 5.5
CC - <.5
TC - 6.0
ph - 7.3
Alk - 90
Ch - 90
CYA - 30 - 35
The intial fill two years ago took much longer.....about 20 days....I didn't understand how quickly the Cl was consumed and I didn't have a firm grasp on the methods taught by this forum. A forum member who hasn't posted in a long time, Glenc0, really helped me and gave me the confidence I needed to suck in that dark, dark pond water.
I will switch over to bleach as soon as my Calcium level reaches 150 or so ( I have ceramic tile with grouting along the waterline) and use that as my resource for the rest of the Summer.
I could never have attempted this without the help and knowledge I have obtained on this forum....it makes pool maintenance almost fun! :)
Sorry I can't inline these photos...I'm learning. Pics are from SatPM, MondayAM,FridayPM and Monday AM
Oh, I almost forgot. There have been quite a few posts on the ability of sand filters to get your water clean....affecting my "sensitive side". This is a Triton TR-140 with the original sand....it did a nice job...probably 10 -15 backwashes.
I apologize in advance if this post is somewhat self-absorptive.....but it's another example of how effective the methods on this forum can be.
My original liner was defective, so, with some good help, we replaced it Saturday last. Liner job complete, I started refilling the pool from my murky pond....41,000 gallons worth. I could see into the water about 10-12".
Here's my water test results going in.
pH - 6.8
Alk - 30
CH - 30 (I have a need for calcium even though it's a liner pool)
Had to stop most of Sunday so I filled to the top on Monday and added 4lbs of Borax and 24 lbs. baking soda. That evening, an hour before dark, I added 8lbs of Cal Hypo......enough to take it to 16ppm.
Tested an hour later for Cl and it was @ 13ppm. Four hours later, it was @ 8ppm!!! The Cl was being gulped up by all the organics in that water. I added four more lbs of Cal Hypo and went to bed. The next morning, Cl was 0ppm.
I continued this procedure of adding only at dark. By Thursday, I actually had a Cl residual of 3ppm that evening and the water was noticeably lighter....I could see down about 24"
Friday evening's test results
pH - 7.2
Alk - 90
CH - 60
By Saturday afternoon, the pool was actually a very pretty light green and I was able to read 6ppm Cl that evening. I dropped my Cal Hypo dosage down to only obtain 12ppm from that point....my thinking was that the Cl was starting to hold pretty well and I didn't want to overchlorinate.
The pool was perfectly clear and blue Monday AM. One last backwash and I added 9lbs of CYA to the skimmer.
Wednesday test results were
FC - 5.5
CC - <.5
TC - 6.0
ph - 7.3
Alk - 90
Ch - 90
CYA - 30 - 35
The intial fill two years ago took much longer.....about 20 days....I didn't understand how quickly the Cl was consumed and I didn't have a firm grasp on the methods taught by this forum. A forum member who hasn't posted in a long time, Glenc0, really helped me and gave me the confidence I needed to suck in that dark, dark pond water.
I will switch over to bleach as soon as my Calcium level reaches 150 or so ( I have ceramic tile with grouting along the waterline) and use that as my resource for the rest of the Summer.
I could never have attempted this without the help and knowledge I have obtained on this forum....it makes pool maintenance almost fun! :)
Sorry I can't inline these photos...I'm learning. Pics are from SatPM, MondayAM,FridayPM and Monday AM
Oh, I almost forgot. There have been quite a few posts on the ability of sand filters to get your water clean....affecting my "sensitive side". This is a Triton TR-140 with the original sand....it did a nice job...probably 10 -15 backwashes.