New Pool Owner help balancing

[Splash IN]

We just opened our pool about a week ago and need help balancing. Previous owner used chlorine tabs, but we're switching to SWG. When we opened, the bottom of pool was green and slimy. We had it tested at a pool store and they had us add 20 lbs bicarbonate, 8 gal shock, 1 bottle algeaside, 10 lbs borate, and 2 bags salt and manually vacuum, then turn on SWG. We did all that, except we left the SWG off because the salt is obviously not high enough yet, and they tested again and said to add 12 gal shock, 1spot kill in skimmer and 1/2 qt clarifier. I asked about the CYA being too high (it was 100) and if we should we drain some water first. They said it was high and we could drain 1/3 to 1/2 of the water. It would have been nice if they told me that the first time before we dumped all the chemicals in . We drained probably about 1/3 and haven't added anything else. The water is clear now. We used our kit to test ourselves and here's what we got this morning:

FC 6
CC 0
pH about 7.8
TA 150
CYA 70 (or could be closer to 65ish)
Salt 800
CH 175
Pool is about 30-35K, vinyl liner. What do we need to do?

 

[Kaylee34]

Are you using Poolmath? App here
How does the water look?

 

[Splash IN]

I didn't install the app. Pool water is clear. All the levels seem to be in the ideal range except the TA is too high. Do I need to lower TA? How do I do that without throwing other levels off? Pool math calculator just said lower pH to 7- 7.2 with acid then aerate to raise pH. I also need to add more salt. Do I need to lower TA before adding salt or can I add salt now?

 

[Kaylee34]

Download the app and use it to calculate how much of everything you're adding to the pool. Always add a little less then it tells you to add so you don't overshoot. Retest and then add a little more if necessary.

You can add salt now. Brush it around until it dissolves. Do it gradually so it's easier to brush. Leave the pump running. Plan on adding a little liquid chlorine for a day or two to keep your FC up in the safe range until the SWG is happy and you can turn it on. You'll need to adjust the SWG settings to dial it in. It's not just set it and forget it.

You can lower the TA gradually. Follow this guide: Lowering TA

 

[PoolStored]

I didn't install the app. Pool water is clear. All the levels seem to be in the ideal range except the TA is too high. Do I need to lower TA? How do I do that without throwing other levels off? Pool math calculator just said lower pH to 7- 7.2 with acid then aerate to raise pH. I also need to add more salt. Do I need to lower TA before adding salt or can I add salt now?

Leave your TA alone. When pH rises to 8, then lower it with muriatic acid. TA will come down over time.

 

[newdude]

Minimum is lava. Stay on the high side of target range, or even a little above on cloudy days when the SWG overproduces a little.

Salt can always be added regardless of what else is going on. Nothing affects it.

 

[Splash IN]

Thanks so much for the help! We'll add salt until we get to about 3500 ppm and liquid pool shock to keep it around FC 10 until we can turn on the SWG. Does that sound right?

 

[newdude]

Does that sound right?

Sounds great. Creep up on the salt target.

I was helping someone recently and theirs took almost a week to show. They were getting impatient with me because new toy, and BOOM. The salt showed up. It only comes out quickly by draining so getting a reliable baseline and then going slow is the best bet.

I went 240lbs less than I expected and still overshot a little, with zero salt / tested fill water.