New pool owner needs help.

[shoogles]

We do have those tablet things that have CYA in them that we were attempting to chlorinate with, so there's why we have a little bit of CYA in there because of those.

So I guess I'll base my chlorine amount on the CYA level from the pool store to shock.

I will not, however, add acid to my pool if I don't need it. Is 7.8 too high? Should I shock first and worry about the pH later?

[Watermom]

Your pH is ok at 7.8. Anywhere between 7.2-7.8 is fine.

[shoogles]

Thanks Janet and Watermom. Husband is out brushing and adding bleach as we speak.

[shoogles]

So, we attempted the CarlD Shotglass method of testing our water, but it didn't seem to work. No matter how much we diluted (1 to 2, 1 to 3, 1 to 4, etc.) it always read at .2. Can't figure out why.

So now we have no idea if we have enough bleach in the pool to have reached shock level or not... and I'm not exactly sure what we'll do tomorrow when we need to test the water again and add more bleach. Yikes.

[CarlD]

The CarlD shot glass method is only useful when the chlorine level in the pool exceeds your OTO test kit's limit (Usually 3ppm but the better ones go to 5ppm). If it's .2 with undiluted pool water, there's no point in diluting it. Only if the drop test comes up darker than the max on the OTO kit should you consider my shot glass method.

[waterbear]

So, we attempted the CarlD Shotglass method of testing our water, but it didn't seem to work. No matter how much we diluted (1 to 2, 1 to 3, 1 to 4, etc.) it always read at .2. Can't figure out why.
The only tests I know of that will measure as low as .2 ppm are an FAS-DPD titration kit and some of the electronic testers and strip readers. How are you testing?
So now we have no idea if we have enough bleach in the pool to have reached shock level or not... and I'm not exactly sure what we'll do tomorrow when we need to test the water again and add more bleach. Yikes.

If you are testing low chlorine then you do NOT have enough bleach in the pool.

[shoogles]

CarlD: The problem was that it was amber in color but only testing at 2.0. No matter how much we diluted it. Either way, we've been running the filter, brushing and vacuuming for the past few days and the pool is clear as glass.

I just tested the water again and its registering at 1.0. I'm sorry for the mistake in my last post Waterbear it was at 2.0. I screwed up when I was typing since I was kind of in a panic.

Just tested now and the pool is down to 1.0 FC and 1.0 CC with a pH of 7.6. Getting ready to add some more bleach. Anything else I need to know or do?

On the plus side, this debacle has finally convinced Hubby that we need to order the Taylor kit. Yay!


Another unrelated question- as you may have noticed, we live in FL. Our pool is in full sun, and it feels like bathwater. Any ideas on how to keep the temp down a bit more?

[CarlD]

If you dilute it once and it tests at 2, then it's 4. If you diluted it twice (two shots distilled to one of pool) and it's 2, then it's really 6. If you dilute it 3:1, it's 8, 4:1, 10, etc.

[aylad]

Hi, Shoogles,

Nothing else you really need to do other than get the chlorine back up to your shock level. Hold it there until the CC is zero and you're not losing any chlorine when testing at sundown and again at sunup.

Glad to hear that you're going to get the Taylor kit--believe me, it will make your life so much easier!! I know it's pricey but I guarantee you it will pay for itself several times over, just in this swim season.

As for keeping the pool cool, I bought a cheap fountain from Leslie's and hook it up and run my pump at night rather than during the day, and it seems to cool it down a little. (I'm in Lousiana, so I hear ya about the warm pool--mine at times feels more like a hot tub!) Otherwise, my girls just turn the slide on and let it run while they're in the pool, and it seems to do the best job at cooling the pool.l

Janet

[waterbear]

Another unrelated question- as you may have noticed, we live in FL. Our pool is in full sun, and it feels like bathwater. Any ideas on how to keep the temp down a bit more?

Welcome to Florida! (I grew up in Miami, graduated college in Gainesville, lived in Ft. Lauderdale previously, and now live in St. Augustine and have spent a a LOT of vacation time in the Keys, Sanibel, Naples, Tampa, Orlando, the 'glades and Ocala so I know the climate in different parts of the Sunshine State. Heck, I've even spent time in Sopchoppy before they had a traffic light and in high school got stuck in YeeHaw Junction with 2 classmates and our science teacher when his car broke down on the way to a science seminar we were headed to A YEAR BEFORE DISNEYWORD OPENED (yes, Sopchoppy, population 426 in 2000, and Yeehaw Junction are real places--Google them if you don't believe me!), and took my Barber exam in Winter Park when it was a bigger city than Orlando --Winter Park was a resort and vacation destination, Orlando was orange groves! Point being, I know Florida pretty well.) My pool has been staying around 88-90 degrees this summer in St. Augustine IN a screen enclosure! (For me it's perfect since I heat my pool to 88 degrees in the cooler weather but my heat pump is reverse cycle so I COULD cool the pool down if I chose to.)

The only way to cool a pool is either:
1) a reverse cycle heat pump (not cheap but the best solution here in Florida)
2) solar heating set to run at night instead of daytime (only works when the nights are cooler than the days so it's not the best choice for Florida in August!)
3) evaporative cooling (misters and fountains)--once again, not the best choice in Florida when 78% relative humidity is considered low in summer and humidity in the 80's and 90's is common!

Don't know of any other ways unless you happen to own an ice company and can have a few truckfuls of ice dumped into your pool daily!