New Pool Chemical Help Needed

[klondrie]

I just got my pool up and filled. I got the pump running with a few minor leaks that I will work on later. My concern right now is getting the chemicals right in the pool. I took tests and here are my results:
CL=0
PH=7.5
FC=0
CC=0
TC=0
Alk=60
Cal=90
CYA=0

Temperature of the water is about 79

AG 28' round, 18,400 gallons

What would any of you recommend that I do from this point?
Thank you in advance for any advice, I really do appreciate it.

Keith

[prh129]

Hi Keith,

I would suggest you get some chlorine in there. If you can find a post from mwsmith2, you can download his bleach calc program to figure out how much bleach to add. Pick up some generic plain unscented 6% ultra bleach. You want to bring your FC level up to 3 ppm. Using the bleach calc program and your 18400 gallon number, I calculate 0.9 gal of 6% bleach needed to bring your FC up by 3 ppm.

Next I would get some stabilizer (cyanuric acid or isocyanuric acid) and either pour it in the skimmer or put it in a sock, tie a knot and hang it in the pool. A 4lb bottle will be good to start although you will probably need more (I would guess at least 6 lbs total). Wait at least 5 days to test for CYA and shoot for 30-50 ppm.

You could also add some baking soda to bring your alk up in the 80 to 125 ppm range. It should take about 5 lbs to give you a 20 ppm increase. You can start with a 4 lb box and see how far that gets you.

Since you have a vinyl pool you shouldn't need to worry about the Ca.

Peter

[klondrie]

Peter, thanks for your reply. I put in the .9 gal of bleach last night. Went to Wal-Mart for the Stabilizer which reads Cyanuric acid=96% and inert ingredients=4%. Is this ok to use or does it need to be 100% Cyanuric acid? Will add some Baking soda this morning and test my my alk and chlorine and post the results.What is the best way to add the baking soda? Thanks for your help.

[Simmons99]

The Wal-Mart stuff is fine.

[aylad]

Add the baking soda through the skimmer, slowly, breaking up any clumps.

Janet

[klondrie]

I added 4 pounds of stabilizer 6 days ago. My CYA reading is 50 (still shows gray dot). Will the gray dot totally disappear?

My FC is 1.5 today, PH is 7.5, alk is 80, CC is 0, TC is 1-2. Water temp is 78. 28'AG, 18,500 gal.

I also added 4 pounds of baking soda 6 days ago.

What would any of you recommend I do from here?

Once I get the right balance, I will be starting up my SWC. (Auto Pilot)

[Watermom]

The dot will totally go away. Your ph and alk look fine. Your cl is a little low. For a cya reading of 50, you need to keep it between 3-6 all the time or you risk an algae bloom.

[klondrie]

Thanks WaterMom, Should I add more bleach to get my cl level up then retest for CYA? Then if my CYA still is too low do I go ahead and add more? I don't want to risk getting too much but I don't think I have enough yet.

I have been adding bleach and my level does go up but it is eaten up rather fast and hard to maintain a higher level. Is this because I don't have enough CYA yet?

Thanks,
Klondrie

[brent.roberts]

I would suggest you do NOT add any more CYA. Most folks on this forum think that the ideal range is betwen 30 and 50 and you're already at the high end of that.

Over time with rain and topping off then backwashing, the CYA will creep down, but only very very slowly. Check it again in a week to see if it's still near 50. The I would suggest you only need to check it once a month or so.

Now that the CYA is up your chlorine levels will stabilize somewhat. They will go down more during the day with sunlight being the biggest factor, and swimmer load the other. Because it gets blown away by the sunlight, top up the chlorine in the evening, after the sun is off the pool and that will keep the levels pretty much where you want them all night an into the morning hours of sun a bit. Then it will slide through the day, till you top it up in the evening again. You will see the cycle. After a while you'll see that on a normal day you need a half gallon of bleach or whatever.

good luck and enjoy