Tested Water to Start BBB method

[HollyClo]

Ok...Figured out how to use my testing kit. It's a taylor K-2006. This is just water out of my tap...since we are starting to fill the pool today.

Chlorine
.6ppm FC
.2ppm CC

PH Units
7.2

Alkalinity
90ppm

Calcium Hardness
90ppm
I was going to test for the acid thing...but my CYA mark doesn't go up to 14ML...so I don't really know what to do with that.

Now I'm wondering what I'll need to add to get my pool up and running? I have everything here I should need for the BBB method. My pool is a 27ft round..and my husband tells me it holds about 19000 gals of water.

[Watermom]

Don't worry about testing the tap water for CYA as there will be none. No reason to waste the reagent. Don't test for it until a week after you have added it.

As your pool is filling, you may want to go ahead and drizzle in some bleach as each foot or two of water is added. Pour as far from the sides as you can reach, being careful not to splash you or the liner. Then, take a clean broom or oar or something and stir it around. When your pool is full, test the cl. Until you get some CYA (also called stabilizer or conditioner) in there, it will be hard to keep the chlorine from being lost to the sun. So, for the first week or so, you'll need to test at least morning and evening (and if you are home, can test in the afternoon as well) and each time add enough bleach to get the cl back up to about 5ppm. I think your volume is closer to a little over 17K gallons. I assume the pool walls are 52" tall? But, the water level will not be to the top of the wall, so you'll have more like a 4 ft depth. In a 17K gallon pool, each quart of 6% bleach will add just about 1ppm of chlorine. Use that as a reference to help you determine how much bleach to add each time you test.

Your Alk and CH are fine. (By the way, don't let a pool store talk you into adding calcium to your vinyl pool. NOT needed.) Your pH is fine at 7.2 but you don't want it any lower. If it drops any, you may want to bump it up with a little Borax.

You'll need to add some CYA. We typically suggest a level of around 40-50 for most pools. Let's have you start out by adding 5 lbs. slowly to the skimmer while the pump is running. Slowly so it doesn't clog pipes. That should take you to around 40ppm. Run your pump 24/7 for about 4 to 5 days to give it time to fully dissolve in the skimmer. Also, do not backwash or you'll just throw it out. (A new fill shouldn't need a backwash yet anyways.) About a week after adding it, test it. But, I wouldn't test it any sooner. No point to waste the reagents. Once your CYA is dissolved and in the water, you'll be able to go to testing and dosing with bleach in the evenings only.

The Taylor Technologies website has some online demos of testing that you might be interested in seeing. Here is the link:
http://www.taylortechnologies.com/products_choose_slideshow.asp
(BTW -- I deleted your other post since you figured out how to run the tests.)

Do us a favor, please. To make it easier for us to help, if people will create a signature line with their pool specs, it keeps us from having to reread through posts to find out basic information. You can create a signature by clicking on 'settings' in the upper right-hand corner of the homepage. In your sig, please put type of pool, volume, type of filter, size of pump, whether or not you have a SWCG or any water features and the fact that you do or do not have a K-2006. Thanks!

Hope this helps. Come back if you have further questions and somebody will try and help.

[HollyClo]

Thank you soo much! This really helps me get everything started! My walls are actually 54"....we double checked that cause I know that isn't normal. And I won't let those pool store people push me around ;) I'm just going in to by my filter and the stabilizer.

[Watermom]

What size is the pump? Just a caution ----- many pool stores set people up with a too big pump and a too small filter. Not a good combination. If you tell the size of the pump you have, maybe one of our equipment gurus can suggest how big of a filter you need.

[HollyClo]

Well...I'm not exactly sure what size it is. It states its. 1.5 spl...and 60 Hz. And a bunch of other numbers. It's a smaller pump..and the filter is quite large. We got this pool from someone...so it's just what they had with it.

[HollyClo]

I've been adding Bleach every now and then. I tested the Chlorine today. I have 0 ppm of FC...and onlhy .2 ppm of CC. The pool is half full right now. Should I start pouring more bleach in? Or just wait til it's full?

[HollyClo]

Well....We are just now getting our pump up and running today. I have 0 ppm of all chlorine :( I added a bunch of bleach to it last night because it was getting cloudy. Looking better this morning. Bought the stabilizer today also....so will be putting that into the skimmer once that's installed. So my question is. How much Bleach do I put in to get it to at least 5 ppm? Or should I wait to add the bleach until all the CYA is in? My PH is about 7.4 ppm...tested that last night.

[PoolDoc]

.....
I have 0 ppm of all chlorine :( I added a bunch of bleach to it last night because it was getting cloudy.
....
Bought the stabilizer today also....so will be putting that into the skimmer once that's installed.
.....
How much Bleach do I put in to get it to at least 5 ppm?

