Swimming Pool Thread (1 Viewer)

[jomar]

Took my first sample into Leslie's.

Results

Free chlorine 1.5

Total chlorine 1.5

Calcium hardness 210

Cyanuric acid 100

Total alkalinity 130

pH 8

Acid demand 3

Total dissolved solids 250

Phosphates 1000

So first things she tells me. You should drain your pool!!!

Are you kidding me a can raise my chlorine a bit lower my ph and should be good.

I have some high levels that could lead to algae. But i see none pool is

clear. She says maybe you don't see it if the pool is in the shade. Wrong no shade.

I'm guessing you get a lot of leaves in the pool. Wrong trees are not close to the pool.

Is she full of crap like I think she is?

I'm guessing the pool has not been maintained for about two months besides floating chlorine tablet.

Filters not running often.

I'm going to let the filters run for 24hrs and add stuff tomorrow.

Cya. is quite high and ta is high. Both of those are hard to get down without a flush.

You have to stop using tricolor Or dichlor at once.

that's the downside of using the chlorine pucks, your CYA starts going up and the only way to get it down is to remove water and add new. at that level of CYA, you need more chlorine in your pool, up around 7-12 ppm. If you can get CYA down to 60-70, you can keep your FC at around 5-7 ppm.

I'd start using liquid chlorine and backwash a few inches of pool water every week/couple days. CYA will start going down and your pool will be fine as long as you keep enough chlorine in it.

wouldn't hurt to lower your pH down to the 7.5 area too and this will help lower the TA

get a good test kit and quit going to the pool store for testing

 

[Wooderson]

I plan to use liquid chlorine.

This was my first test. Just bought the house have never been in the pool. They used the pucks don't plan to buy anything from the pool store if possible.

 

[Wooderson]

I have a new test kit that plan to start using Back flow water? Are saying I should drain a few inches every week or so?

Thanks

 

[culdeus]

I have a new test kit that plan to start using Back flow water? Are saying I should drain a few inches every week or so?

Thanks

Can you rephrase this?

 

[culdeus]

Do you have any waterfalls or any way to areate your pool other than a pool full of first graders? A 7.4-7.5 ph + a pool full of elementary school kids can send your TA down in a hurry. If you have a way to turn one of your returns up so it breaks the surface it will also do the trick.

 

[NutterButter]

Noob question, but if my water is crystal clear, do I need to even care about any of various readings for ph, chlorine, cya, etc? I only have a 15' walmart frame pool with a salt water generator so I never add chlorine/bleach. Everything looks fine, but more concerned about any health issues for my kids that I'm not aware of.

 

[jomar]

Noob question, but if my water is crystal clear, do I need to even care about any of various readings for ph, chlorine, cya, etc? I only have a 15' walmart frame pool with a salt water generator so I never add chlorine/bleach. Everything looks fine, but more concerned about any health issues for my kids that I'm not aware of.

I think pH can sting their eyes if it gets too off kilter. I usually like to know where my chlorine is just to be sure its not too low or high. its not the end of the world if its one or the other but I like to know where its at rather than waiting until my water turns a greenish tint before I realize I have a problem.

technically, I believe you don't even need CYA but it helps lessen the amount of chlorine being used on a daily basis.

 

[culdeus]

Noob question, but if my water is crystal clear, do I need to even care about any of various readings for ph, chlorine, cya, etc? I only have a 15' walmart frame pool with a salt water generator so I never add chlorine/bleach. Everything looks fine, but more concerned about any health issues for my kids that I'm not aware of.

I think pH can sting their eyes if it gets too off kilter. I usually like to know where my chlorine is just to be sure its not too low or high. its not the end of the world if its one or the other but I like to know where its at rather than waiting until my water turns a greenish tint before I realize I have a problem.

technically, I believe you don't even need CYA but it helps lessen the amount of chlorine being used on a daily basis.

Eyes usually only sting in low PH. In general ph will only go up if you are running your pump enough. High ph is mainly an issue insofar as it stains the side of your pool walls at the water line with scale.

If you have a SWG you need a little CYA in there otherwise you will have to run your SWG alot more using much more electricity.

 

[James Daulton]

Noob question, but if my water is crystal clear, do I need to even care about any of various readings for ph, chlorine, cya, etc? I only have a 15' walmart frame pool with a salt water generator so I never add chlorine/bleach. Everything looks fine, but more concerned about any health issues for my kids that I'm not aware of.

