New Intex Pool owner

[GeorgeMccarthy]

I tried posting yesterday but did not see my post appear. So my apologies if this is a repeat.

This past Sunday I set up an Intex 12' x 30" pool. I think it holds 1718 gallons to fill line.

Testing after filling Sunday night was:

TC 0-0.5
PH 6.8
TA 30 ppm

I think I may have added too much liquid bleach (1 gallon) and too much baking soda (10 oz dissolved in water). Also have a sock with 1/10 of a box of Borax hanging in the pool.

Pool read Monday am:

FC 5 (or higher)
TC 5 (or higher)
PH 8.2 (or higher)
Acid demand: to drop PH to 7.5 required 6 drops of R-008
TA 60 ppm

Pool read Tuesday am:

FC 5 (or higher)
TC 5 (or higher)
PH 8.2 (or higher)
Acid demand: to drop PH to 7.5 required 6 drops of R-008
TA 70 ppm

The test kit I got did not have CYA. So I guess I should order CYA stand alone test kit?

Do I need to just add some Muriatic Acid to lower PH? And take cover off the pool to allow chlorine levels to lower by themselves? Wanted to try to use the pool this Saturday if possible.

Thank you

[Watermom]

George,
Your other thread was there, but I went ahead and deleted it since this one has so much more information.

Oh, yeah, you overdid the bleach! In your tiny pool, a gallon of 6% bleach will add 35ppm of chlorine!! Fortunately, since you don't have any CYA in there yet, the chlorine will drop especially if you get some hot sunny days. Please do remove your cover. For a reference for future doses of bleach, each cup of 6% bleach will add about 2.5ppm of chlorine.

With chlorine levels as high as your currently have, your pH test results cannot be trusted. Retest once the chlorine has come way down. If you still have the sock with Borax in the pool, remove it for now. Your TA looks fine; no more baking soda needed.

What test kit do you have?

Please complete the following chart with information about your pool.

Pool Chart Entry Form
Pool Chart Results

Hope this helps some. Welcome to the Pool Forum!

[GeorgeMccarthy]

Whoops! Can I take my cover off if we are having thunderstorms?

Took the sock of Borax out. The pool kit I have is Leslie Deluxe Pool Care DPD Test Kit (made by Taylor) No CYA test included.

Any idea if I would be able to get Chlorine levels down enough to go in this weekend?

Will post more results as they change. Updated the pool chart with my information.

Thank you very much for your time.

[PoolDoc]

You need better testing capability. I'm pasting in some of the relevant sections from the sticky we're working on.

+ Get a cheap OTO (yellow drops) / phenol test kit, or if available at YOUR Walmart (check availability), get the HTH 6-way DROPS test kit, which is compatible with the Taylor K2006. Test the pool as soon and you can, and post the results. If you get the 6-way kit, ALSO test the water you FILL the pool with, especially if it's a well, and post THOSE results as well. (The HTH is the best available kit you're likely to find locally, but it's not the K-2006. It can only provide rough measurements chlorine levels above 5 ppm, and it measures "TOTAL" hardness, rather than "CALCIUM" hardness, which is not ideal.)

(In your case, an OTO kit will quickly alert you to the fact of a major overdose, like a gallon of bleach in your pool.)


+ Having a good test kit makes pool care easier for EVERYONE. A good test kit means a kit that can test chlorine from 0 - 25 ppm, pH, alkalinity, calcium hardness, and stabilizer with reasonable accuracy. Test strips (AKA 'guess-strips' ) do NOT meet this standard. Some pool store testing is accurate; most is not. The ONLY way you'll know whether your pool store is accurate or bogus, is by testing accurately your own self. On the other hand, pool store 'computer' dosing recommendations are NEVER trustworthy -- ignore them. They are designed to sell more chemicals than you need, and WILL cause many pool problems.

(It would sorta seem reasonable that that a really small pool, can get buy with a lesser kit. But, in some ways it's just the opposite, because with more people per gallon, it's harder to do it well. Read the Best Guess page linked in my signature.)

+ We recommend the Taylor K-2006 test kit, which meets the requirements above, for many reasons. The HTH 6-way drops kit is a great starter kit, and is compatible with the K2006 (it's made by Taylor). There are a few alternatives; for example Lamotte makes an FAS-DPD kit that's OK -- but it costs 3x as much. But, we're not aware of any test that is better, and since we are all familiar with the K-2006 (and can help you with it) we recommend it exclusively ( Test kit info page )

(Don't over do the testing. Chlorine, pH and CYA are what matters on your pool.)

[GeorgeMccarthy]

Thanks for the advice. I will try to get one of those 6 way kits soon.

Well all that bleach didn't last long. Retested this morning with DPD kit and here are the results.

TC .5 clear water
PH 8.2

So then added one cup of bleach by inlet waited then retested this afternoon.

FC 1
TC 1
PH 8.2
Acid demand: to drop PH to 7.5 required 2 drops of R-008
TA 60 ppm

Also purchased a clorine tablet floater at Walmart.

Active Ingredients:
Trichloro-S Triazinetrione 99.%
Other Ingredients: 1.%
Total Ingredients: 100%

Will this have the CYA I am looking for to stabilize? the smallest setting on the floater is for 5,000 gallon pools. Mine is just under 2000. Okay to use this?

And do i need to get some acid to lower PH to around 7.5 or so?

Just want to make sure we can jump in this weekend!

Thanks again for all the help.

[PoolDoc]

That trichlor is fine. Just watch your chlorine level.

And yes, you need to drop your pH to just below 8 -- get some pH down (it's easier to use on a very small pool). Use 1/4 cup doses; pre-dissolve them in a gallon of water.

[aylad]

Don't drop it too low, though, if you're going to use the trichlor floater--those tabs are also very acidic and will drop your pH, as well.....

Also, I would take the floater out of the pool while you have people in it...you don't want them swimming into a pocket of high-chlorine, lo-pH water with eyes open!

[GeorgeMccarthy]

Do I need to get a separate supply of the CYA stabilizer? Or will the amount in the trichlor be enough?

thanks! You guys are fast.

[aylad]

If you're going to be using a constant supply of chlorine, like trichlor in a floater, the amount in the trichlor should be enough. It will take awhile to raise the stabilizer (a few weeks or even maybe a month or two) but if you always have the trichlor being circulated around the pool, then it should be fine.
However, if you're planning to use any other type of non-stabilized chlorine,, then I would add the CYA separately.

[GeorgeMccarthy]

Is the DPD Kit made by Taylor (sold at Leslie Pools) not same type of chemical testing as the HTH taylor K2006?

I wanted to know cause it seems I have a 5 way Kit and I am only missing the ability to test for CYA levels. I need to gain that ability to test soon cause I am going through the bleach and have only added the CYA that would be in my Trichlor tabs for the last few days.

Is there a decent stand alone CYA kit I can get so I dont have to repurchase the whole thing?

Also how would I calculate a best guess to get my CYA to 30 ppm for a pool just under 2000 gallons?

Thank you again in advance.