New Pebble - first tests

[dawndenise]

Understood - thanks for keeping me on the right path. I'll see where my true cl level is with the distilled and try to keep it there throughout the day and hope it holds overnight. Just an FYI, if it makes any difference, I have a cartridge filter.

Sandy

[dawndenise]

Yikes - something's still using up my chlorine. Tested about 1pm, just 4 hours after this AM's tests and now I have no chlorine, pH still holding. No need to try the distilled water method if I have no chlorine by the regular method. So, I'm adding calhypo (HTH Super Shock It) for the first time, a package made for 16,500 gallons. Says it's 62.4% Calcium hypochlorite with 60% available chlorine. I'll test again in a few hours and see what level we have.

My water temps are still holding in the 82 AM -86 PM range, as our air temps have topped out in the upper 90s and low 100s all week.

Sandy

[duraleigh]

Sandy,

Remember the two things that consume Cl...the Sun and "bugs".

With your low CYA reading, I'll bet the Sun got some of that Cl.

Put that Cal Hypo in at dusk and you'll get much more effective use out of it....hide it from the Sun.

As an aside, ask the pool store for a 25 or 50 lb tub of Cal Hypo. You'll save a lot of bucks and I believe you'll use it all this Summer. (you still need to get your calcium up and it will take quite a bit) If you cap it tightly it'll be good next year if you don't use it all.

[dawndenise]

I think a previous post of mine got lost in cyberspace, so I'll recap. My 6PM reading yesterday showed less than .5 total Cl. Added another package of CalHypo (2nd one of the day).

Tested again at about 9PM, Cl 5+, possibly 6
Free Cl 2
Added my 3rd package of CalHypo for overnight. BTW, added water in the pool and cartridge filter was cleaned. City water is considered safe, but its source has an algae issue. That will probably always be the case, according to the newspaper, although some times of the year are worse than others.

This AM, water is clearer, did a full battery of tests:
Cl 5+ looks like 6 on the distilled method
Free 4-5
pH 7.8 (little bugger crept up on me)
TA 80
Hardness 90

Plan for the day is to add muriatic to drop my pH to about 7.5, add baking soda to increase TA again, add CalHypo now and keep retesting.

My entire pool is in full sun from just before 9AM until about 5 when parts start to go in the shade. Although I've used up my stabilizer tests, I know my level is below 30. I question my first test after doing the second. I could have slightly less than 30, I may have none?? Couldn't I at least add enough CYA to raise my level a mere 10ppm safely? Maybe I'd stand a better chance of having my pool hold some chlorine?

I hesitate to buy another kit with stabilizer tests in them because I'll end up with even more tests that I've already duplicated, plus Ben's should arrive sometime in the future, but I guess I'll do what I have to, to know my water.

Sandy

[duraleigh]

Hi, Sandy,

When I add high doses of Cl, I do it at dusk (full shade is pretty good, too). That pretty much eliminates the Sun from robbing your Cl and let's the majority of it work on the bugs. I simply do not add it during the day because the Sun eats it up and I'm cheap.

It would be fine to add CYA but, if you're cleaning your cartridge pretty frequently, you'll wash it out of your filter before it dissolves into your pool. You could certainly put it in a sock and suspend it in the water. If so, I'd put in enough to raise it by 20ppm more.

Since your pH shows a tendency to creep up, I would add enough muriatic to shoot for 7.0 - 7.2........measure accurately. It'll make your Cl that much more effective on the bugs.

Synopsis - keep up the Cl - evening application is most effective - CYA if you choose - bring pH down to the lower range of 7.0-7.2

[dawndenise]

I just realized that my CalHypo may not be shocking my pool as printed on the package. Package states that 1# of 62.4% calcium hypochlorite will shock a 16,500 gallon pool. Package states available chlorine is 60%.

Elsewhere on this forum, I jotted down a conversion of 1-1/2gallons (192 oz)of 5.25% bleach equals 1# of cal hypo. That should have triggered something right there, as there's no way even 1-1/2gals of 6% bleach can shock my pool, so there's no way 1# of cal hypo would either!

Again, elsewhere on this forum I found another ratio: 3cups (24 oz) 5.25% bleach is equivalent to 2cups+5oz (21oz) of 6% bleach in raising 1000 gallons 10ppm in Cl.

If my math holds, that means it takes 168oz of 6% bleach to equal 1# of cal hypo.

My shock level for my pool (17,000 gal) to go to 15ppm from 0 is 546 oz of 6% bleach.
So, again with the math, that would mean I need 3.25# of 65% cal hypo to shock my pool from 0 to 15. No wonder I'm only getting 6s on total chlorine with only 1 1lb package!

Before I start dumping more than 1 package into the pool at a time, could you please check my math and logic on this one?

Sandy

[dawndenise]

First - my bad. The 1# package of 62.4% CalHypo never claimed to shock a 16,500 gallon pool, it was 1 package per 8000 gallons. I got the 16,500 number from my OTHER brand of CalHypo, the 73% brand.

Now for good news. I added about 2# CYA yesterday, half about 1PM, 1/2 about 7PM. The pool actually held some Cl through the sunny day, but still only measured 1 total and less than .5 free at 8PM. At 8PM, added 1# of 73%CalHypo.

Total Cl added yesterday was 1# 62.4% CalHypo in the AM, 546 oz 6% bleach at 1PM, when my test showed 0 Cl, and 1# of 73% CalHypo.


This morning's readings show:
Cl 5+ (10+ on the 2x test, maybe 9 on the 3x test)
Free Cl 5+
pH 7.5
TA 80
CH 110

I think we're getting there. Will add appropriate amt of baking soda to raise TA today, as I didn't do that yesterday - already adding a lot of other stuff. This AM, I've already added my last 1# bag of the 62.4% CalHypo which should get me to the 15-16ppm mark.

I've also ordered stabilizer tests - don't plan on adding any more stabilizer until I can test.

I'm anxious to see if that amount of CYA I added yesterday might help hold chlorine today.

Question on the CH drop test: When I did the test yesterday, the initial color was a light pink, rather than red. Today, it barely looked like a pale pink. Adding drops changed the color, but to a very light green rather than a blue. Results still valid?

Thanks for all the help.
Sandy