If my water is clear with no algae present, I consider my water to be good. I still shock at least once a week and make sure my chlorine tabs are in the unit, but other than that, crystal clear water is a great indicator.

 

[NutterButter]

Noob question, but if my water is crystal clear, do I need to even care about any of various readings for ph, chlorine, cya, etc? I only have a 15' walmart frame pool with a salt water generator so I never add chlorine/bleach. Everything looks fine, but more concerned about any health issues for my kids that I'm not aware of.

I think pH can sting their eyes if it gets too off kilter. I usually like to know where my chlorine is just to be sure its not too low or high. its not the end of the world if its one or the other but I like to know where its at rather than waiting until my water turns a greenish tint before I realize I have a problem.

technically, I believe you don't even need CYA but it helps lessen the amount of chlorine being used on a daily basis.

Eyes usually only sting in low PH. In general ph will only go up if you are running your pump enough. High ph is mainly an issue insofar as it stains the side of your pool walls at the water line with scale.

If you have a SWG you need a little CYA in there otherwise you will have to run your SWG alot more using much more electricity.

but if the pool is clear, that means there's enough chlorine being generated, correct?

 

[culdeus]

Noob question, but if my water is crystal clear, do I need to even care about any of various readings for ph, chlorine, cya, etc? I only have a 15' walmart frame pool with a salt water generator so I never add chlorine/bleach. Everything looks fine, but more concerned about any health issues for my kids that I'm not aware of.

If my water is clear with no algae present, I consider my water to be good. I still shock at least once a week and make sure my chlorine tabs are in the unit, but other than that, crystal clear water is a great indicator.

A properly maintained pool should only need shock in the case of an emergency. At best you are throwing money away, and at worst you are needlessly exposing bathers to a higher than necessary FC level. Keeping the FC in the proper range for your CYA level should mean no need at all for periodic shock levels of CL.

Incidentally, most pool services just come out and shock the crap out of pools once a week and dump a ####load of acid in at the same time and hope for the best.

 

[James Daulton]

Noob question, but if my water is crystal clear, do I need to even care about any of various readings for ph, chlorine, cya, etc? I only have a 15' walmart frame pool with a salt water generator so I never add chlorine/bleach. Everything looks fine, but more concerned about any health issues for my kids that I'm not aware of.

If my water is clear with no algae present, I consider my water to be good. I still shock at least once a week and make sure my chlorine tabs are in the unit, but other than that, crystal clear water is a great indicator.

A properly maintained pool should only need shock in the case of an emergency. At best you are throwing money away, and at worst you are needlessly exposing bathers to a higher than necessary FC level. Keeping the FC in the proper range for your CYA level should mean no need at all for periodic shock levels of CL.

Incidentally, most pool services just come out and shock the crap out of pools once a week and dump a ####load of acid in at the same time and hope for the best.

Even after heavy use over a weekend or after a heavy rain? I've always been told that after a lot of swimmers in a short amount of time, shock can be needed to bring the chlorine levels back up.

 

[culdeus]

Noob question, but if my water is crystal clear, do I need to even care about any of various readings for ph, chlorine, cya, etc? I only have a 15' walmart frame pool with a salt water generator so I never add chlorine/bleach. Everything looks fine, but more concerned about any health issues for my kids that I'm not aware of.

If my water is clear with no algae present, I consider my water to be good. I still shock at least once a week and make sure my chlorine tabs are in the unit, but other than that, crystal clear water is a great indicator.

A properly maintained pool should only need shock in the case of an emergency. At best you are throwing money away, and at worst you are needlessly exposing bathers to a higher than necessary FC level. Keeping the FC in the proper range for your CYA level should mean no need at all for periodic shock levels of CL.

Incidentally, most pool services just come out and shock the crap out of pools once a week and dump a ####load of acid in at the same time and hope for the best.

Even after heavy use over a weekend or after a heavy rain? I've always been told that after a lot of swimmers in a short amount of time, shock can be needed to bring the chlorine levels back up.

Shock = really expensive chlorine with CYA. Test pool, bring to target using liquid. Done.

 

[Disco Stu]

Do you have any waterfalls or any way to areate your pool other than a pool full of first graders? A 7.4-7.5 ph + a pool full of elementary school kids can send your TA down in a hurry. If you have a way to turn one of your returns up so it breaks the surface it will also do the trick.

How about something like this? It's also supposed to lower the water temperature, which would be nice next month.

