Test Results and Chlorine questions

[turk2012]

Hello,

I had my pool opened yesterday by my local pool company. I have a 21,500 gal in ground pool. Yesterday i had a ph of 7.2 so i added borax and this morning it's now 7.4 Last night i also added chlorine to superchlorinate.
As of this morning my chlorine level is 9 TC and 8.5 FC. My ph is 7.4. I didn't test anything else yet. Unfortunately i'm out of my liquid to test my CYA and didn't have any test strips. I'll need to get that. My question is my water is still greenish blue with low visiblity. Should i be keeping my chlorine at superchlorinated levels throughout the day which i believe is right, or should i wait till the night to superchlorinate again. I know it's best to superchlorinate at night because the UV burns up alot of chlorine but i'm not sure i want it to drop during the day especially since my CYA might be low. Thanks.

[aylad]

If you can keep it at shock level throughout the day, it will clear faster, but if you can only do so at night, then that's all you can really do. It is true that the chlorine works more efficiently at night because the UV rays aren't consuming part of it. However, you don't really know your shock level unless you know a CYA level--you can order CYA reagent online from several places but it takes a few days to arrive....can you maybe get a pool store to test it for you in the meantime?

Even if you have 0 CYA, your shock level should still be 12 ppm of chlorine...keeping 9 ppm may stop additional algae from growing, but it's not going to do much to kill off what you already have. In 21,500 gallons of water, each 1/2 gallon of 6% bleach that you add will raise your FC by about 1.4 ppm, so you can use that as a guide to figure out how much you need to raise your FC to shock level.

[AnnaK]

Quick point of information: Leslie's sells a CYA test kit called Blue Devil, made in Mexico. It uses a plunger style tube. The reagent provided is enough for 4 tests, if I remember correctly.

[turk2012]

Aylad thanks. I took a guess that i had a about 30 CYA so i took my chlorine level up to 15 ppm last night. I think i will take it back up to that level today as your advice confirms what i thought. thank you.

[turk2012]

Good morning. I'm on day 3 of my pool opening. I've been superchlorinating and adjusting ph for first two days. I have my pool really clearing up now. I have a 21,500 gal, in ground pool. I took it to 15 ppm last night as there is still algae and this morning it was 13.5 which is good. My ph is 7.7 which is ok with me i think. My stabilizer is 25 ppm.

This morning I also tested my alkalinity and calcium. My akalinity is high it's at 200. My calcium is near 25. I do have a vinyl pool but i also have a heater so i need to raise it.

My questions I have are: 1. Which should I be working on first-raising my stabilizer levels to 40-50, calcium, or alkalinity. I know by reading poolsolutions that it is suggested to only work on 1 thing at a time especially i believe alkalinity and calcium so i want to make sure. Thanks.

[turk2012]

To follow up with my previous post I have been keeping my chlorine at 15 ppm throughout the day. I did get my reagent for my stabilizer and it's 25 ppm.
My ph is 7.7, my alkalinity is 200, and calcium is 25. I do have a heater. My question now is which do i deal with first. Raising my stabilizer, lowering my alkalinity, or rasing my caclium? Thanks.

[Watermom]

You can kinda work on all of these at the same time and it should be fine. Read the two links in my signature below about lowering alk and using muriatic acid safely.

Before we address the other questions about raising calcium hardness and CYA levels, we need to know what you are using as your source of chlorine?

EDIT by Watermom: After I answered your question in another thread, I discovered the very same question here so I moved the answer. Please do not double post the same question in more than one place on the forum. It makes it too confusing to try and help. Thank you.

[turk2012]

Sorry about that. I think i posted the other one but when i did the site timed out on me and i didn't see it online within a few hours so i figured it never went through. Also, I am using bleach as my chlorine source.

[Watermom]

Another question -- what kind of pool is it -- gunnite, vinyl, fiberglass?

[turk2012]

It is an inground vinyl pool. 21,500 gallon.

[turk2012]

Just tested again this morning and my alkalinity is now 80 ppm. I tested it 3x because i couldn't believe it. I swear it was 200 for the past two days as i tested it multiple times. Not sure what would bring that drop but i'm happy as i was not looking forward to using muriatic acid.

[Watermom]

Good. TA of 80 is just fine. How does the water look now? You do NOT need to raise your calcium level.

Do us a favor and put your pool specs in a signature line. (Use the link in my signature to make one for yourself.) Put type of pool, volume, type of filter, size of pump, any equipment you have and whether or not you have a Taylor K-2006 kit. It makes it easier for us to help if we don't have to scroll up looking for information in a thread.