Water test Results

[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!

[FNC1962]

What you've done so far sounds good. The ~16 oz of baking soda you've put in will raise your TA around 10 ppm. You would be okay to add the rest of that box.

Thank you for clarifying the "drops" situation. I have never done a base or an acid demand test and am just not familiar with the procedure.

I would like to say to you, okay, go ahead and use those silk sticks but that 6.1% "other ingredients" concerns me. I don't like putting stuff in my pool when all I know is that it's "other". I'm hoping PoolDoc will know what that might be. Until we find out I'd say, set it aside. I was just wondering if Pooldoc saw this and knows what that 6.1% other ingredients might be? I know with certainty that I wouldn't use the Step 2 and Step 3 chemicals. Both contain copper and who knows what else. It's what Watermom so fondly calls 'voodoo ingredients'