Unrelated, but I've been lazy and used the trichlor tabs too much. Now my CYA is way too high. I guess I'll just use bleach for awhile, drain a little and hope for the best?

 

[culdeus]

Do you have any waterfalls or any way to areate your pool other than a pool full of first graders? A 7.4-7.5 ph + a pool full of elementary school kids can send your TA down in a hurry. If you have a way to turn one of your returns up so it breaks the surface it will also do the trick.

How about something like this? It's also supposed to lower the water temperature, which would be nice next month.

Unrelated, but I've been lazy and used the trichlor tabs too much. Now my CYA is way too high. I guess I'll just use bleach for awhile, drain a little and hope for the best?

That should work. Anything that breaks the water surface while the pool is at a low-ish PH will lower TA.

Without rain it will be slow. You are in a bad spot though as there are still at least 7 more hot weeks. May cost less in water than bleach to keep a high FC.

 

[McGarnicle]

This summer has sucked so far, so much rain, I've been in the pool maybe 8 times. Feel like I'm dumping money down the sewer on chemicals and running the pump.

 

[-fish-]

This summer has sucked so far, so much rain, I've been in the pool maybe 8 times. Feel like I'm dumping money down the sewer on chemicals and running the pump.

gotta do what you can to get the rafts to the pool.

 

[McGarnicle]

I do enjoy the sounds of all the frogs congregating at night to make love by the pool. Sucks having to skim out their corpses the next day though.

 

[Bull Dozier]

Do you have any waterfalls or any way to areate your pool other than a pool full of first graders? A 7.4-7.5 ph + a pool full of elementary school kids can send your TA down in a hurry. If you have a way to turn one of your returns up so it breaks the surface it will also do the trick.

How about something like this? It's also supposed to lower the water temperature, which would be nice next month.

Unrelated, but I've been lazy and used the trichlor tabs too much. Now my CYA is way too high. I guess I'll just use bleach for awhile, drain a little and hope for the best?

Same boat here. Haven't been in the pool yet this summer. Kids swam in it yesterday even though it is cloudy. CYA if off the charts. Going the bleach route.

 

[culdeus]

Do you have any waterfalls or any way to areate your pool other than a pool full of first graders? A 7.4-7.5 ph + a pool full of elementary school kids can send your TA down in a hurry. If you have a way to turn one of your returns up so it breaks the surface it will also do the trick.

How about something like this? It's also supposed to lower the water temperature, which would be nice next month.

Unrelated, but I've been lazy and used the trichlor tabs too much. Now my CYA is way too high. I guess I'll just use bleach for awhile, drain a little and hope for the best?

Same boat here. Haven't been in the pool yet this summer. Kids swam in it yesterday even though it is cloudy. CYA if off the charts. Going the bleach route.

How high are we talking. 100 is manageable. 200 is not.

 

[Bull Dozier]

Do you have any waterfalls or any way to areate your pool other than a pool full of first graders? A 7.4-7.5 ph + a pool full of elementary school kids can send your TA down in a hurry. If you have a way to turn one of your returns up so it breaks the surface it will also do the trick.

How about something like this? It's also supposed to lower the water temperature, which would be nice next month.

Unrelated, but I've been lazy and used the trichlor tabs too much. Now my CYA is way too high. I guess I'll just use bleach for awhile, drain a little and hope for the best?

Same boat here. Haven't been in the pool yet this summer. Kids swam in it yesterday even though it is cloudy. CYA if off the charts. Going the bleach route.

How high are we talking. 100 is manageable. 200 is not.

The test I have doesn't give me a specific level over 100. I know it is over 100, and does not appear to be close give the scale of the tube.

 

[culdeus]

Do you have any waterfalls or any way to areate your pool other than a pool full of first graders? A 7.4-7.5 ph + a pool full of elementary school kids can send your TA down in a hurry. If you have a way to turn one of your returns up so it breaks the surface it will also do the trick.

How about something like this? It's also supposed to lower the water temperature, which would be nice next month.

Unrelated, but I've been lazy and used the trichlor tabs too much. Now my CYA is way too high. I guess I'll just use bleach for awhile, drain a little and hope for the best?

Same boat here. Haven't been in the pool yet this summer. Kids swam in it yesterday even though it is cloudy. CYA if off the charts. Going the bleach route.

How high are we talking. 100 is manageable. 200 is not.

