Finally got some K2006C numbers.. please look

[mastamoon]

Yes, they are also called discussion boards for a reason. But I understand the way this forum works that it could be bothersome for the moderators.

Generally with each random post I made, I tried to ask a question of some sort LOL.. figure the more info out there the better. Ive read many a discussion here where the general path of the conversation went 'of track' from the OP but ended up containing useful information. I had a few issues from my first post to my last ones.. killing algae, low pH, low alk, low cya... so I was tracking my progress.

Ill only post questions from now on.

I don't know exactly what you mean -- but if you post multiple times per day on other forums, then yes, we discourage that here, for two reasons:

First, we don't have time to deal with folks that way, especially not during the period from May 15 to June 15. There are a limited number of people -- maybe 15 -- qualified to give good answers to multiple types of pool questions. It's not like you can go read a book, or a pool manual, and then be qualified to help people with BBB method chemistry.

Second, almost without exception, multi-posting per day means over-managing and fretting over a pool . . . and this does NOT help the pool recover faster. That's why we so often prescribe P.O.P. -- Pool Owner Patience. People get frustrated, get in a hurry, and mess up: pool stores LOVE it. Adequate supplies of P.O.P. would be almost as damaging to pool store sales, as widespread understanding of the BBB method.

[PoolDoc]

Mastamoon; we're tired and brain-fried.

And, you're right, sometimes we chat. But, as you noted this forum (like a lot of auto forums) is not oriented toward chit-chat, ESPECIALLY this time of year. And, when we've got 10 posts in the queue, from people who need help, it's frustrating to spend excess time on one person, when we know that doing so doesn't help them or their pool, and does keep us from helping others.

If you want to be able to say whatever you want whenever you want, I'm pretty sure poolspaforum.com allows that. Maybe you'd be happier working out your issues there. Also, you can comment as much as you like on any of these manufacturer Facebook pages:

https://www.facebook.com/BioGuardUSA
https://www.facebook.com/HTHPoolCare
https://www.facebook.com/UnitedChemical
https://www.facebook.com/DELOzone

Best wishes.

[Watermom]

Mastamoon,
We are trying to help -- really! Counting since your first post on 5/27, this thread has grown to 43 posts. We are here to help and do so willingly! We like to help people learn to take care of their pools. I think all that Ben is trying to say is that sometimes we have members who get kind of obsessed with testing and with the precision of numbers and forget that pool care is not an exact science. We don't want you to do that; we want to help you manage it easily without forgetting to enjoy it!

Yes, we do chat amongst ourselves occasionally on the forum. I have no idea how many posts we answer in a day but it is high! Especially at this time of year. Sometimes it gets hard to keep all the various threads/posts/members/pools straight after we have been online answering for hours in a day. Us having a little chat, teasing each other, etc. is kind of a stress reliever for us. We have to have fun as we do this day after day after week after month after year after year or else ...... we are gonna burn out and then not be interested in sticking around to help.

We are certainly glad to have you and very willing to help you but just ask you to be mindful of the fact that right now we are absolutely swamped and for us to be able to help as many people as possible here on the forum, that we have to spread ourselves around. Hope you understand!

[mastamoon]

Yeah I'm back, but with a full test result and the numbers are looking good.

FC - 7.5 (had dumped some bleach in after a crazy rainfall we got a few days ago)
CC - 0.0
pH - 7.6
cya - 25-30 (added 1.5lbs of the Stabilizer and Conditioner I had linked to earlier)
calc - 160
alk - 80-90

Is it time to work on the alk and calcium now? Or should I try and get the CYA up some more first? I'm not sure all of the stabilizer I added is fully diluted yet. I put the 1.5lbs in a bucket full of hot water.. stirred it for like 30 mins, dumped the liquid off into the pool.. rinse and repeat till just a handful was on the bottom of the bucket. Took some pool water to that, mixed it really good and dumped it into the skimmer slowly.

And the pool is clear... hopefully I can keep it that way now that I got a handle on this number game.

Thanks POOLDOC and WATERMOM!

[PoolDoc]

Not sure why you'd do anything to either the calcium OR the alkalinity. (Don't pay much attention to the Taylor booklet: it's the WORST thing about that kit!)

Your stabilizer is OK. If you want to run trichlor tabs in a floater, it's great.

[mastamoon]

Not sure why you'd do anything to either the calcium OR the alkalinity. (Don't pay much attention to the Taylor booklet: it's the WORST thing about that kit!)

Your stabilizer is OK. If you want to run trichlor tabs in a floater, it's great.

I was using Pool Calculator as a guide.. and according to that those numbers are low so I thought they would have to come up a bit. I guess the alkalinity is ok, but the calcium hardness looks like it should come up. But believe me, I'm fine leaving those where they are if I can

I still have most of that 5lb jug of the namco stabilizer, so Ill just use some more of that to bump it up another 10 maybe.

[PoolDoc]

You know what? I'm about sick of that PoolCalculator! (Not your fault! Not blaming you!) It's a useful tool, but it's NOT useful for the inexperienced. I saw it happen last year, and I'm seeing it happen more, this year: people using it end up chasing numbers FAR too often. It's my fault; I haven't make something better.

But do this: download the "Bleach Calculator", created some years ago by a member here -- http://www.poolforum.com/zxq/BleachCalc262.exe -- and use it. It's much simpler. There is some sort of issue with the borates calculation, so when you need that, check with me, first.

Anyhow, both your TA and CH are *fine* for YOUR pool. They are too low for a *concrete* pool, but that is NOT what you have.

[mastamoon]

You know what? I'm about sick of that PoolCalculator! (Not your fault! Not blaming you!) It's a useful tool, but it's NOT useful for the inexperienced. I saw it happen last year, and I'm seeing it happen more, this year: people using it end up chasing numbers FAR too often. It's my fault; I haven't make something better.

But do this: download the "Bleach Calculator", created some years ago by a member here -- http://www.poolforum.com/zxq/BleachCalc262.exe -- and use it. It's much simpler. There is some sort of issue with the borates calculation, so when you need that, check with me, first.

Anyhow, both your TA and CH are *fine* for YOUR pool. They are too low for a *concrete* pool, but that is NOT what you have.

Thanks, I also use the bleach calculator, but thought the 'target' ranges on pool calculator were "standard" recommendations.

Ill keep the TA and CH where they are and just boost my cya up another click after giving the crap I added on Sunday a chance to fully incorporate itself.

Thanks again.

[Watermom]

I agree with Ben. Your TA and CH are fine. Pool stores love to tell you that vinyl pools need calcium; HOGWASH! Low CH in a vinyl pool is not an issue; really high CH can be but yours is not high.

My advice (for what it's worth) is ................. GO SWIMMING!!