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Well, after much headache, my pool is installed and filled with water.
It has been filled for about a week but I've been out of state and only just now tested the water.
Here are my results using the Taylor K 2006:
pH 8.0
total alkalinity 220ppm
CYA - I couldn't ever get the water to turn cloudy and could always see the black dot
FC 0.5ppm
CC 0.5ppm
At this point, I have no idea what I need to add next and in what order.
Thank you for your help!
This is an AG pool, 18' round, 54" walls
Hi, and congratulations on the new pool!!
The absolute first thing you need to do is get some chlorine in the water. Hopefully you've been adding some throughout the last week--but go ahead and add some bleach with the pump running, adding into the return stream or into the skimmer, to get your chlorine up to 3-5 ppm. In a pool your size, each 2 cups of 6% bleach should raise your FC by approximately 1 ppm. Your pool won't have any stabilizer (CYA) in it until you add it, so that means that your chlorine is going to be partially consumed by the sun, so you're going to need to add more bleach at least twice a day to maintain a minimum of 2-3 ppm of chlorine. You can go ahead and add stabilizer....if you have a skimmer, you can add it through the skimmer but not clean your filter or retest for about a week--it takes a long time to dissolve. If you don't have a skimmer, you can put it in an old tube sock or knee hi hose and tie it in front of your return and let it dissolve that way. Follow the label instructions for the target of 40 ppm for your pool, then add only about 2/3 that much--it's easier to add more CYA later if you need it than to drain/refill the pool to lower it if you overshoot. Once the stabilizer dissolves and registers in your water, then you won't have to add chlorine nearly as often.
Your alkalinity and pH are high. You can use muriatic acid to lower both at the same time, following the directions in this sticky:http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=191 Be careful with the acid--don't splash it on you, your clothes, or your pool, and DON'T BREATHE THE FUMES!! You can see what looks like smoke coming from the container when you open it, so just make sure you stay upwind of it. If you splash it on your skin, it's not gonna instantly burn, so just submerse it in your pool and it'll wash off, but if you breathe it, it's all kinds of painful (ask me how I know! ;) )
Hope this helps...
Janet
Hi Janet,
Thank you for such a quick (and awesome!) reply!
I added the 6% Wal-Mart bleach (pooey on the pool store).
I am going to add the CYA into the skimmer basket, but is it okay to do this just after doing the bleach? Can I add all of these chemicals at once? I have all of them available, purchased ahead of time at Wal Mart and Lowe's thanks to everyone's advice :)
Yes, it is ok to add bleach and cya at the same time. Put the cya into the skimmer slowly. It will dissolve slowly in the filter. May take up to a week so don't backwash or test for in in the meantime. I usually run my pump 24/7 for the first couple of days after I add cya. You can either slowly pour the bleach in the skimmer which is what I do or slowly pour it in front of a return jet.
A few hours later you can also add the muriatic acid. Pour it very slowly in front of a return jet, being very careful with it as Janet explained above.
EDIT -- Just reread my reply. Geez -- how many times did I use the word slowly??!!