starting up after winter

[PoolDoc]

after I brush brownish/greenish

Until it is no longer greenish when you brush, keep the chlorine high AND do your brushing simultaneously with your adding chlorine. You should NOT brush, if the chlorine is low. You may want to dose, brush, re-test, and re-dose if the chlorine level has dropped.

[costo]

I have been testing then dosing if the range isnt dark yellow or orange then brushing. Sounds like I need to retest after I brush. Should I do this immediately after I brush or let it settle a bit then test? I have actually done this several times a day when I have time to stay on top of it. I was looking into getting a better pump. Do you think this could be an issue in my situation?

Just tested water again 2:00 pm. Chlorine: 0. Ph: 6.8.

Btw, my ph was 6.8 yeaterday evening instead of 7.2

Just now added 4.26 gallons, brushed the pool then rechecked. Chlorine: orange, ph was high, around 8.2. Looks as though the ph is fluctuating based on chlorine.

[Watermom]

How much Borax are you adding at a time? You have a small volume pool. Do smaller additions instead of big ones on Borax so you don't overshoot.

4.26 gallons of bleach should take your chlorine up to approximately 29ppm. I wouldn't suggest going that high.

[costo]

I haven't been adding borax because my ph has been fluctuating so much. I lowered it with the muriatic acid. It then appeared fine but since has been between 6.8-8.2. Guess I was adding too much. I need to recalculate next time I add. My shock level should be between 15-20, right??

[Watermom]

Shock level is based on CYA level. (See the Best Guess Chlorine Chart in my signature below.)

[costo]

I am unable to check my cya at this time

[PoolDoc]

Chlorine: orange, ph was high, around 8.2. Looks as though the ph is fluctuating based on chlorine.

When your chlorine is that high, your phenol red test results are meaningless, because the phenol red indicator is converted chemically to a DIFFERENT indicated, chlorphenol red.

[costo]

So should I trust the ph results when the chlorine is at lower range of 5-10 or not even worry about the ph until I get the algae killed

[Watermom]

You can trust it when your chlorine is below 5ppm.

[PoolDoc]

With a Taylor kit -- K2006, K1000, or HTH 6-way -- you can trust the pH test up to 10 ppm. As far as we know, that ONLY applies to Taylor kits.