+ Don't wait till the pool is cloudy to add chlorine: if you want a problem free pool, you MUST maintain a chlorine level at ALL times. With no stabilizer, 1 ppm is plenty, but you'll have to add 2-3x per day to get that.
+ Adding 5 ppm at night is great for cleanup, but doesn't replace the need to maintain a minimum level ALL the time.
+ If you're sure you can wait 4 - 5 days before cleaning your filter, add the stabilizer to the skimmer. (Clean your filter FIRST!) Otherwise, you probably want to put it in a sock and hang it in front of the return jet.
+ If your water level (not pool top) is 48", your pool is about 17,000 gallons. One gallon of bleach will add 3.5 ppm of chlorine.

[famousdavis]

"I was going to test for the acid thing...but my CYA mark doesn't go up to 14ML...so I don't really know what to do with that."

I wondered the same thing when I got my K-2006. The trick is, you're filling up the empty plastic bottle that's in your kit -- it has both a 7ml and 14ml mark on it. You'll fill the bottle up to the 7ml mark, then top off with reagent to the 14ml mark. From that bottle, you pour into your test-tube for the "black dot test."

Make sense?

[aylad]

"You'll fill the bottle up to the 7ml mark, then top off with reagent to the 14ml mark. From that bottle, you pour into your test-tube for the "black dot test."

But only after shaking it to mix very well, letting it sit on the counter for at least a minute or two, then shaking again before putting it into the test tube..

Janet

[HollyClo]

Thanks everyone :) I figured out the CYA thing after looking around the test kit for awhile. Haven't tested it yet. We just put the stabilizer in yesterday. Brand new filter installed. I have about 25ppm of FC at the moment...and only about 1-2 ppm of CC. Just added about a gallon of Bleach last night. (There was NO chlorine in the pool and was getting cloudy) So I'm guessing that's why my FC is so high. Should I test my PH right now? And will my FC get lower and my CC get higher as time goes on? Or am I in trouble with my FC being 25ppm?!? Oh...I hope I didn't mess anything up. I have been running the pump non-stop since putting in the Stabilizer like watermom said.

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I was sitting here thinking. Maybe I'm doing my multiplying wrong? I put in 12 drops to get the pink out for the FC. Would that 24ppm or 2.4ppm??

[Watermom]

You don't want your CC to go up. Ideally, your CC will be 0 or at least, no greater than 0.5ppm.

If you had no chlorine in the pool, one gallon would not take you anywhere near 25. It would probably add somewhere around 3.5ppm.

Try the chlorine tests again. Take a look at these online demos of how to use your K-2006. It might be helpful.

http://www.taylortechnologies.com/products_choose_slideshow.asp

PH should not be tested if your chlorine level is over 15ppm. After you retest chlorine levels and verify that your FC is not 25ppm, then test pH.

Continue to run the pump 24/7 for 4 to 5 days after the stabilizer was added. Do not test for CYA for a week after it was added so you don't waste your reagents.

[famousdavis]

Did you fill the test tube with 10ml of water, or 25ml? If 10ml, then multiply the number of drops by 0.5. If 25ml, then multiply the number of drops by 0.2.

[aylad]

I was sitting here thinking. Maybe I'm doing my multiplying wrong? I put in 12 drops to get the pink out for the FC. Would that 24ppm or 2.4ppm??

If you put in 12 drops to get the pink out, then your FC=6.

[HollyClo]

Just tested again. My FC=1 and my CC=.2 or less

How much FC should I be aiming to get in the pool?

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PH is 7.2 still :)

[aylad]

If the water is clear, and there's no sign of algae, then you need to be keeping your chlorine levels between 3-6 ppm at all times. Once the stabilizer starts to register, then your minimum chlorine requirement will rise. See the "best guess chlorine chart" link in my sig for more information about that.

Janet

[HollyClo]

Added about a gallon and a half of bleach last night and I'm at 4.6 ppm FC this morning :) Getting better!! Looking clearer too... Thank you all again for the help! I really do appreciate it. I would be lost without ya!

[Watermom]

Keep us posted how things are going! We're glad to be able to help!

[HollyClo]

Tested this morning. My FC=4.4ppm...I tested my CYA because we are going to be gone all weekend...so I wanted to sorta see where I was. My CYA doesn't register on the tube. I filled it all the way up and could still see the black dot. It was cloudy...but definitely visible. Does that mean I don't have enough stabilizer in the pool? And should I put more bleach in the pool before we leave for the weekend to keep the FC up? Please reply as soon as you can...so I know what to do before we leave! Thanks!!!

[aylad]

If the water was a little cloudy, but never obscured the black dot, that means your CYA is less than 30 ppm, and you do need some more in the pool. So..you can go ahead and add more CYA now, or if you have trichlor pucks, you can always add them to a floater. Otherwise, go ahead and put enough bleach in to run your Cl up to shock level (12-15 ppm) and it should be fine for the weekend.

Janet