New member

[PoolDoc]

Actually, the "30 - 40" ppm range on your CYA test makes me suspect that the guy may actually know what he's doing, and that your test results are reasonably accurate. The reason is, none of the CYA test methods available for home or store use are more accurate than that. When some one gets, or gives, a reading of CYA = 33.1 ppm . . . I KNOW they are bogus. Perhaps, unknowingly bogus, but still bogus! It's unusual to encounter pool store staff who actually UNDERSTAND the test methods they use. You may have found an exception.

Of course, if he DOES understand, and he told you that 300 ppb phosphates means you MUST do something, means he may be smart, but dishonest! 3000 ppb would mean you might have a problem you'd want to fix; 300ppb means almost nothing!

You can continue to increase your CYA level if you like. Just read the Best Guess page so you understand what's going on. Chlorine USAGE is pretty much the same, regardless of which bracket on the Best Guess chart you're in. But at higher levels of CYA you have to add more chlorine at a time -- but you can do so less often.

[Watermom]

If it were my pool, I'd go ahead and let the rest of the CYA granules dissolve. I think you'll be happier with CYA closer to 50 than 30.

[7sanders]

Thanks! Will leave the stabilizer to finish dissolving.

The sheet he gave me with the results on it says that phosphates level should remain <100ppb ! Must be a big money maker for them.

Enjoying every minute of the pool, thanks so much for your input!

[aylad]

I just want to congratulate you on doing your homework and taking control of your own pool. It makes life SO much easier when you don't have to just buy stuff from the store because they tell you you need it, without understanding why!!

Good job!

Janet

[7sanders]

Thanks for all of the advice... Had my PH creep up above 7.8... not quite to the 8.4 on my test kit, but somewhere in between the 7.8 and 8.4. Added about 3 oz of dissolved PH Minus that we had on hand yesterday, and today the chlorine has held steady at 3 and the PH was back to about a 7.6. I'm guessing it's due to high aeration, as our kids plus the neighborhood kids have spent at least 4-6 hours a day splashing around in the pool. And the pump return into the pool really ripples the water since we don't have the pool filled to capacity. (And rain two nights in a row)

Anyway... I pulled out all the chemicals we've purchased/been given over the years and was curious if any of the following are worth keeping around?

* HTH PH Minus (I understand Muratic Acid is the chem of choice, but we already had this on hand)

* HTH Dual Action 1" chlorinating tablets (active ingred. trichloro-s-triazinetrione 93.5% and copper sulfate pentahydrate 1.5%... avail chlorine 84%)
* SpaGuard PH Decreaser (sodium bisulfate 93.2%)

And the jug of "HTH Algaeguard" is definitely getting tossed.

How do you dispose of unwanted pool chemicals? Are they safe to dump, or best taken to the hazardous waste facility?

Thanks!

Intex 16'x48" UltraFrame, approx 5000 gal

[Watermom]

The PH Minus and the PH decreaser are both just dry acid and should be fine to use unless they list some other unwanted ingredient on the label. If it is just sodium bisulfate, that's ok. Do NOT use the chlorinating tabs since they have copper in them. You do NOT want copper in your pool. And you're right. Do NOT use the HTH Algaeguard.

I'm not sure of the best way to dispose of the unwanted stuff. Ben will have a better idea. I'll ask him.

[7sanders]

Thank you! You are all so helpful

[PoolDoc]

Disposing of them might be tricky. Lemme ask some questions:

1. Are you going to leave the pool up for winter, or take it down?
2. Are you on a sewer or a septic tank?
3. Do you have any sidewalks or concrete or roofing that has algae you'd like to remove?