Just Set Up Pool...Need some pointers

[CarlD]

"she said I needed to get calcium in right away or the water being to hard would rust/eat my pump up along with my metal.... guess not?"

Correct! She was SO wrong she was contradicting herself! Adding calcium makes the water HARDER not softer. (that's why the test is called "Calcium Hardness") And hard water causes scaling that damage metal. It's usually water that's too acid or too alkaline that eats metal.

Carl

[JSMANNING0001]

Got my test in...she sold hubby moriatic acid to lower it...told me 2 cups to lower it 0.4...however I was 7.8-8.0. I did the math according to the book that come with my kit, it only needed about 1 1/2 cups ...that dropped it down to 7.2...glad I didn't put the full two cups in....is that ok? or should I know add baking soda to bring it back up.

As for the CYA, I couldn't find anything that said clarifier, condistioner or stabilizer. I did buy 1" chlorinating tabs. It says kills bacteria and controls algae... Janet told me to get Tri-chlor tabs...I guess I expected it to says that ...oops I found those tabs and got them because it says trichloro-s-triazinetrione 99.%..... Is this right? How many should I use...I forgot to get a floater so I can just put them in a sock, hang them from my ladder and still swim....do I need to keep adding bleach for a couple days or with those start adding chlorine right away? I know the CYA will take a while.... also..just to make sure, can we swim with them in there? How often should I add?

Current Readings:
FC: 0
TC: 0
CC: 0

pH: 7.2-7.3
TA : 120

Walmart is out of Borax as usual and I do have baking soda but that will raise the pH & TA won't it? Should I use it and add the tri-chlor?



Also, I have noticed today....that when I take my sample, after letting my arm dry it burns a little...could be my dry skin but it hasn't been bothering me...and it only burns on the area that was wet..nothing serious just a little noticable...could this be from no chlorine or my pH too low?

[madwil]

pH at 7.2 is not to low- 7.2 to 7.8 is the good range (so 7.2 is the low end, but not excessive)
The tabs will gradually add Cl and CYA as they dissolve, continue to monitor FC and add bleach to maintain your Cl levels
Your pH should rise over time, but watch it- the trichlor (the pucks are trichlor) can cause it to go down- so you may need to use some borax initially to boost it/keep it above 7.2.
Once the CYA is in, you should quit using the tabs and the pH will start to rise...
you can add the baking soda if nothing else, but it doesn't add as much pH as borax and will also increase TA more...
not sure about the skin burning- may be just the dry skin getting acclimated, but may be something in water- the chlorine will kill it if its something in the water

[CarlD]

You can raise pH by aeration and that will NOT raise t/a.
Aeration can be done by a fountain, by splashing 12 year olds, by pointing the return(s) as the surface so the water ripples or bubbles.

Your chlorine is 0. This is never good. Add bleach or some form of chlorine immediately, up to shock level. I'd add a full gallon of bleach right now. That should get your FC up to the 10-12 range which is the shocking level for 0 CYA.

Carl

[aylad]

I did buy 1" chlorinating tabs. It says kills bacteria and controls algae... Janet told me to get Tri-chlor tabs... I found those tabs and got them because it says trichloro-s-triazinetrione 99.%..... Is this right?

Yes, those are trichlor tabs. You'll do better to put them in a floater, because if you hang them from a sock next to your liner, you're going to get fading of the liner from the acidity of the tabs. Also, I would remove them from the pool while swimming so that you don't accidentally swim into a pocket of concentrated trichlor, which would be very uncomfortable, and possibly damaging, to your eyes.

You did a good thing by testing your pH and adding acid accordingly, not just blindly following the pool store's advice. That's what we're trying to teach people here to do. Good job!

I agree with Carl, though--get some chlorine of some type into that pool ASAP before you end up with an algae bloom!!

Janet

[JSMANNING0001]

Well, I got the tri-chlor tabs but were too chicken to use them, afraid I would mess something up... I did go back after researching online to find what i was looking for the...the purple label of stabilizer that was way over my reach so I didn't see it.

I added about 33 oz by measuring cup since i couldn't do the 32 oz by weight. I hung it in a stocking off the return last night and well, playing with it today i noticed it dissolved easily so I played with it for about 10 min and got it all dissolved and was being shot across the pool by the water from the return. I added 40 oz of bleach and we will see how it does tomorrow. I can't check the levels at 4am when I got to work but I can check around 6 pm. To niece she could not swim as I didn't know what the water would be like tomorrow and could not test the bleach. I will test EVERYTHING tomorrow. Since the cya is all dissolved will it be safe to check it tomorrow or wait a few more days....?

Sorry for not waiting for yall's answers.... I went with Janet's original help which I planned on from the git-go but couldn't find what i was needing... I found it and did it! Hopefully things will get better.

Also, pump has been running for over 24 hrs and I titled the return up to bubble the water this evenign...guess i need to keep it going 24/7 till eveything evens out?

Now, as long as my arm don't fall off tonight from having it in the HIGHLY concentrated, cloudy levels of cya being dissolved around my arm, then hopefully I will be back on here tomorrow evening with some test results!


Thank you all....

[madwil]

sounds like you're on the right track. I would wait a few days to test the CYA, as it often doesn't show on the test for up to a week. work to maintain your pH and Cl for now, and post the full set of numbers and we'll let you know if you need anything else! Good luck- tell your niece she should be swimming real soon!

[aylad]

If your CYA is completely dissolved, and the pump has been running all night, then it's okay to go ahead and test your CYA. You'll need to have an idea of how high it is so you can adjust your chlorine levels accordingly. We do tell people sometimes it takes up to a week for it to register, but that's when it's added via skimmer and takes a week or so in the filter to dissolve and show up in the water. If yours was dissolved directly into the water, then you should be able to get an accurate level by later today.

Janet

[JSMANNING0001]

WOO HOO! Seems like everything is on a rolll....for the good... at least till the storms hit to night and it gets yucky rain water...anyways here are my readings...

FC 2
TC 1.5
pH 7.4
TA 70
CH 110
CYA 45 (in between 45-50. Not sure if the dot was supposed to be fully disappeared. It started getting invisible around 50 but could still faintly see it. Not sure how if it literally had to be gone..... if so it was 45)

I HAVE NOT ADDED CHLORINE since last night!!! WOO HOO! While it's not the greatest levels, it did stick. I would usually go out at lunch time and my reading would be clear...absolutely nothing! Do I need to add anymore? Anything I should do for this storm coming?

Now, what should I do about my TA? I would say baking soda but my pH is right on target. my TA has been running about 120-125 until...I am guess, I added the stabilizer...it dropped since then.

Does the low CH pretty mush refer to hard water just like in a bath? If so that might explain the weird feeling like hard water we were getting yesterday in the shower after getting out. It was a sticky/non slip feeling on my skin and when I touched my hubby and the baby in the pool.... how do I soften my water?

Thanks and I look forward to the feed back! THANK you guys so much for the help... I was a little terrified of the CYA thing as I was afraid I would go over or not enough though my main concern was going over....