The test I have doesn't give me a specific level over 100. I know it is over 100, and does not appear to be close give the scale of the tube.

There should be instructions in your kit for "When high levels are expected" that typically involve using more water and less solution.

 

[Disco Stu]

Over 200 = drain some water? How much?

 

[culdeus]

Over 200 = drain some water? How much?

I think you are looking at 50%. If the Pool isn't cloudy/green at all then start with 25% and try to use rain/splashout to get you down a little lower. CYA tests of that high level aren't super accurate. Would be a shame to dump all that water and the 200 to really be 150.

Thing is with such a high CYA your Chlorine can't effectively kill stuff found in feces from people or birds, or zombies. And if you do keep FC high enough to keep out algae + algacide for now someday it won't hold and you would be looking at dumping probably damn near all the water.

 

[Bull Dozier]

Do you have any waterfalls or any way to areate your pool other than a pool full of first graders? A 7.4-7.5 ph + a pool full of elementary school kids can send your TA down in a hurry. If you have a way to turn one of your returns up so it breaks the surface it will also do the trick.

How about something like this? It's also supposed to lower the water temperature, which would be nice next month.

Unrelated, but I've been lazy and used the trichlor tabs too much. Now my CYA is way too high. I guess I'll just use bleach for awhile, drain a little and hope for the best?

Same boat here. Haven't been in the pool yet this summer. Kids swam in it yesterday even though it is cloudy. CYA if off the charts. Going the bleach route.

How high are we talking. 100 is manageable. 200 is not.

The test I have doesn't give me a specific level over 100. I know it is over 100, and does not appear to be close give the scale of the tube.

There should be instructions in your kit for "When high levels are expected" that typically involve using more water and less solution.

Hmm, didn't see this in the test kit, but I'll look into this.

 

[Mr. Brownstone]

Do you have any waterfalls or any way to areate your pool other than a pool full of first graders? A 7.4-7.5 ph + a pool full of elementary school kids can send your TA down in a hurry. If you have a way to turn one of your returns up so it breaks the surface it will also do the trick.

How about something like this? It's also supposed to lower the water temperature, which would be nice next month.

Unrelated, but I've been lazy and used the trichlor tabs too much. Now my CYA is way too high. I guess I'll just use bleach for awhile, drain a little and hope for the best?

I have this exact one. It works well.

 

[Disco Stu]

I brought a sample to Leslie's today to see if they got different results than I did with my HTH kit.

FAC 5

TAC 5

CH 400

CYA 100

TA 120

pH 7.4

TDS 1750

Pho 300

I feel better about that CYA. It was my first attempt at testing that, so my 200+ reading was probably user error.

I went ahead and drained about 25% to hopefully bring it CYA down to 75.

My tap water is 7.2 pH, so I won't add any Borax. Planning to keep it on the low side until TA gets below 90. I will add some bleach though.

I will have a bunch of people in it tomorrow. Not sure if that will help or hurt.

 

[Wooderson]

Took my first sample into Leslie's.

Results

Free chlorine 1.5

Total chlorine 1.5

Calcium hardness 210

Cyanuric acid 100

Total alkalinity 130

pH 8

Acid demand 3

Total dissolved solids 250

Phosphates 1000

So first things she tells me. You should drain your pool!!!

Are you kidding me a can raise my chlorine a bit lower my ph and should be good.

I have some high levels that could lead to algae. But i see none pool is

clear. She says maybe you don't see it if the pool is in the shade. Wrong no shade.

I'm guessing you get a lot of leaves in the pool. Wrong trees are not close to the pool.

Is she full of crap like I think she is?

I'm guessing the pool has not been maintained for about two months besides floating chlorine tablet.

Filters not running often.

I'm going to let the filters run for 24hrs and add stuff tomorrow.

Dumped three hugs of bleach in this morning. FIL and I swam this evening seemed pretty good. I will test tomorrow. Was great to jump in the pool after a long day.

 

[culdeus]

Swimming is most effective exercise to weight loss and also good to build up your muscles. I would like to say thanks to all of you that you share this post here with us. It is really appreciable. Thanks once again. Keep it up.

Interesting drive by here

 

[culdeus]

Took my first sample into Leslie's.

Results

Free chlorine 1.5

Total chlorine 1.5

Calcium hardness 210

Cyanuric acid 100

Total alkalinity 130

pH 8

Acid demand 3

Total dissolved solids 250

Phosphates 1000

So first things she tells me. You should drain your pool!!!

