Just filled my Pro-Series 14' X 42" round pool...had city water hauled in. My first test shows virtually no Chlorine and PH is at the peak level of 8.2 or higher. What should I do to get better readings?
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Just filled my Pro-Series 14' X 42" round pool...had city water hauled in. My first test shows virtually no Chlorine and PH is at the peak level of 8.2 or higher. What should I do to get better readings?
Gotta leave, but here's a started: read this page => http://pool9.net/ssr/
. . . membership updated.
OK, while we'll need to get more info, for the moment you need to recheck your testing, especially on the pH, then you'll need to lower it.
You can use either dry acid, available in pool stores and pool store sections of K-Mart, WalMart, Costco, etc.
Or you can use Muriatic Acid, available at hardware stores and some pool stores. Do NOT use "Environmentally Safe" or other "green" versions of Muriatic Acid. They are good for other applications, but for pools you need the plain simple stuff.
You have, I estimate, about 3500 gallons, at most. So....wearing long clothes, gloves and eye protection, add about one cup of Muriatic Acid to a 5 gallon bucket of water. Mix it GENTLY with something like a dowel or fence picket, but nor your hand or anything valuable. Pour it into the pool near the return and wait an hour with the filter running. Check the pH again. Repeat until pH is in the 7.2-7.8 range.
Once there, you'll need some chlorine to start. I would start with 1/2 gallon of plain 8.25% bleach, which should push your chlorine to a shock level of 11.5ppm. Just for starting.
Then you'll need a full set of measurements. We recommend the Taylor Technologies K-2006 and K-2006C kits which if you click on the "Get the testkits you need" link in Ben's signature line above, should get you the best price (and a little kickback to Ben to help support the forum). In the meantime, if you have a WalMart near you, get the HTH 6-way drop test kit there (they are the only ones who sell it). It's a good, fast cheap alternative to the K-2006, and, for measuring chlorine will be enough till you get the K-2006.
You CAN post pool store test results as well but don't buy a lot of stuff from them just yet. Or ever.
You will need to add stabilizer, aka Cyanuric, or Isocyanuric Acid, aka CYA. It's like sunscreen for your chlorine. It keep the chlorine from burning off too fast from UV, but also slows down its action so you need more.
That's for starters....This includes following Ben's advice on what to read.
Here is the link for the test kit Carl told you about:> http://pool9.net/tk/
Thank you Carl for the info..everything helps. Just to add..we first filled the pool with well water and spent a week and a half trying to correct that major error. We finally realized we were fighting a lost cause and drained and cleaned the pool and just this morning had city water delivered. The water is crystal clear and we'd sure like to keep it that way. I have the HTH 6-way test kit and the results of the first test were as follows:
Chlorine: .5 or less (very slight tint but almost clear)
PH: 8.2 or slightly higher (dark purple)
TA: as near as I can figure (my eyes aren't what they used to be) 270
Hardness: 170
I had some HTH PH- (this was before I got a chance to read your post about the Muriatic Acid) and added what they said to: 6 ounces
The next PH reading was 7.8.
We put the cover on for the night as it is supposed to storm.
Suggestions as to what to do next would be very much appreciated. The filter was left on for the night.
Steve
Since you have a freshly filled pool, using the Super Simple Start up Recipe that PoolDoc linked for you above would be a great way to start. But, since your pH is high, you won't necessarily want to add the nightly Borax.
Your TA is way too high. Read this. It explains how to lower it:> http://pool9.net/alk-step and also read about using muriatic acid safely:> http://pool9.net/muriatic/