Taylor Kit came today, here's my numbers

[RedwingT]

Last night (9pm) I added 6 cups of bleach to try and bring up my chl level which was at .5. I ran the filter for approx 4 hours and covered pool because we had storms in the forecast for early morning.

Tested this morning with HTH kit and got :
Chl 1 to 2 (yellow is hard for me)
pH 7.2

I then ran SWCG for 2 hours and left for the afternoon with pump filter still running. Pool remained covered all day and still is.

Came home this evening and Taylor Kit was here so I ran some tests, this is what I got.

FC 2.6
CC 0.6
pH 7.4
TA 110
CH 80 *Retested added 6 drops R-12 in beginning +4 x 10=100 final reading
CYA 0 *Changed to light gray at 9ml but never went away totally

FC /The chart in the kits states that FC is ideal btwn 2.0 and 4.0 So I guess I'm good there.

CC /it states maximum of 0.2- not so good there

TA /good

CH /not sure how important this one is but 150 is minimum and I'm not there..

CYA /def have a problem there. Obviously I need a stabilizer, been looking for one that doesn't have the mystery goo in it. Worse comes to worse, I am going to a pool store to pick up a Aqua Broom tomorrow so I just might get it there. I did purchase HTH Salt Pool Care 3 in 1 start up. It has 77% CA 23% "other ingredients" This was before I got the pool and started reading here. Is it ok to use or should I get something else? I've lost the receipt so I can't take it back. I don't even remember how much I paid for it. It's a 4lb bag.

I'm not sure if I should add more bleach tonite or not seeing how my FC level is pretty good at the moment but CC is high and I'm not sure which one is more important to maintain.

Feedback much appreciated.

[BigDave]

Congrats on the K-2006! Is the pink to clear eaisier for you? It is for me! When doing the chlorine tests, you'll save reagent if you test a 10ml sample instead of the 25ml - you just multiply each drop by 0.5ppm instead of 0.2ppm. You can also usually use just one scoop of DPD powder - if the sample turns pink, you have enough.

Please don't use the Taylor book for anything besides instructions for performing the tests. The book's dosage recommendations ignore many factors that we'll help you with here.

CH of 80-100 is fine for your pool.
You do need more CYA.
Your FC would be good except for your CC reading and the fact that you've probably had some time with no FC recently.
Your FC of 0.6ppm using the 25ml sample shows us that the chlorine in your pool is actively enagaged in oxidising something. You can watch it for a couple days to see if it goes away (or gets worse) or you can shock your pool. I think you should shock your pool.

The shock level for your pool according to Ben's Best Guess Chart is 10ppm FC. You can get up to shock level by adding 2-1/2 to 3 quarts regular 6% household bleach. Test chlorine and add bleach as often as possible to maintain the shock level of 10ppm FC. When you lose less than 1ppm FC between sundown and sunup and your CC is les than 0.5ppm (10ml sample - 0.2ppm FC for 25 ml sample), keep the FC at 10ppm for one more day then let it drift back to normal according to Ben's Best Guess Chart.

[RedwingT]

Oh Most Def the pink to clear is 100% easier for me to determine! I will use the 10ml sample from here on in.

QUOTE:
"Your FC of 0.6ppm using the 25ml sample shows us that the chlorine in your pool is actively enagaged in oxidising something. You can watch it for a couple days to see if it goes away (or gets worse) or you can shock your pool. I think you should shock your pool." (sorry don't know how to use Multi-quote and am in a hurry)
* I am assuming you meant CC of 0.6 here and also in the next paragraph "and your CC is les than 0.5ppm (10ml sample - 0.2ppm *FC* for 25 ml sample)"

I will be shocking my pool this evening. I still have it covered as we are having storms again today. Do I need to wait till evening even with it covered or can I go ahead and shock now since the pool won't be used and won't be receiving sun?

After shocking and I test in the morning if chl is below the 10ppm, do I add more at that moment or wait until evening again? I will keep swimmers out of the pool until I get this chl level adjusted. Also if I add it right after the low reading, is there a time frame I should wait before I test again?

Side note, I have been running my pump/filter 24/7 at this point because of the numbers being so off. SWCG is running now for a 4 hour span. I am seeing some algae and plan on vacuuming it out today before I shock tonight. Explains why my CC is up there!

Thanks!

[BigDave]

QUOTE:
"Your FC of 0.6ppm using the 25ml sample ... * I am assuming you meant CC of 0.6 here and also in the next paragraph "and your CC is les than 0.5ppm (10ml sample - 0.2ppm *FC* for 25 ml sample)"

So sloppy of me - I'm sorry. Yes you're right I meant: "Your CC of 0.6ppm" and "your CC is less than 0.5ppm (10ml sample - 0.2ppm CC for 25 ml sample)" Thanks for understanding what I meant not what I wrote.