Are you kidding me a can raise my chlorine a bit lower my ph and should be good.

I have some high levels that could lead to algae. But i see none pool is

clear. She says maybe you don't see it if the pool is in the shade. Wrong no shade.

I'm guessing you get a lot of leaves in the pool. Wrong trees are not close to the pool.

Is she full of crap like I think she is?

I'm guessing the pool has not been maintained for about two months besides floating chlorine tablet.

Filters not running often.

I'm going to let the filters run for 24hrs and add stuff tomorrow.

Dumped three hugs of bleach in this morning. FIL and I swam this evening seemed pretty good. I will test tomorrow. Was great to jump in the pool after a long day.

Three what's of bleach?

poolcalculator.com

 

[culdeus]

I brought a sample to Leslie's today to see if they got different results than I did with my HTH kit.

FAC 5

TAC 5

CH 400

CYA 100

TA 120

pH 7.4

TDS 1750

Pho 300

I feel better about that CYA. It was my first attempt at testing that, so my 200+ reading was probably user error.

I went ahead and drained about 25% to hopefully bring it CYA down to 75.

My tap water is 7.2 pH, so I won't add any Borax. Planning to keep it on the low side until TA gets below 90. I will add some bleach though.

I will have a bunch of people in it tomorrow. Not sure if that will help or hurt.

All this rain will flush out some more water.

 

[McGarnicle]

Swimming is most effective exercise to weight loss and also good to build up your muscles. I would like to say thanks to all of you that you share this post here with us. It is really appreciable. Thanks once again. Keep it up.

Reported

 

[Bull Dozier]

Wife just came home from the pool store having them test the water. We have cloudy water, but it appears to be free of algae. They said the alkalinity was low, and the calcium is low. Looking at the pool calculator, alkalinity is raised by baking soda, and calcium is raised by calcium cloride. Assuming the pool store is going to rape me for their version of calcium cloride, what is my cheapest option here?

My CYA is still high, and they of course didn't think that would be the problem (which I assume has nothing to do with the fact that they don't sell a product to solve that problem).

 

[culdeus]

Wife just came home from the pool store having them test the water. We have cloudy water, but it appears to be free of algae. They said the alkalinity was low, and the calcium is low. Looking at the pool calculator, alkalinity is raised by baking soda, and calcium is raised by calcium cloride. Assuming the pool store is going to rape me for their version of calcium cloride, what is my cheapest option here?

My CYA is still high, and they of course didn't think that would be the problem (which I assume has nothing to do with the fact that they don't sell a product to solve that problem).

There is no minimum level of calcium. It is only a component of the saturation index. If you wanted to raise CH for some reason you could go from bleach to Cal-Hypo for your sanitizer for a period of time. That is one way of approaching this "problem". Probably spiking your TA is the best way forward here.

 

[rick6668]

I brought a sample to Leslie's today to see if they got different results than I did with my HTH kit.

FAC 5

TAC 5

CH 400

CYA 100

TA 120

pH 7.4

TDS 1750

Pho 300

I feel better about that CYA. It was my first attempt at testing that, so my 200+ reading was probably user error.

I went ahead and drained about 25% to hopefully bring it CYA down to 75.

My tap water is 7.2 pH, so I won't add any Borax. Planning to keep it on the low side until TA gets below 90. I will add some bleach though.

I will have a bunch of people in it tomorrow. Not sure if that will help or hurt.

Pool store testing only goes up to 100, you're could be much higher. Try testing yours again, when you get the solution (reagent and pool water) add to it the same amount of tap water (getting double the amount of total solution). Then measure your CYA and double your result. If it still reads at ~100, add again the same amount of tap water as you now currently have and run the test, quadruple your result. This should help you get an accurate CYA test.

 

[Bull Dozier]

Wife just came home from the pool store having them test the water. We have cloudy water, but it appears to be free of algae. They said the alkalinity was low, and the calcium is low. Looking at the pool calculator, alkalinity is raised by baking soda, and calcium is raised by calcium cloride. Assuming the pool store is going to rape me for their version of calcium cloride, what is my cheapest option here?

My CYA is still high, and they of course didn't think that would be the problem (which I assume has nothing to do with the fact that they don't sell a product to solve that problem).

There is no minimum level of calcium. It is only a component of the saturation index. If you wanted to raise CH for some reason you could go from bleach to Cal-Hypo for your sanitizer for a period of time. That is one way of approaching this "problem". Probably spiking your TA is the best way forward here.

