first complete test - does this sound right?

[haeffnkr]

Hello -
My numbers are

FC 5.5
CC .5
TC 6
ph 7.8
ALK 170
cal 160
cya 20

Just opened last night.
My pool is 13,500 fiberglass.
I run my pump 24/7
Currently no cover and the jets are bubbling the surface to try and lower the ALK - might put on the fountain soon.

I was planning to put in a gallon of bleach and a pound of CYA to raise the CYA and lower the PH slightly and clear up the water?

Let me know if this sounds crazy?

thanks Kevin

[duraleigh]

If your water is a little cloudy as you suggest, I would put in two gallons of bleach. That'll shock the pool and should clear up the remaining cloudiness (over time...maybe 24-48 hours).

CYA of 1 lb makes sense.

Neither will contribute to lowering your pH. One pint of muriatic should bring you down around 7.4...it'll probably lower your Alk as well.

Your numbers look pretty good. If your water is not cloudy, you can simply maintain your Cl level between 3-6ppm. Watch your pH closely if you choose not to add the muriatic.

[haeffnkr]

I only poured 9 quarts of bleach in yesterday, yes - quarts of 6%, in 3 quart small jugs.
2 jugs first then 1 later in the evening and put one pound of cya in a sock in the skimmer. I also have pucks in the chlorinator. The pucks have barely disolved...pucks to give a little chlorine and raise my CYA and I had them from last years...
This morning my numbers are.
FC - 31
CC - 0
PH - 7.2
ALK - 190
CAL -150
CYA was not tested but yesterday it was 20, I expect it to be slightly higher.

What gives???
The bleach calc stated that chlorine should only increased my PPM 11, so I thought, I started with 5.5 and now I have 31???

My PH went down which I expected, by alk went up?
My water is getting clearer than yesterday but I still can not see the bottom drain and returns...close though, I guess it is going in the right direction.

What should I do now, besides turning off the chlorinator.
I was going to add a fountain to I guess to try and rid some alk?

The water is pretty cold - I would guess 65 I will put in the thermoter soon.
The pool has been opened for 36 hours, so I guess it is not too bad. I am adding a couple inches of water to the pool to get it to the regular water line.
I have vacummed and brushed 3 times now and will be doing it again soon today.

thanks for any advice on clearing the pool and my crazy numbers.
Kevin

[duraleigh]

Hi, Kevin,

Verify your math. Did you multiply your Cl drops X .5 when you did your Cl test? If so, your Cl is too high because of the pucks....they are driving your pH down too fast as well. I'd get them out of the system.

Curious why you chose 2.25 gal after you said one and I said two. Nothing wrong with it but curious how you came to that number.

If your Cl is really 31, let it drift back down into a 16 or so range and keep it there 'til your water is the clarity you want. That may take another day or so...perhaps a little longer but not much. Get a good handle on controlling your Cl with bleach before putting anymore pucks back in. Remember, pucks are low pH and, apparently in your case, can really pack a Cl wallop.

Once your water is where you want it, let your Cl drift down into 3-6ppm and keep it there all Summer. Then go to work on your alkalinity if you still need to....I don't think it's dangerous but it's a little high. (80-120 ideal)

[haeffnkr]

Dave and all thanks for your help.
I did verify my math. I also did the OTO kit and it was orange-ish-brown and did the drop method 2 times - it came to 31.
The jugs of bleach I bought are 3 quart/6% so after using the bleach calc and assuming by morning it would be used up I put in 9 quarts. Apparently the pucks added a lot more than I thought they would - So 2.25 was a tiny bit higher than your suggested 2 gallons.

I took out the pucks in the meantime.

Just tested again - when did the OTO the Cl was dark yellow/slightly orange this time.

FC 16
CC 0
PH 7.0
ALK 190
temp is 65
I have 3 fountains running in my 3 return jets.
I am trying to areate my pool and drive down my alk, I have read Ben's post on doing this, thus my low ph.
Also the green alk #2 solution seems to have really big drops? like the biggest of any solution I am using? Is this normal? I have seen Bens post regarding small drops but not big one?
Will the ALK drop with the cold water?

I can make out the bottom drains now - getting clearer - slowly.

What do you think?

