Thank you for your reply! *I certainly didn't intend to upset you in any way with my first posting. *I was going to reply on the thread, but it is closed and like I mentioned, I'm new to all of this forum stuff. *I know I'm not "registered+" so I assume I can't start a new thread???

I survived the craziness of the end of the semester, so I'm very focused on getting this pool in order. *I'll give you pool store readings from a couple hours ago and personal readings from my test kit that I just finished...
TYPE * * * *STORE * * * *ME
FC * * * * * *0.2 * * * * * *0.5 (as close as I can get)
CC * * * * * *0.1 * * * * * *0.5 (again, as close as I can get)
pH * * * * * *7.2 * * * * * *7.2
Hardness * * * *170 * * * * * *180
TA * * * * * *34 * * * * * *80 (to go completely red--70 took it to purple)
CYA * * * * * *55 * * * * * *55
Salt * * * * * *3100 * * * *2400-2600 (sticks with line that changes color when finished)

Their alkalinity reading says, "w/ stabilizer correction." *I have no idea what that means or who's numbers I should go by. *They want me to add 15 lbs of baking soda that they sold my husband when he took in the water to be tested. *If my number is correct, I want to keep it there. *Btw, these are the same numbers the store and I got, respectively, on Wednesday.

The only things I've done since our last correspondence is bleach like recommended, then I did the math on the CYA. *The store didn't want me to put in the 8 lbs that I thought I needed, so they sold me 4--end of last week. *I put two slowly in the skimmer and 2 in a sock (tied in the skimmer so it wouldn't block flow). *The sock was dissolved and dispersed in 2 days. *This wednesday when the store tested, the alkalinity had plummeted from 94 to 34 by their test (not by mine). *The CYA did exactly as I had figured and gone up from 20 to 45 ppm. *They sold me the other 4 lbs of CYA and I used the same process. *By last night all CYA in the sock has dissolved and dispersed. *My husband took in another sample today (readings above). *I expected the CYA to climb to the 70 ppm range? *Does it take longer for the CYA in the sand filter to dissolve?

Oh, I also cleaned the cell in vinegar (as per the pool store). *It didn't appear to have any build up, but some dirt came out when I rinsed with high water pressure from my tub faucet. *I did this because the cell is not producing adequate chlorine (It's an Aqua Rite T-Cell 15---for up to 40,000 gal. pools). *It has only been in operation one full season and about a month the year before that. *Cleaning made no noticeable change in the chlorine output---even when I decided to run it at 100% for 8 hours yesterday. *I hesitate to do the baking soda until I get more information, because last year, my alkalinity stayed high. *This was bothersome to me, but the store didn't seem to mind. *I fought to try to keep my pH at 7.8 or slightly below...often going higher, which again didn't seem to concern the pool store. *I feel that much of the advice I get is specific to liner pools or pools without salt systems. *I've even been given information completely contrary to Aqua Rite's recommendations. *

Someone is supposed to come this evening to check the cell...but that was supposed to happen Wednesday evening as well.

Sorry this is soooo long! *Basically...
1. *What is the difference between my TA and their "adjusted alkalinity?"
2. *Which reading will give me the numbers that indicate what is best for my salt cell in a fiberglass pool?
3. *Should I add any of this baking soda?
4. *Is there a way to do that without raising the pH very much since it will start rising when we have a fully functional salt cell anyway?
5. *Is the sock method a decent indicator of the CYA dissolving in the sand filter?

Oh, the best I can estimate, our pool is about 22,000 gal. *Our water temp is about 83 right now.

Thanks for your patience with a forum idiot like me!!!
Sincerely,

Sparkle : )
Sent from my iPad