This is mass amounts of baking soda, correct? I know Sam's club has big bags of Arm&Hammer. Is there a cheaper option, or is this as good as it gets?

 

[culdeus]

Wife just came home from the pool store having them test the water. We have cloudy water, but it appears to be free of algae. They said the alkalinity was low, and the calcium is low. Looking at the pool calculator, alkalinity is raised by baking soda, and calcium is raised by calcium cloride. Assuming the pool store is going to rape me for their version of calcium cloride, what is my cheapest option here?

My CYA is still high, and they of course didn't think that would be the problem (which I assume has nothing to do with the fact that they don't sell a product to solve that problem).

There is no minimum level of calcium. It is only a component of the saturation index. If you wanted to raise CH for some reason you could go from bleach to Cal-Hypo for your sanitizer for a period of time. That is one way of approaching this "problem". Probably spiking your TA is the best way forward here.

This is mass amounts of baking soda, correct? I know Sam's club has big bags of Arm&Hammer. Is there a cheaper option, or is this as good as it gets?

Arm/Hammer is really the only brand that sells in large quantities. So yeah.

You could go to a chemical supply store and get slightly cheaper in a 55# drum. But then you have 55# of baking soda and it does have a shelf life if not stored properly.

 

[Stingdiddy]

Noob question, but if my water is crystal clear, do I need to even care about any of various readings for ph, chlorine, cya, etc? I only have a 15' walmart frame pool with a salt water generator so I never add chlorine/bleach. Everything looks fine, but more concerned about any health issues for my kids that I'm not aware of.

If my water is clear with no algae present, I consider my water to be good. I still shock at least once a week and make sure my chlorine tabs are in the unit, but other than that, crystal clear water is a great indicator.

If the water is crystal clear, you're good. No algae or other crap growing in there. I think you're especially good if you have salt water and it's clear.

 

[Stingdiddy]

Noob question, but if my water is crystal clear, do I need to even care about any of various readings for ph, chlorine, cya, etc? I only have a 15' walmart frame pool with a salt water generator so I never add chlorine/bleach. Everything looks fine, but more concerned about any health issues for my kids that I'm not aware of.

If my water is clear with no algae present, I consider my water to be good. I still shock at least once a week and make sure my chlorine tabs are in the unit, but other than that, crystal clear water is a great indicator.

If the water is crystal clear, you're good. No algae or other crap growing in there. I think you're especially good if you have salt water and it's clear.

 

[KGB]

Just say who ever recommended trouble free pool isa good send. Saved me tons and nowi know what I'm doing. Just hada bit of algae pop up,wife bought chemical,brought up to shock level instead.problem solved

 

[Disco Stu]

I brought a sample to Leslie's today to see if they got different results than I did with my HTH kit.

FAC 5

TAC 5

CH 400

CYA 100

TA 120

pH 7.4

TDS 1750

Pho 300

I feel better about that CYA. It was my first attempt at testing that, so my 200+ reading was probably user error.

I went ahead and drained about 25% to hopefully bring it CYA down to 75.

My tap water is 7.2 pH, so I won't add any Borax. Planning to keep it on the low side until TA gets below 90. I will add some bleach though.

I will have a bunch of people in it tomorrow. Not sure if that will help or hurt.

Pool store testing only goes up to 100, you're could be much higher. Try testing yours again, when you get the solution (reagent and pool water) add to it the same amount of tap water (getting double the amount of total solution). Then measure your CYA and double your result. If it still reads at ~100, add again the same amount of tap water as you now currently have and run the test, quadruple your result. This should help you get an accurate CYA test.

That's a good point. I didn't realize their testing maxed out at 100.

I tried testing it again the other night. Used half pool water and half tap water to get to the 7 ml line, then added the 7 ml of titrant. The black dot disappeared when it exactly reached the 100 line, so I'm assuming 200 is my actual CYA reading. Ugh.

The math made sense to me, but it looks like you're recommending a different amount of tap water which would result in 25% pool water, 25% titrant, and 50% tap water.

 

[culdeus]

I brought a sample to Leslie's today to see if they got different results than I did with my HTH kit.

FAC 5

TAC 5

CH 400

CYA 100

TA 120

pH 7.4

TDS 1750

Pho 300

I feel better about that CYA. It was my first attempt at testing that, so my 200+ reading was probably user error.

