algae control question

[Watermom]

The book has tables for other treatments as well - This may be what you're looking for.

Don't use the book that comes with the Taylor kit. It is not helpful and will lead you astray. That was one reason Ben used to sell kits so that he could leave that book out of the kit as it causes lots of confusion.

[BigDave]

I should have pointed out in my post that (as Watermom and aylad suggest) you don't need those tables.
The best way to make your pool eaisiest for you is to learn what it needs and how it reacts - daily testing and treatment will give you the practice you need to get a "feel" for your pool.

[alisonquilts]

OK. I think I have some idea now: When I get my (longed-for and much anticipated) kit I will be able to get accurate measurements. When I have accurate measurements I can use poolcalculator.com to figure out my response (under-dosing, then testing, then re-dosing if necessary). When I have done this enough I will develop a sense (similar to using the Force) whereby I will see a result and have an intuition about what to do in response. I will then teach it all to my husband...

About the tables I am so hung up on - I think I will just copy the relevant bits off the backs of the various chemical packages into one document so I'll have a basic guide, since there doesn't seem to be the professionally compiled lists I expected.

Thanks for your help. If nothing else you have reassured me that it is not at all unnatural to be confused at this point!

Alison

[johnfluharty]

I bought some AuquaCheck Select test strips at my local pool store that came with a little booklet called "The Complete Guide to Pool and Spa Care" that has some charts in it which I use. With it I can keep my pool in pretty good shape. I have a more in-depth chemical kit that I use rather than relying on the test strips, but I still reference the charts to see how much of what to add.

[alisonquilts]

OK, so that sounds like what I was imagining. I will check that out.
Thanks!
Alison

[Watermom]

Just be aware that much of the available literature/pool care books out there are full of misinformation ...........

Taking care of a pool is not an exact science. You cannot know precise measurements of things to put in a pool that will take you to a precise reading. It just isn't possible.

Relax a little. I think you are making this harder than it is by worrying so much about the precision of everything. We don't want you to drive yourself crazy!

[johnfluharty]

The fact that they expect you to match colors visually is a good indicator that this is not an exact science. For me personally its not really about precision of what I add as it is remembering what chemical to add. I know, its only a handful of different chemicals, but then I need a grocery list if I want to remember more than 2 items. I do need to know whether to add 8 oz of something or 4 lbs, but I am too lazy to measure what I add precisely anyway, so all I need is a general idea, which the chart helps with, and I don't have to run inside to the computer. I guess I just haven't done this stuff often enough or long enough to really remember.

[CarlD]

Hi Alison!
The "How Much?" question is one we all deal with. The answer is usually you sort of feel your way to what does what.

HOWEVER:

With your pool, a 25,000 gallon pool, you CAN make a pretty good guess of how much chlorine a gallon of bleach will add. How much you'll need, is based on our "Best Guess" table that shows the level of Free Chlorine you'll need to maintain or to shock your water.

If you have 25,000 gallons of water, 1 gallon of ultra bleach (6% solution) will add 2.4 ppm of Free Chlorine. A gallon of 12.5% liquid Chlorine will add 5ppm of FC. A gallon of regular 5.25% bleach will add 2.1 ppm of FC.

So...say your CYA (stabilizer) measure is 40ppm, and your FC is 1 (assume your CC--Combined Chloramines-- is 0) The Best Guess table tells us your maintenance level is 3-6 ppm of FC and your shock level is 15 ppm. So you would need AT LEAST an addition of 2ppm of chlorine to get to maintenance level. 1 gallon of regular bleach would barely do it. 1 gallon of ultra would be better. But one gallon of 12.5 would take you near the top of your range, which I would suggest because you fell below 3 in the 3-6 range.

Now say your FC is 1 and your CC is 1 for a TC of 2. You would want to shock your pool up to 15ppm. You'd add 5 1/2 gallons of ultra bleach to get there.

I have NO idea how much powdered chlorine to use. I THINK 1# of Di-Chlor powder is about the equal of a gallon of bleach--but don't hold me to that.

How to add borax: If your pool is bordering on going under a pH of 6.9, you'll want to add a full box of Borax, into the skimmer. After an hour, if pH isn't in to at least 7.0 it, you'd add another box, and keep doing that until it reaches 7.0. Then I'd add a half-box every hour until I'm solidly in the 7.2-7.8 range (anything from 7.3-7.6 makes me happy). If my pool is below 7.4, but 7.2 or higher, I prefer to use aeration to raise pH rather than adding Borax.

There are acid demand and base demand tests and charts for adding stuff. I recommend that you NEVER add more than half of what the charts recommend of ANYTHING (other than chlorine). It's too easy to over-shoot your target, hard to fix, but easy to add more.

You'll never need to add calcium to your pool.

I hope this helps a little

Carl

[alisonquilts]

The fact that they expect you to match colors visually is a good indicator that this is not an exact science. For me personally its not really about precision of what I add as it is remembering what chemical to add. I know, its only a handful of different chemicals, but then I need a grocery list if I want to remember more than 2 items. I do need to know whether to add 8 oz of something or 4 lbs, but I am too lazy to measure what I add precisely anyway, so all I need is a general idea, which the chart helps with, and I don't have to run inside to the computer. I guess I just haven't done this stuff often enough or long enough to really remember.

Yes!! You nailed it! That is exactly how I feel! (And the bit about needing a grocery list for more than two items - too true.)

My angst over all of this isn't because I need everything to be precise, but that the three ways I currently have of getting test results generally give me three conflicting sets of values! When I do (finally) get the good test kit (it is taking a very long time to get here), I will now have confidence that the numbers it is giving me will at least reflect reality a bit, and I will go from there. At the moment I have the pool store telling me Cl- is 0, my test strip saying it is 0.5 and my OTO saying it is 2! Because I have a salt water system I am confident that there is at least some chlorine constantly being added, so I don't feel the need to fling buckets of chlorine around, but I don't want to mess with all of the other parameters until I get the Good Test Kit (my holy grail). And the water currently is beautifully clear...

Alison

[Watermom]

Trust the OTO reading over the other two.

(You're gonna love the new kit!)