New to BBB method

[Slachey]

Thanks Carl.

I will backwash tomorrow to lower the water level and then test. Are there any specific test results that you guys want to see? The kit I purchased appears to have the ability to run quite a few. Thanks again.

[CarlD]

I'd test 5 things:
FC and CC (use the 10ml mark, not the 25ml mark--save your chems and 10ml is all you need for accuracy--I rarely if ever bother with 25ml)
pH
T/A-Total Alkalinity
CH (calcium hardness, just for reference. Unless your CH is really high you won't need to bother with it again till closing)
CYA/Stabilizer/Condition

Ignore the acid demand and base demand tests. For 99.99% of us they tell us nothing and confuse us. For pool pros like Ben (PoolDoc) and Chem_Geek they are occasionally useful, but most of the time, they don't use them either.

If you have a pool thermometer, the temp wouldn't be a bad thing to know.

You can't test metals with the K2006, but don't worry about that for now.

[PoolDoc]

The ones you want to run are: chlorine (FC + CC), pH, total alkalinity, calcium hardness, and stabilizer (CYA).

These videos will help: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...99CY_BQXE1Jx6s

[Slachey]

Will do gentlemen. Thank you!

[Slachey]

So I ran the above tests with a water temp of ~ 58 degrees;

FC - 8 ppm
CC - 0ppm
TA - 50 ppm
CH - 200ppm
CYA - 80 to 90 ppm
PH - 7.4

I should point out that we do have the auto chlorinator hooked up with chlorine tabs in it.

What do you recommend I do for my next steps?

Thanks again for your assistance.

[Watermom]

First thing I would do if it were my pool is quit using the trichlor chlorine tabs. They are adding CYA and yours is already a little high. Not a problem but you don't want it any higher. You will need to run a little higher than normal chlorine levels as a result. Take a look at the Best Guess Chlorine Chart in my signature below for the correlation between CYA and needed chlorine levels. (If you already have tabs in there now that are wet, let them go ahead and dissolve but just don't use any more.)

Your TA is a little low. You might want to add a little baking soda to try and bump it up to around 80-100 or so. Work on this gradually instead of one big dose. Maybe a cup or two at a time. Pour it into the skimmer slowly while the pump is running.

How did your CH get to 200? Are you using cal-hypo or have you added any calcium or do you just have hard water?

I would suggest just using bleach for your source of chlorine from now on.

Hope this helps.

[Slachey]

Thanks for the reply Watermom.

I will add the Baking Soda to increase the TA level to 80-100. After I add the "cup at a time" how long do I let circulate before I test the TA level? As for the CH, I have never added anything, that I know of, that would have increased this to the level it currently is.

As for using the bleach, how do I know how much to add to my pool for "Regular maintenance"? I have not been able to find that anywhere as of yet.

Thanks again.

[Slachey]

One more thing if I may ask...When I tested the Combined Chlorine, it did not even register, so I assume that means it is "0". Does that represent a problem?