I went ahead and drained about 25% to hopefully bring it CYA down to 75.

My tap water is 7.2 pH, so I won't add any Borax. Planning to keep it on the low side until TA gets below 90. I will add some bleach though.

I will have a bunch of people in it tomorrow. Not sure if that will help or hurt.

Pool store testing only goes up to 100, you're could be much higher. Try testing yours again, when you get the solution (reagent and pool water) add to it the same amount of tap water (getting double the amount of total solution). Then measure your CYA and double your result. If it still reads at ~100, add again the same amount of tap water as you now currently have and run the test, quadruple your result. This should help you get an accurate CYA test.

That's a good point. I didn't realize their testing maxed out at 100.

I tried testing it again the other night. Used half pool water and half tap water to get to the 7 ml line, then added the 7 ml of titrant. The black dot disappeared when it exactly reached the 100 line, so I'm assuming 200 is my actual CYA reading. Ugh.

The math made sense to me, but it looks like you're recommending a different amount of tap water which would result in 25% pool water, 25% titrant, and 50% tap water.

I think you did it right. Do you have a feel for how many pucks you put in total? How many buckets of tabs or something. This also could help approximate what the CYA might be.

 

[rick6668]

I brought a sample to Leslie's today to see if they got different results than I did with my HTH kit.

FAC 5

TAC 5

CH 400

CYA 100

TA 120

pH 7.4

TDS 1750

Pho 300

I feel better about that CYA. It was my first attempt at testing that, so my 200+ reading was probably user error.

I went ahead and drained about 25% to hopefully bring it CYA down to 75.

My tap water is 7.2 pH, so I won't add any Borax. Planning to keep it on the low side until TA gets below 90. I will add some bleach though.

I will have a bunch of people in it tomorrow. Not sure if that will help or hurt.

Pool store testing only goes up to 100, you're could be much higher. Try testing yours again, when you get the solution (reagent and pool water) add to it the same amount of tap water (getting double the amount of total solution). Then measure your CYA and double your result. If it still reads at ~100, add again the same amount of tap water as you now currently have and run the test, quadruple your result. This should help you get an accurate CYA test.

That's a good point. I didn't realize their testing maxed out at 100.

I tried testing it again the other night. Used half pool water and half tap water to get to the 7 ml line, then added the 7 ml of titrant. The black dot disappeared when it exactly reached the 100 line, so I'm assuming 200 is my actual CYA reading. Ugh.

The math made sense to me, but it looks like you're recommending a different amount of tap water which would result in 25% pool water, 25% titrant, and 50% tap water.

I think you are right. Here's the extended kit directions. http://www.troublefreepool.com/extended-test-kit-directions-t25081.html

Honestly, I'd do steps 1-4 twice under step 9 and multiple by 4 to get a more accurate reading. I would trust the reading at Leslie's anyway.

[SIZE=140%]CYA - Cyanuric Acid[/SIZE]

1. Fill the mixing bottle to the lower mark with pool water. The lower mark may be labeled as 7 ml, 15 ml, or not labeled.
2. If the pool water is below 70 degrees, allow the water sample to warm up to room temperature before continuing.
3. Continue filling to the upper mark with R-0013. The upper mark may be labeled as 14 ml, or not labeled, or there may not be a mark and you fill to the base of the neck of the bottle.
4. Cap and then shake the mixing bottle for 30 seconds.
5. Stand outdoors with your back to the sun and hold the view tube at about waist level. If sunlight is not available, find the brightest artificial light you can.
6. Looking down into the view tube, slowly pour the mixture from the mixing bottle into the view tube.
7. Continue pouring until all traces of the black dot at the bottom of the view tube completely disappear, even after you stare at it for several seconds, or you fill the view tube.
8. Reading the result:
   • If the view tube is completely full, and you can still see the black dot clearly, your CYA level is zero.
   • If the view tube is completely full and the black dot is only partially obscured, your CYA level is above zero but lower than the lowest level your test kit can measure (20 or 30 ppm).
   • If the tube is not completely full, look at the scale on the side of the view tube. The labeled mark closest to the liquid level indicates your CYA level.
9. If your CYA level is 90 or higher, repeat the test adjusting the procedure as follows: Fill the mixing bottle to the lower mark with pool water.
10. Continue filling the mixing bottle to the upper mark with tap water.
11. Shake briefly to mix.
12. Pour off half of the contents of the mixing bottle, so it is again filled to the lower mark.
13. Continue the test normally from step 3, but multiply the final result by two.

