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After a little algae problem, these are my current numbers. I'm specifically wondering about the TA and CH.
FC .6 (just added 96 oz of bleach)
CC .2 (can't seem to get this to 0)
TA 90
CH 290
CYA 35-40 (I have a hard time being exact with that black dot)
Should I make some adjustments?
18,000 Fiberglass
Thanks.
Yes, with a cya of 30 you will need to take your chlorine up to 15ppms and keep it there until all of your cc is gone, and you hold the chlorine overnight. You will keep battling algae unless you get it all out of there by being consistant with adding chlorine up to shock until it holds steady overnight. You didn't post your ph. How does the water look? I have a fiberglass pool, and these are the numbers I like to keep:
Chlorine - at the "best guess chart" level (3 - 6)
Ph - 7.2
Alk - 80
Calcium - 150
CYA - 50
If you have any problems with staining, then keeping your ph and alk on the low side is important, especially when shocking the water.
Feel free to ask any other questions you may have:)
Thanks. The ph was 7.4. I guess I'll have to shock next week. (I want to use the pool this weekend. When you mention holding the chlorine overnight, do you mean absolutely? Like if I check it at 11:00 pm and it's 15.2, then it should be 15.2 at 6:00 am? Also, how do I lower the calcium? Will it affect anything else? Thanks for your help.
Tisha
You can shock overnight - it will go down overnight, and you can even swim in the pool with the chlorine up to 15ppms with a cya of 30 (you can even swim in a pool with higher chlorine). The only thing is you may want to wear an old bathing suit in case it fades a little, mine never has when I swam in my pool with 25ppms, but the chorine won't hurt you. It is better to swim in high chlorine then in anything else that is growing in your pool:eek: The faster you get chlorine in the water, the faster it will clear up. You will need 4/1/2 gallons of 6% bleach or 4 1/2 bags of shock to get it to the porper level. I wouldn't use cal hypo, because that is going to add calcium to your water, and the only way to get rid of calcium is to do a partial drain and refill. If your water is clear when the algae is gone, then I wouldn't worry about the calcium, 290 is still in range. Yes, the way to be sure that all the algae is gone is to test after the sun goes down, and early in the morning to see if the chlorine didn't change. Also keep your filter running 24/7 and brush and backwash as needed while you have algae. Good luck:)
Thanks! You're always a great help! The cc confuses me a little bit. I thought that anything less than .5 was ok. Though I would prefer it at 0 of course! My original post may have been misleading, the low FC was from the hot sunny weather we've been having lately. The pool has been holding cl since I shocked about a week ago, but I'm not sure if it held totally.
I am actually enjoying learning how to take care of this pool. After the algae outbreak I kind of took over from my husband who was more than happy to let me run with it. Thanks to these forums he thinks I'm a genius!
As always, Marie gives great advice. She has a beautiful fiberglass pool. I was fortunate enough to get to see it and meet her this summer. Of course, ideally, your cc reading is 0. That is what we all shoot for, but, I say don't worry at 0.2. Many people will have a slight cc reading. If it goes over 0.5 is when I suggest shocking.
Yes, I did misread your post:o If you are finished dealing with algae, then everything is fine. You still didn't say what your ph is, I know my water gets a little cloudy when I have alkalinity above 100 and my ph goes over 7.6. Everyone's pool reacts differently - as long as your water is clear and you don't have any staining, then your numbers are fine. Just keep up with the bleach, and don't let it get low, or you will end up with algae again. You can take chlorine up at night to get rid of the cc.
Watermom, thanks for the kind words, it was wonderful to meet you, and your son. Hope the weather isn't too hot back home for you:)
It was 101 at my house yesterday. Today was a little cooler but still in the 90s with 97% humidity.
Marie
My ph is at 7.4. I don't think it has ever been to 7.6. I do have a little bit of staining which I thought resulted from shocking. I added 1 bottle of Jacks Pink Stuff, but it didn't really do anything. I am going to try the ascorbic acid stain treatment as soon as it comes in (ordered it on Thursday) and then add 1 1/2 qts of the Pink Stuff. I'll save the other half as maintenance doses for the rest of the season. Does it sound like I'm on the right track?
Watermom
It was hot as heck all this week until yesterday. Now it feels like we're in a cold front, about 84 degrees and not humid!
Thanks.
Yes, you are on the right track. You can try lowering your ph down to 7.0 - 7.2, and see if that lifts the stain off. Sometime new stains will lift off when the ph is low. If not, you haven't hurt anything, because you have to have the pink stuff in when you do the ascorbic acid treatment anyway. If you don't have bad staining, try using as little as possible of the ascorbic acid - this way you'll be able to balance the water faster. I also think that I will change the ascorbic acid sticky to start raising the chlorine the next day after the treatment instead of 48 hours. I have tried it in my pool and it works - this way it is less time the pool is without chlorine giving it a better chance of staying algae free. Just start to add the chlorine slowly, and if stains start to form, add more sequestering agent. Doing this with keeping the ph on the low side (7.2) should keep the pool from getting too far out of whack. Keep me informed on how you are doing:)
The weather here was beautiful today - nice in the shade, hot in the sun:)
Thanks Marie. I'll keep you posted. Still waiting for the ascorbic acid to come in. Probably start next week. I will try lowering the ph first.