pool store ethics?

[Watermom]

You can use a dilution method to make your test kit read higher. It does lose accuracy but will at least give you a ballpark figure. Take one part pool water and an equal part distilled water. Mix, pour some into the test vial. Then, multiply the result by 2. If that doesn't go as high as you need, take one part pool water and two parts distilled water, then multiply results by 3, etc.

Hope Bill's eye is ok.

[CarlD]

Yes, remember it MUST be distilled water--"Steam Distilled Water" is available in gallon jugs at supermarkets and discount drug chains.

Usually we warn people to wear eye protection when using Muriatic Acid, but obviously, due to Bill's accident, it's clear we should recommend it when using Liquid Chlorine, especially the stronger strengths.

I, too, hope Bill is OK. That's a scary thing to have happen.

Please remember P.O.P.P. is critical!

[henssguitars]

my eye is doing just fine after some antibiotic drops.
I tested at 7 this morning at 5ppm fc and added 3 gallons of 12.5 % cl, and have maintained 15 + ppm for the last three hours.
the pool is starting to clear up around the edges, still have pea soup in the middle.
I believe we are on the right track!
I will continue to test every hour or so and add cl as needed
So we went from solid white milk to dark brown chocolate milk to pea soup and now we are moving to the mountain dew! - pretty interesting to watch.
I will keep updating the progress, and add photo's when my wife shows me how that is done.

Thanks again for the support!

p.s why do they sell test kits that are only capable of reading fc to 5ppm?

[CarlD]

"p.s why do they sell test kits that are only capable of reading fc to 5ppm? "

We're lucky they sell THEM! Most OTO kits stop at 3ppm.

According to an archaic ruling by either the EPA or FDA (I think FDA), pool water wasn't safe to swim in at greater than 3ppm.

This is ironic because they ruled DRINKING water could be as much as 4ppm, and under rare circumstances as much as 10ppm.

In other words you could safely drink water you couldn't swim in!

Somewhere along the line (and others know this better than me) it became a TEKTAT that the ideal chlorine level was between 1.5 and 3ppm--which ain't bad if you don't have any stabilizer.

TEKTAT: Things Everybody Knows That Ain't True.

(Wasn't it Will Rogers who said something about not being worried about what people didn't know, but rather about what they knew that wasn't so?)

[aylad]

If you're moving to Mountain Dew, then you're moving in the right directions!! Glad the eye is better--that hurts like crazy, I know from experience!!

Janet

[henssguitars]

Hi all. sorry I haven't posted in a few days, we have had rain for the begining of the week which made dealing with the pool difficult.
So we have blue water with some cloudyness, and lots of white powder like stuff on the bottom. I have vacuumed the white stuff to waste twice, each time stirring it up a bit making the water cloudy again.
FC has been holding at 15ppm overnight for two days now ( after 60 gallons of 6% liquid chlorine) - not complaining, just seemed like a lot, but far less than what I have spent on baq crap allready this season!
So I guess I need to ask what my next move should be?
When should I worry about the PH,ALK,ect. , and also changing my sand out.

Thanks for all your help!

[henssguitars]

Just an update, the pool has held 15 ppm overnight for the last two nights, the water is slightly cloudy, with white powder deposits on the floor.
I have vacuumed two waste twice which has stirred up the deposits, and left the water cloudy again.
My question is what is my next step, should I worry about PH, ALK, and changing my sand?
The pool looks better after 4 or so days ( $100 worth of bleach ) than it did for three weeks ( $600 of baq crap ), I am very happy, and just want to make sure I do everything I need to to keep it up.

Thanks for all the help!

[aylad]

Great, you're almost through!!!!! Now that you're holding at 15 for two nights, it's time to measure pH, and TA. While you're at it, go ahead and get a calcium reading too, just for a baseline. You can go ahead and change out the sand now. Once you put the new sand in(Note: START THE FILTER UP IN BACKWASH MODE TO RINSE ALL THE DUST OUT OF THE SAND BEFORE SWITCHING IT TO FILTER MODE--please forgive the yelling, but see my post in the "pool lessons learned the hard way" forum). then you can go ahead and add your stabilizer. You can get it at WalMart, Lowe's, Home Depot, or the pool store. It's also labeled sometimes as balancer, but the active ingredient will be cyanuric or isocyanuric acid. Note how much is needed according to the label to get your pool to about 20 ppm, then only add about 1/2 that amount either through the skimmer (but then you can't backwash for at least a week) or better yet, put it in an old tube sock and hang it in front of a return in your pool until it dissolves. Post your readings for pH and TA, and we'll help you get it finished.

Janet

Note: Since pH tends to read falsely high with Cl levels above 10 ppm, I'd let it drift down a little before testing for pH and TA...maybe to around 6-8 ppm

[henssguitars]

sorry for the double post, the first one did't seem to register.
The water is crystal clear this a.m with more deposits on the floor, I will vacuum to waste once more and pick up new sand, and stabalizer, cl levels are high, so I will wait for the sun to pop out and bring them down before posting ph test.
So I take it that the stabalizer will help maintain the fc levels during sunny days?
Also what are my target numbers for ph, alk,fc,tc, I am sure there is a thread here if you could point me to it I would appreciate it.
I am not sure what to do with my unused baq products, I would almost feel guilty selling them to another pool owner, maybe I will throw them in the trash and take a photo and e-mail it to the baq website-ha!

Thanks again for all your help, I will post updates, and photos soon.

Bill

[Watermom]

The reason that your post didn't seem to register at first is that Ben is updating the privileges for the various user groups. Restricted users will have to have their posts "moderated" which means that after you post, it won't show up immediately. Not until after one of the moderators validates it. If you go ahead and subscribe or become a supporter, your posts will not need to be moderated and you'll also have several other features enabled that restricted users don't have. (Including the ability to post photos which you currently don't have.) More info about this can be found here:

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=9755

Hopefully, you have found our forum really helpful and will want to either become a subscriber or a supporter and stick around here with us!

At any rate, glad you are doing so well with your conversion. Aren't you glad you went ahead and did it? You are going to be much happier with a chlorine pool than a baq pool.

Yes, stabilizer helps to protect your chlorine from the sun. I would advise you to go and read the stickies at the top of each of the "Pool Water Treatment: Testing and Problems" sections of the forum. There you will find most of the pool care chemistry basics information. After reading, if you still have specific questions, let us know.