Thanks Kevin

[duraleigh]

Hi, Kevin,

Chlorine - No problem on the 2.25 gal.....that was fine. Your pucks were the issue. Keep that Cl up around 16. It wouldn't hurt a thing to bring it right back to 16 before dark if you don't mind testing again....it'll speed up the process. Next, for sure bring your Cl up to 16 again tomorrow morning. Do this daily 'til your water clears. Keep your pump running 24/7. vacuum when you can and backwash if your pressure builds say 6-8lbs on your filter guage.

pH - No problem at 7.0 for what your doing. Keep a close eye on it, tho. Bring back to 7.2 - 7-8 after your alk comes down.

CYA - get that tested as soon as you can. Since you have dropped 15ppm since yesterday, I suspect you either have very little CYA or quite a bit more "bugs" than we may have thought.

Time - Keep the faith. I just refilled my pool from the pond (yuk) and it took a ton of Chlorine for 6 days straight before it got blue. However, that's ALL it took. No Floc, No Clarifier, No polyquat....just Chlorine, filtering and keeping my autovac hooked up 24/7. You will get the same results if you follow the method.

Alk - I don't think the temp will have any affect on your Alk reading.....the Alk is not significant in clearing your pool (in this case) anyway. My Alk test drops are big, too.

[haeffnkr]

My pool is very clear now.

I ran my areators over night...problem was the wind blew hard overnight and lowered my pool below the skimmer and the pump was sucking air this morning. So I had to add about 6 inches of water today!!
The tap water at my house appears to be high in Ph and ALK? Does that sound right? Cause my PH and ALK are not going/staying down.

My numbers just now are -
FC about 2
PH 7.5
ALK 160
CAL 200
CYA up to 29 (from 20)
temp 67

So I am adding more bleach - about 2.5 gallons per calc. Is the pool really supposed to be using 13 ppm per day?
About 30 oz of acid to lower the ph to about 6.9 per calc.

What should I get the CYA up to?

How is the Cal number for my fiberglass pool?
I think the first few times I did not get the color of the cal test up to a real blue - how blue should it be - the first time it was kind of blue with tiny red flakes in it?

thanks Kevin

[duraleigh]

Hi, Kevin,

So I am adding more bleach - about 2.5 gallons per calc. Is the pool really supposed to be using 13 ppm per day? This is your big issue. I think you're consuming bleach due to organics still in your pool. When that gets straightened out, you'll consume 2-3ppm per day or so. You may need to take your Cl back to shock level but let's see where you are tomorrow evening. Another post of your Cl will be very helpful......other tests not really necessary.

About 30 oz of acid to lower the ph to about 6.9 per calc. You seem to have a good handle on managing your water so 6.9 is okay but you're borderline....keep a very close watch on it

What should I get the CYA up to? 30 - 40 works well for most bleach users

How is the Cal number for my fiberglass pool? Not an issue. disregard it.

I think the first few times I did not get the color of the cal test up to a real blue - how blue should it be - the first time it was kind of blue with tiny red flakes in it? Mine turns blue within a drop or two (plus or minus) ....you're close enough not to worry about it.


Kevin, the only other thing i would emphasize is I feel your Cl should be your real focus. Your Alk is somewhat off but not enough to draw you attewntion, IMHO. I would concentrate all my effort on pumping the Cl in there until you get an overnight reading where your Cl doesn;t move much....say, not more than 2-3ppm. The Alk can be fine tuned later and will have little to do with the clarity of your water. (sorry about the "shouting" text...I'm experimenting)

[haeffnkr]

Dave and all,
About the CYA - I plan on using my SWG when I get the rest of the numbers stable. Last year I had good luck with running the SWG - it made my maintance very easy. So should I still shoot for 30-40 with a CYA?

My water is very clear now...I can see all the screw ups in the deep end and all over when my builder TRIED to patch in some gell-coat last year when the pool was drained - I believe the patch has all disolved away...anyone else have an American Fiberglass pool?

My PH rose to 7.2 in 3 hours and my ALK went to 160 tonight - yippeee...Per Ben that is the way it is supposed to work...when all the water stays in pool I guess. I just put more acid in so I will try to check it in the morning.

My CL is apparently getting used up...with my water pretty clear now hopefully the usage will slow down.

Thanks for the help and I liked the reply text too!
thanks again Kevin

[duraleigh]

Hi, Kevin,

Nice work....good numbers.

Poolsean, the SWG guru, recommends 60-80 CYA for their equipment. That seems to be sort of a consensus but I would call Tech Support for your SWG and follow their advice.

Enjoy your pool.