I will be shocking my pool this evening. I still have it covered as we are having storms again today. Do I need to wait till evening even with it covered or can I go ahead and shock now since the pool won't be used and won't be receiving sun?

Start the shocking process as soon as you can. You probably don't want to leave the pool covered as shocking can produce noxious gasses that may be unable to escape from the cover - these gasses may also damage the cover.

After shocking and I test in the morning if chl is below the 10ppm, do I add more at that moment or wait until evening again?

Test and dose as often as you can regardless of time of day.

I will keep swimmers out of the pool until I get this chl level adjusted.

I don't think you need to stay out of the pool. Some of the disinfection byproducts (DBPs) can be irritating so watch your swimmers closely. The DBPs can also be smelly (smells like "chlorine"). Please review Ben's Best Guess Chart.

Also if I add it right after the low reading, is there a time frame I should wait before I test again?

Let it mix for and hour or two.

...I am seeing some algae and plan on vacuuming it out today before I shock tonight. Explains why my CC is up there!

Sure does. I'd shock first then vacuum to be sure you kill the algae you stir up.

[RedwingT]

Good idea to kill algae first then vacuum. Makes perfect (common) sense to me! I seem to be lacking common sense at this junction of overload.

As others have stated before me, after reading so much sometimes the brain goes into overload and losses the ability to convert to common sense remedies. Especially when your worrying about getting everything just right. I've started taking notes to refer back too.

Two more questions and I think I got it. lol

1. Should I continue to run my filter while shocking or do I want the bleach to sit in the water to kill what ails it?
2. I am also assuming I want to continue my scheduled time for the SWG. I mean having too much chlorine is better than not enough, right?

Purchased the CYA and it's 99% pure. That's a plus, the price tag not so much. Gotta do what ya gotta do I guess. Going to put it in a sock in front of the flowing water to help dissolve. Looks like I need 1# to get my CYA approximately to the 30ppm mark. Rather start slow than have too much and have to drain. Now if the rain would just stop I could get out there and get this process started.

Thanks so much for your help BigDave, you have helped me tremendously!

[BigDave]

Running the FC up to shock level before stirring up the algae is not so much to kill it first but to provide a killing environment when you do expose the algae. I 'spose there's no real diference but I try to be accurate (when I'm not mis-typing).
Run the filter 24x7. No real need to run your SWCG. You'll be manually chlorinating until you're done with the shock process. Definitely don't run the SWCG when trying to determine overnight FC loss - you wouldn't want lose 4ppm FC while adding 3.5ppm via SWCG and think you're done when you're not even close.

[RedwingT]

A light seemed to go on last night and I think I finally 'got it'! It helped that I found the Pool Calculator also!

I haven't added my stabilizer as of yet, I think I need to do that to try and maintain my chlorine level easier while in the shock process? I'm not sure if this will give me a false assurance of enough chlorine thou. This might have been answered up ^ there somewhere, but if it was I clearly didn't 'get it' lol

[Watermom]

We usually advise people to wait to add CYA until the water is cleared up and chlorine is stable. Also, be careful about using the Pool Calculator. It is set up to try and solve problems with one big dose of whatever ingredient you are working on instead of smaller additions, testing, adding more if needed, etc.

A different calculator that we like better is called the bleach calculator although it has more than just a bleach calc. If you click in the upper left hand corner, it will give you other calcs as well.

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthr...18-bleach-calc

[BigDave]

Be careful with the pool calculator. Never add as much of anything it calculates except chlorine. Especially chems to adjust pH - it's just too complicated. Never add more than half as much of anything as you think you need. The method we follow here is measure - dose - mix - measure - dose - mix - repeat. It's much better to creep up on your goal than to overshoot.

If you add stabilizer, your shock level will go up. I'd wait to add stabilizer until the shock process is complete.

Sorry. Watermom and I were posting at the same time - you'll notice the advice is similar

[RedwingT]

Thanks to both of you! I only used the Pool Calc for bleach at this point. I mainly was looking at it to convert 1# to cups etc in the first place. I called the store I bought my CYA from and he told me 1# of it was equal to approx 2 cups. Then I called another store to see what they would say and I was told 1 3/4 cups. Basically I was just trying to find out which one was correct, even thou I don' think a 1/4 cup would have made that much difference.

I didn't put the CYA in because I thought it possibly wouldn't be beneficial to my cause atm and wanted to hear it from someone here either way. The pool store told me, sure put it in even after I told him I was going to shock the pool later in the evening. On one hand I thought it would help but on the other I thought it would hinder my goal.

Thanks for the link Watermom! BigDave, I can never have to much advice when it comes to this pool especially from 2 people who are on the same page.