Pool is Running, First test....

[roxy]

Hello all,
My pool was installed Thursday, a 28' by 54" above ground, it was full and I started the filter on Friday evening. It has a chlorinator on it, so I put in several pucks like the installer suggested and it has been running on low since for about 24 hours. I took some readings today and here is what I came up with......and where should I take it from here....

Total Chlorine......doesn't register
Total Alkalinity.....39
PH.....................7.5
CYA...................Also no reading

Not sure which direction to go first..........it looks great right now, but I'd hate to see it turn on me....I will wait for your advice....thanks in advance.......

[duraleigh]

Hi, Roxy,

First of all, you've done a good job.....very few folks come to the forum with a brand new pool AND test numbers that make sense!! Congrats.

Right now, I'd do nothing. Keep your pump running on low 24/7 for now. Take your tests again tomorrow AM and post those numbers. Some Chlorine should start to show up. hopefully some CYA as well. If it does, that'll be great. If you get no Cl to show up by tomorrow AM, I think you should plan on putting in some bleach. Perhaps some CYA and baking soda as well.....it'll depend on your numbers.

It just occurred to me that you had those tests done at a pool store. If so, Please purchase a good test kit that'll test for FC, TC, pH, Alk, and CYA . You'll use that kit over and over....it'll be a great investment.

I'm not comfortable with that ALK test so I don't think you should do anything right now. I think it'll be different when you get your own kit.

[roxy]

Dave,
I did test the water myself with the 5 way kit from HTH, until I get Ben's kit, I was not comfortable with the Alk test either. When I add the drops to turn the water red, should I be adding enough to get it bright red ....I may have lost count also...I have a four year old asking many questions as she watches me play chemist....from a safe distance of course. The bleach and baking soda are waiting in the garage, will have to pick up cya though, I didn't want to jump the gun and just start pouring until I heard from all of you. Thanks again....even though I don't anticipate swimming up here in NY for awhile, I am already enjoying this.

[mwsmith2]

One of the first things i'd ask your pool installer is "did you put any CYA in the pool?" If he did, and you add more, you may have a LOT more than you want, mainly because CYA takes a while to dissolve.

Your alk is low. I like to see in the 100 - 120 range.

I'd be concerned with no Cl showing up. You should see *some*. You may want to turn up the dial on your Cl feed before you develop a green pond. If you don't show any Cl tomorrow, you should put 3 quarts of plain, unscented 6% (ultra) bleach in the pool. That will bring your Cl to around 3 ppm, which will prevent the "pond syndrome"

Michael

[duraleigh]

Hi, Roxy,

You, Michael and I are almost on the identical page. You seem to have a really good grip on this pool chemistry stuff. Wish I had learned that fast.

The problem with your Alk test is you should never get a 39. It should be measurable in units of 10.....80, 90, 100, 110, etc. Reread your test directions and try it again tomorrow.

If you had your pool installed, Michaels advice is on the money....check to see if any CYA was already added.

[roxy]

Good Morning all,
You guys are good...after rereading my directions and slooowwwing myself down a bit, I was supposed to multiply by ten....NOT 3. Just tested and came up with....

PH........7.5
Cl.........Can see just a whisper of yellow, I would say towards .5 ppm
TA........110

There was nothing added to the water, the installer left after there was about 2" of water in the liner, and told me when it was full just add the pucks and crank up the dial on the chlorinator. Using Michael's bleach calc, I am planning on adding enough bleach to get me up to 3 ppm. I am thinking the pucks will bring up the cya in time....is this correct or will I need to help it initially.

Thanks....and good catch on the alk test. I hope you experts have fun as much fun with this as us new guys.

[duraleigh]

]

Hi, Roxy,

About all you need now is some CYA and a little warm weather......you're gonna have a great Summer with your pool.

I do not use pucks so I can't tell you how quickly your CYA and Cl should register but it seems like yours needs a boost. I would put in enough CYA to bring it up to about 20ppm or thereabouts. Then let the pucks do the rest up to maybe 30-40.

Likewise, I would put in enough Clorox each evening to bring my Cl level up to about 3-5ppm. The Sun will burn it off the next day so you'll have to keep adding and testing each evening until your test indicates your holding about 3ppm.

As you keep reading the forum, you'll find most of us don't use pucks. They're very low in pH and, over time, they will cause your CYA to get too high. Right now, you WANT your CYA to come up so pucks (tri-chlor) are fine but you may want to consider some alternatives down the road.

You've started your pool nicely.

[mwsmith2]

Looking good! I used to keep in my back pocket how much CYA was in a puck, but I forget off hand. Your alk looks fine, so you don't have to mess with that. Dave is right about the low pH of the pucks, so if you are running the feeder pretty hard, keep an eye on your pH. If it starts heading for 7.2, you'll want to add some borax to bring the pH back up.

Michael

[roxy]

Dave,
The only reason I am using the pucks is because they were included in the "package". My "package" included enough chemicals for three weeks and a test kit. That's about 10 pucks and "guess strips" as I have seen them called here. I will be changing shortly.......thank you

[geordie]

Roxy,

Some of us do use pucks, although sparingly. What you are doing is exactly the way I open my pool every year... and it works great for me. Please don't add any extra CYA as of yet, because you already have some dissolving in your pucks, it just isn't measuring. It can take a week before you can get accurate numbers on your CYA.

In the meantime, you do need to add bleach to get your levels up as Dave said. With the CYA in question and low, any bleach you add during the day will burn off before it has a chance to work so it is just a waste of money to add it in the mornings. When you add bleach be careful that you disperse it in away from your tri-chlor feeder.

The tri-chlor pucks are actually acidic and may drive your ph levels down. Once your CYA level is measurable enough to hold some chlorine in your pool you want to at LEAST decrease the number of pucks until you get to your desired CYA.

I prefer to open my pool with the method you are using, since my CYA goes down to nothing every year in the winter. I also am one of the board members that sees a rapid and major increase in ph due to using liquid bleach in their pool (some do, some don't) so for me I start out the year with a low CYA and float a puck or two a week in addition to bleach maintenance. That helps me balance the ph rise from the bleach and slowly raises my CYA levels over the summer. My CYA never gets higher than I can handle this way, and it is simple and economical for me.

Jean