Waitin' on Summer

I live in central Ohio. We opened our pool one week ago, and, thanks to the knowledge I've gained on this forum, our pool is sparkling clear already. Here are my test numbers from this morning:

10,000 gallon vinyl in-ground, sand filter pool, heater (not on yet)
CL - 5
ph - 7.6
Alk - 110
CYA - 40

Here in Ohio it's not even above 70 yet and the nights are in the 40's :( , so I'm just waiting on Mother Nature to quit being pissed at us here in the Buckeye state. So my question is should I add Borax and play around with the pool chemistry while waiting out this weather, or just sit back and keep testing and let the pool continue to look great? I should also mention that I use a skimmer sock, and added 1/2 cup DE throught the skimmer last night, all tricks I learned here and use religiously - you people are great.

We also added 80 lbs water softner salt last year, which made the pool feel great, should we need to add it again this year? How can I test for salt?

Thanks again for this forum. I've convinced several people to switch to the BBB method, but there are some unbelievers still paying $300 for startup chemicals. So far, I've spent $16 - and still have 6 96ox. bottles of bleach left. My pool is so much more enjoyable and easy!

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Originally Posted by buckeyemom

I live in central Ohio. We opened our pool one week ago, and, thanks to the knowledge I've gained on this forum, our pool is sparkling clear already. Here are my test numbers from this morning:

10,000 gallon vinyl in-ground, sand filter pool, heater (not on yet)
CL - 5
ph - 7.6
Alk - 110
CYA - 40

Here in Ohio it's not even above 70 yet and the nights are in the 40's :( , so I'm just waiting on Mother Nature to quit being pissed at us here in the Buckeye state. So my question is should I add Borax and play around with the pool chemistry while waiting out this weather, or just sit back and keep testing and let the pool continue to look great? I should also mention that I use a skimmer sock, and added 1/2 cup DE throught the skimmer last night, all tricks I learned here and use religiously - you people are great.

We also added 80 lbs water softner salt last year, which made the pool feel great, should we need to add it again this year? How can I test for salt?

Thanks again for this forum. I've convinced several people to switch to the BBB method, but there are some unbelievers still paying $300 for startup chemicals. So far, I've spent $16 - and still have 6 96ox. bottles of bleach left. My pool is so much more enjoyable and easy!

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I assume your water is colder than 70--llike 60. If so, you are just fine. In fact, even if the water was 80 I'd say your numbers are fine.

But at 60 degrees, you'll get very little algae growth and should see very little dropping in your chlorine level. It's sort of in stasis.

But keep testing!

That would be a good assumption on the water - I haven't even had the inclination to put the thermometer on yet! And the chlorine level has stayed level for 2 days now. Okay - I'll keep testing - thanks for your response.

Just as an update - I have a fountain in our pool which has been on for several days now. Yesterday was very windy here all day - my PH went up to 7.8. I shut off the fountain and lowered the PH to 7.2 using leftover "Lo and Slo". With my ALK at 110 should I add a small box of baking soda to stabilize the PH? I really enjoy using the fountain for looks and for the sound of the water.

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Originally Posted by CarlD

I assume your water is colder than 70--llike 60. If so, you are just fine. In fact, even if the water was 80 I'd say your numbers are fine.

But at 60 degrees, you'll get very little algae growth and should see very little dropping in your chlorine level. It's sort of in stasis.

But keep testing!

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I feel for you and waiting on summer. My pool is now 79 degrees (81 on the hot days).

As for the testing for salt question, Taylor makes a salt test kit for this. I picked one up at my local pool store.

The kids and I just got out of ours...the water hit 82 today. Yay!!! :D What a way to celebrate the last day of school!!

Janet

Wow. That is an early for school to be out! Kids here go until June 6 -- a couple days later than original schedule due to snow days.

Yeah, but we started August 4th. After many complaints about the heat during the first couple of weeks of school down here (they recorded temps on the school buses at 104+), this next year we won't start until Aug. 18th, but I think we go until June 2.

Janet

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Originally Posted by aylad

The kids and I just got out of ours...the water hit 82 today. Yay!!! :D What a way to celebrate the last day of school!!

Janet

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It is nice. Looks to be a great holiday weekend for us. 93 degrees and sunny....definate pool time.

So ok, summer finally arrived in Ohio with 90+ degrees. All is well with my pool, and I have a fountain that comes out of the return and I really enjoy its sounds. However, I find I am fighting my PH rising to the 7.8 - 8.0 range when I leave it on for the day. Should I just keep adding acid to lower the PH and enjoy my fountain, or does the higher PH matter? (Inground vinyl pool - 10,000 gallons).

That's really up to you--some say that the higher pH is easier on the eyes, but lower pH makes the chlorine more effective. Also, if your CH is high, the high pH with high TA will make the water cloudy and milky-looking as the calcium "falls out". So...if your water is clear and you are very consistent about your chlorination, the higher pH probably will be okay...but if you start having any kind of problems, you'll need to lower it.

Janet