Water test Results

[AnnaK]

Add 3 more cups of baking soda to raise the TA a little more. Let that mix in and circulate for an hour, then add 2 cups of borax. My best guess is that your TA will then be in the 90s somewhere and the pH around 7.4/7.5

The CC of .5 is okay but we'd rather have it at zero.

From here on you test daily for FC, CC, and pH. You add enough bleach to keep the FC between 3 and 6 ppm. This is based on your reported CYA of 40-something. In your pool, 1/2 gallon of 6% bleach will add approximately 5 ppm of FC. You should be okay with adding 1 quart of 6% bleach every evening, depending on the swimmer load that day. Test the water in the evening. It's going to be a little bit of trial and error and we want to err on the high side. You will soon get to know your pool and develop a 'feel' for what it needs.

[FNC1962]

Add 3 more cups of baking soda to raise the TA a little more. Let that mix in and circulate for an hour, then add 2 cups of borax. My best guess is that your TA will then be in the 90s somewhere and the pH around 7.4/7.5

The CC of .5 is okay but we'd rather have it at zero.

From here on you test daily for FC, CC, and pH. You add enough bleach to keep the FC between 3 and 6 ppm. This is based on your reported CYA of 40-something. In your pool, 1/2 gallon of 6% bleach will add approximately 5 ppm of FC. You should be okay with adding 1 quart of 6% bleach every evening, depending on the swimmer load that day. Test the water in the evening. It's going to be a little bit of trial and error and we want to err on the high side. You will soon get to know your pool and develop a 'feel' for what it needs.

Okay, my evening test result after adding baking soda and borax are FC 4.0, CC 0, TA 90, PH 7.3 Cya 60. I am going to add a quart of 6% bleach. Do I need to add more Borax and/or baking soda? Thanks
Frank

[aylad]

Go ahead and add your bleach--your pH and alk look fine to me.

Janet

[AnnaK]

It's looking great, Frank!

Try to keep the FC between 3 and 6 ppm, test FC, CC, pH daily, add bleach as needed. Are you keeping a pool log? I use a notebook in which I write test results, type and amount of chemicals added, when I backwash/rinse, that sort of thing.

The log can sometimes be your first clue of trouble, before you see or feel problems with the water, and can teach you to be proactive. At closing and opening you can refer back to previous years to see what you did and, if a problem comes up during the season, you can look back to see how you dealt with something similar in the past. It's also a good place to track money spent on pool related items.

Enjoy your pool, you've worked hard to get it where it is.

[FNC1962]

Great idea about the pool log. I will start doing this. How about my pH level, should I work on getting it a little higher? How often should I do the other tests?
Thank You very much for your advice, this forum is fantastic.

[AnnaK]

Your pH at 7.3 is fine. I suspect you want to raise it a little just because you know you can

Don't allow yourself to fall into the trap of "chasing numbers". That's where we get some magic value into our heads and think we have to reach that or the sky will fall, or something. Keep in mind that chemical levels in a balanced pool are in ranges: FC between 3 and 6 ppm, CYA between 30 and 50 ppm, pH between 7.2 and 7.8, TA between 70 and 120 ppm.

Watch your pH. Most pools like to stay at a certain level. As long as that level is within the above range, why fix something that isn't broken? If yours develops a tendency to drift up or down or if it drops below 7.2, then let us know and we'll help you figure out what's happening. With a TA of 90 you have a well buffered solution now which should keep the pH stable.

I test TA once a month unless my pH goes squirrelly for 2 days in a row. Then I test TA and adjust, if needed. I keep a relatively low TA because my fill water is low in alkalinity. Since my pool's pH is steady and I've not observed any corrosion issues I've opted to not mess with the TA . . . to not "chase numbers".

I test CYA four times during the season: 1. at startup, 2. after adding enough stabilizer to reach 50 ppm during startup, 3. at the end of July, to see how much I've lost from splashout and refilling, and 4. at closing.

I have never done an acid demand test or a base demand test.

There's some hot weather in the works. Go swim!