New to BBB, what next?

[gdubs]

Thanks! I added a box of borax and 40oz of stabilizer. Tested the Ph and it didn't move (still below the testing kit colors) from 6.6 or lower. Can I add more Borax or should I wait till the morning?

[aylad]

I would wait until there's been about 4 hours since your last Borax addition. Retest for pH, and if it's still less than 7.0, add another box, slowly. Looks like your pH is much lower than what the test can register, so it can take quite a few boxes of Borax to get back where you need to be.


Janet

[gdubs]

Retested this morning. Cl 12, Ph 6.6 or lower, CYA 30. Added another box of Borax as the first box didn't seem to do anything. The label on the stabilizer said to adjust your Ph to the correct level before adding. I already had added 42oz to get my CYA level to 40. I was going to just wait a while before adding anymore stabilizer to see if it will continue to rise. Once again, we were hit with a lot of thunderstorms that dropped a lot more rain. Any suggestions?

Thanks again for all of your help!

[Watermom]

Don't add any more stabilizer at this point. Keep adding Borax a box at a time until the pH starts to move. Wait a couple of hours, retest and redose. You need to get that pH above 7.0 ASAP.

[gdubs]

ok.
ph is now 7.4 and Cl is 5.0. The pump has been running 24/7. Should I stop running it for so long and turn on the SWG?

Thanks!

[gdubs]

Latest test results: Cl 3.0, Ph 7.6, Al 70 and CYA is at 35. Pool is crystal clear. I turned the pump down to about 6 hours and turned the SWG to 15%? What should I do next? Add CYA, baking soda? Thanks again for all of the help!

[PoolDoc]

I'm quick posting, b4 I have to go out again, so I haven't reread the thread.

+ Basically, don't mess with calcium or alkalinity unless you have a concrete pool. (Don't mess with alkalinity till you've fixed calcium, if you do.)
+ Don't turn your SWCG on till you have an acceptable salt level.
+ If your SWCG is not oversized, it may not be able to deliver enough chlorine at 15% and 6 hours -- remember that it is off (or should be!) when the pump is off.
+ Read the "Best Guess . . . " page (link below) and set your chlorine level using it.

Ben

[gdubs]

I understand not caring about calcium for a vinyl lined pool (wish I would have found this site years ago and saved hundreds...) but I don't need to care about alkalinity as well? It is 70 now and the ph 7.6, Cl 2.0 and CLY is 35. Thanks

[PoolDoc]

It's not so much that you don't need to care about it at all. It's just that it's usually not as big a deal as pool stores say. If your pH is OK and stable, and you don't have a concrete pool or heater . . . your alkalinity is probably OK where it is.

Ben