My first post and first test numbers

First of all, I've been lurking on this forum since last summer and I'm amazed at the wealth of valuable knowledge! I have a 26,000 gallon IG vinyl liner pool with an Aquarite chlorine generator, sand filter and 2HP pump. I opened the pool about two weeks ago – crystal clear thanks to the closing instructions on this forum! My PS234 testkit arrived last night.

Here are my first numbers:
FC 6.0
CC 0.5
TC 6.5
pH 7.2
Alk 50
Cal 30
Cya 20
Temp 76

I did the tests around 7:30 this morning. FC 6.0 seems a bit high to me since my pump (and Aquarite) hasn’t run since 4 PM yesterday, especially with Cya of 20. I’m running the pump from 8 AM to 4 PM at 50% on the Aquarite. I'm going to try lowering it to 40%.

Any reason to be concerned with the 0.5 CC? Water is crystal clear.

I just added a quart of muriatic acid two days ago. My pH was 8.0 on a cheap Ace Hardware drop kit before that, so I think 7.2 is good.

I’m assuming that I want get the Alk up to at least 80. Using MWSMITH’s BleachCalc, it looks like I need about 11 pounds of baking soda, but I figure I’ll try a few pounds every couple days and retest in between. Does that sound right?

Aquarite recommends Cya of 60 - 80 and Cal of 200 - 400. I’m leery of taking the Cya up that high, I might just gradually aim for 40 for now. Does Cal matter in a vinyl pool? Do I really need to get it to 200? If these questions belong in the chorine feeder section, just let me know.

I know this is a lot of questions!!

Thanks,
-Steve

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sharknj

Here are my first numbers:
FC 6.0
CC 0.5
TC 6.5
pH 7.2
Alk 50
Cal 30
Cya 20
Temp 76

I did the tests around 7:30 this morning. FC 6.0 seems a bit high to me since my pump (and Aquarite) hasn’t run since 4 PM yesterday, especially with Cya of 20. I’m running the pump from 8 AM to 4 PM at 50% on the Aquarite. I'm going to try lowering it to 40%.

Any reason to be concerned with the 0.5 CC? Water is crystal clear.
I believe .5 is the upper limit for CC before shocking the pool. You may want to put in 2 or 2 1/2 gallons of bleach to get the Cl up above 10ppm. That being said, I do not have an SWG so wait for follow-up to confirm or deny.

I just added a quart of muriatic acid two days ago. My pH was 8.0 on a cheap Ace Hardware drop kit before that, so I think 7.2 is good.

I’m assuming that I want get the Alk up to at least 80. Using MWSMITH’s BleachCalc, it looks like I need about 11 pounds of baking soda, but I figure I’ll try a few pounds every couple days and retest in between. Does that sound right?
That would be a good idea since it is a lot easier to bring Alk up than down!
Aquarite recommends Cya of 60 - 80 and Cal of 200 - 400. I’m leery of taking the Cya up that high, I might just gradually aim for 40 for now. Does Cal matter in a vinyl pool? Do I really need to get it to 200? If these questions belong in the chorine feeder section, just let me know.
There have been several discussions on CYA levels and SWGs and I think the jury is still out. I would scan those threads and post that portion there for better info. I believe the main reason for maintaining the calcium level in a vinyl pool is in the case of heater equipment. I do not think it is necessary to worry about that otherwise.

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Good luck!

Thanks. I gradually brought the Alk up to 80. Last evening FC was 5.5, CC still 0.5, so I put in 2.5 gallons of 6% bleach. That brought my FC up to 13 (I'm wondering if my pool really is 26000 gallons after all). I left the pump running with the SWG off. This morning FC was still at to 12 so I kept the SWG off. Now FC is 10.5, CC is 0. I guess whatever was causing the .5 CC is killed off now! I'll keep the SWG off until FC gets back down to around 4. I'll check the SWG section for Cya and Cal related discussions.

Thanks for your help.
-Steve