Am I on the right track?

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Carrie24

New member
Jun 6, 2023
2
Chicago IL
We installed a 15x26 oval AGP last year so this is the first year opening after winter. We took the cover off last weekend, water was very clear, no visible algae, I could see the liner pattern on the bottom, and got the pump going. Tested early in the week with Taylor K2006-C.

Opening results:
FC .8
ph 7.6
Alk 200
CYA less than 30

I started with muriatic acid to get the alk down which lowered the ph. I also added 1.5 pounds of stabilizer in a sock but CYA still too low to register on my test kit so I assumed still under 30.

Chlorine has been disappearing faster than I can add it so I stopped adding. Example - I added a bag of shock last night and FC was the same .6 this morning. Thursday and Friday my CC was high (greater than 3 and 4 on several tests) so I thought maybe there's something eating it up and kept adding shock (I have bags purchased late last season I want to use up. I'm not worried about adding too much CYA because mine is way too low).

My CC is down to 0 as of yesterday afternoon but I feel like I'm throwing chlorine in with no change day after day.

This morning's results:
FC .6
CC 0
ph less than readable on test kit
Alk 140
CYA less than readable on test kit

Pool store test this morning showed CYA of 9 and ph 6.6 since I couldn't get numbers for those myself.

I added 2.5 pounds of soda ash today to get the ph back up and about a half pound of stabilizer. Haven't retested ph yet.

I also have very low calcium hardness score but it seems that can wait until everything else is in range.

How do I proceed? Add more stabilizer? Assume it's in there and continue with more shock?

Thanks!
 
Welcome to TFP.
You may not see algae but it still may be present. 2 items needed - chlorine - suggest you use liquid chlorine and not shock. Need to raise FC to above 5 ppm.
Glad you raised pH. Need to test that again. If pH is in high 7’s, then add stabilizer. Now stabilizer will lower pH again so be careful on how much you add a time. Your pH sunk below 7 because you added both MA and CYA which was a double wamy.
The goal should be to get CYA to 40ppm and keep FC at 5ppm. You may need to add liquid chlorine twice a day to keep the FC level up.

We recommend that pool owners test their own water and not rely on pool store testing or test strips. Too much error in both. You have the K-2006 kit so ensure the reagents are still good.

EDIT - is your shock adding CYA or Calcium? Double check it. Pucks normally add CYA but granular shock can add multiple things.
 
Thanks for your help. I'm working through your suggestions -

First thing this morning (Taylor K2006-C)
FC - .6
CC - 0
ph - 7 (after 5 pounds of soda ash the past 2 days)
Alk - 180
CYA - likely just short of 30 (could barely see dot)

Added 128 oz 6% bleach per the pool math calculator. 30 minutes later FC was 7. I have more soda ash being delivered today and will continue to get my CYA up a little higher. Water is still clear and I've been vacuuming daily.

I only tested at the store because my numbers were too low for my kit to register. I was hoping for a ball park. I am running low on chlorine reagents so I ordered them but all of the others expire in the fall.

:unsure: How do I ever balance my alk and ph? My alk was high every test last year and it continues to be. But as I raise ph, alk goes up. If I use muriatic acid to lower alk then my ph plummets.
 
Carrie24 said:
Added 128 oz 6% bleach per the pool math calculator. 30 minutes later FC was 7.
Click to expand...
Good.
Carrie24 said:
I have more soda ash being delivered today and will continue to get my CYA up a little higher. Water is still clear and I've been vacuuming daily.
Click to expand...
  • Baking Soda = big TA change, small pH change
  • Borax = big pH change, small TA change
  • Soda Ash/Washing Soda = big pH change, big TA change. Probably more TA change than you want.
See the above. This is why your TA is moving higher as well. You should only use Borax to raise pH without significantly raising TA.

Carrie24 said:
I only tested at the store because my numbers were too low for my kit to register. I was hoping for a ball park. I am running low on chlorine reagents so I ordered them but all of the others expire in the fall.
Click to expand...
Trust your testing. Ensure your reagents are good. You have a good kit - K2006 but continue to add Borax to get pH in mid-7s.
Carrie24 said:
How do I ever balance my alk and ph? My alk was high every test last year and it continues to be. But as I raise ph, alk goes up. If I use muriatic acid to lower alk then my ph plummets.
Click to expand...
High TA causes pH to rise faster. The goal is to keep pH in the 7s but lower pH over time to point where the rise in pH is slow.
You do this by letting pH rise to 7.8 or 8.0 (max) then add Muractic acid to lower pH to 7.2. This will also lower TA. Then let pH rise via aeration - running a water fall or pointing the return jet upwards to break the surface. This aeration will increase pH slowly. when you reach 7.8 again, repeat the dose of MA to lower pH and TA.
This process could weeks/months - it all depends on how fast pH rises then repeat the dose.
Don’t be fixated on a specific TA number. We recommend 50 to 80. Always have a TA of 50 or higher. Your pool may do best at TA of 80 or even 90. You want to find a point where the pH is slow to rise or may even just stay stable.
Don’t overreact to the TA level as it is more important to keep pH in 7’s.
 
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