Weeened off pool products.

Here are my latest results from the store

FC 5.49
TC 5.72
CC .2
pH 7.70
Hardness 180ppm
Alk 160 ppm
CYA 35 ppm
Salt 2900 ppm

I have a 15,000 Gal IG pool with an SWG

The store says to add
1 gal of muriatic acid or 11lbs of Aqua pH minus to get the alk down

8lbs of Aqua Cal to get the hardness up

6 oz. of aqua shock to destroy the chloramines

1 lb of aqua brite plus to reduce chlorine buildup


OK, my question is, which of these things can I do without and which stuff can i buy at your local walmart to replace the stuff he is suggesting. When my Aqua pH down runs out I will be switching to muriatic acid. And do i really need shock? my CC is only .2, can I just bump my SWG up a notch. And I just need to raise my hardness 20ppm to 200, is there any other product that can do this? I am currently doing the Ben's method of reducing alk, and it has been working, last week I was at 210ppm and now I am down to 160ppm

thoughts?

You don't need any of the things they said! You do need a good test kit and need to do your own testing!
Bring your pH down to about 7.4 first! This will lower your alk reading since they move together.
Get your CYA up to 60-80 ppm second!
Your Alk and Cal are fine for right now....retest the alk once the pH is in range.
Once you get the CYA in range you will probably need to ajust the output on your SWG. maintain a FC in the 3-5 ppm range and you will have no problems.
If the CC goes above .5 ppm then shock with bleach. I suspect the CC reading you are seeing is because your CYA is really low for a SWG system.

If you want to raise your hardness then see if you can find DowFlake de- icer.
It is calcium chloride flake, exactly the same as hardness increaser, and on the Dow Chemical website it is one of the two products that they say is for pool and spa use!
http://www.dow.com/calcium/app/poolspa.htm

I wouldn't worry too much about it right now since your ALK is on the high side but if it does drop much lower then you might want to bump it up.

I have the Taylor test kit, it always says I have a pH around 7.3 - 7.5 but when I take it to the store, the stores readings are always about .4 higher than my readings and my Cl readings are always 1-1.5 points lower than theirs, then again, i am looking at shades of pink and yellow, how accurate can that be vs. a computer. Should I shock with bleach or with the SWG?

I live in canada so my swg is only active 5 months of the year. or should I shock bleach it instead.

The general consensus here is to shock with bleach as it will save unnecessary wear and tear on your cell.

How do I know how much bleach to use to get rid of .2 CC?? based on a 15,000 gal pool.

Take a look at your SWG specs. Salt - 2900 ppm may be a little on the low side. The system will generate more chlorine at a lower setting with higher salt levels.

I have an Pentair IG20, the light indicates that it is still in the good salt range, I think its 2500-4000, I guess I could bump it up a little.

Adding Bleach to shock... where is the best place to put it... skimmer? deep end return line, sorry for such a dumb question, I have just been using my SWG. And where do i find that bleachcalc formula?

Add bleach to the skimmer.

bleachcalc is a sticky at the top of the forum.

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i am looking at shades of pink and yellow, how accurate can that be vs. a computer.

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from the evidence on this forum, your results will be considerably more accurate....go figure, but too many people here report absurd "pool store" tests...computer or otherwise.

And aren't most of the "computer tests" simply a printout based on inputs derived from traditional forms of testing, which may not be as accurate (oto) and based on subjectivity?

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Originally Posted by Rangeball

And aren't most of the "computer tests" simply a printout based on inputs derived from traditional forms of testing, which may not be as accurate (oto) and based on subjectivity?

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Most are and are only as accurate at the info inputted into the computer.
Some are based on a scanner and test strips (ALEX by Bioguard is an example). These are very inaccurate, IMHO.
Then there are colorimeters that are connected to the computer. We have one of these at work (LaMotte Waterlink Express) that I have cross checked against my own testing at home with my pool and spa on a regular basis and have found it to be very close or the same as the readings I get with Ben's kit and my Taylor kit. Then again, there is the possiblility of operator error with ANY kind of testing or not knowing the ranges that can accurately be tested or interferances that occur (such as high sanitizer levels affecting pH and TA readings or metals affecting CH readings!)

would it be good to average your reading with the pool store?

In a word....NO...I would trust my own readings!

For a SWCG use muriatic acid rather than pH Minus. Muriatic acid is part of the SWCG process, ph Minus is not.

Pat