[SIZE=110%]Notes[/SIZE]

• If you are not confident in your reading, you can pour the solution from the view tube back into the mixing bottle and then try filling the view tube again. You can repeat this portion of the test over and over again for several minutes without affecting the test results.
• This page at Taylor Technologies has photographs which show what the view tube looks like when the test is complete.
• Very rarely, cloudy or murky water can affect the CYA test. To check for this, fill the view tube with straight pool water. If you can still see the black dot clearly, the cloudy/murky water is not affecting the test result.
• View tubes and mixing bottles come in two common sizes. One set requires 7 ml each of pool water and reagent, and reads CYA levels down to 30. The other set uses 15 ml each of pool water and reagent, and reads CYA levels down to 20.
• It is also possible to get a tube with a sliding black dot, Taylor 4088, so that you move the black dot up and down in the sample, instead of pouring the sample into the view tube.
• If you are using the large view tube and know that your CYA level is at least 50, you can use half as much pool water and half as much R-0013 to save on reagent.
• R-0013 contains melamine, which binds to cyanuric acid, forming the white precipitate which turns the sample cloudy.
• The precision of the test, when done correctly, is around plus or minus 15 for levels up to 90 and plus or minus 30 for levels between 100 and 200. Novices often have problems reading the test correctly, and tend to get higher than actual readings.

 

[SkyRattlers]

I do enjoy the sounds of all the frogs congregating at night to make love by the pool. Sucks having to skim out their corpses the next day though.

Just this year alone I've racked up two frogs, 5 chipmunks, and a bunny. To all the neighborhood critters...."Fear me!!"

 

[culdeus]

Basically Stu you can do the math like this.

For each 25k gallon of water

A 8oz puck will raise CYA by 1.3ppm each

So a standard 20 pound bucket will raise your CYA 26 points in a 25k gallon pool assuming no splashout or rainout.

50 pound bucket +65 on the CYA etc. etc.

 

[Disco Stu]

Problem is I've only been there a year. I've probably gone through 70 pounds of pucks but have no idea what the starting CYA was. I know trichlor is what the previous owners used so it has likely been high for a long time.

 

[culdeus]

Problem is I've only been there a year. I've probably gone through 70 pounds of pucks but have no idea what the starting CYA was. I know trichlor is what the previous owners used so it has likely been high for a long time.

If you want to keep the water you might, might consider some polyquat 60 or 30 just as an insurance policy from having to drain the whole thing. It's certainly optional though.

 

[Disco Stu]

Problem is I've only been there a year. I've probably gone through 70 pounds of pucks but have no idea what the starting CYA was. I know trichlor is what the previous owners used so it has likely been high for a long time.

If you want to keep the water you might, might consider some polyquat 60 or 30 just as an insurance policy from having to drain the whole thing. It's certainly optional though.

Yeah, I might do that. Really just trying to limp through this season. Planning to drain for replastering before next summer.

Draining 25% last Friday definitely seemed to help though. I was having to scrub the walls at least every other day. Scrubbed yesterday for the first time since Friday. Barely saw anything.

 

[culdeus]

Problem is I've only been there a year. I've probably gone through 70 pounds of pucks but have no idea what the starting CYA was. I know trichlor is what the previous owners used so it has likely been high for a long time.

If you want to keep the water you might, might consider some polyquat 60 or 30 just as an insurance policy from having to drain the whole thing. It's certainly optional though.

Yeah, I might do that. Really just trying to limp through this season. Planning to drain for replastering before next summer.

Draining 25% last Friday definitely seemed to help though. I was having to scrub the walls at least every other day. Scrubbed yesterday for the first time since Friday. Barely saw anything.

We haven't had any sun gb..........

 

[Disco Stu]

Problem is I've only been there a year. I've probably gone through 70 pounds of pucks but have no idea what the starting CYA was. I know trichlor is what the previous owners used so it has likely been high for a long time.

If you want to keep the water you might, might consider some polyquat 60 or 30 just as an insurance policy from having to drain the whole thing. It's certainly optional though.

Yeah, I might do that. Really just trying to limp through this season. Planning to drain for replastering before next summer.

Draining 25% last Friday definitely seemed to help though. I was having to scrub the walls at least every other day. Scrubbed yesterday for the first time since Friday. Barely saw anything.

We haven't had any sun gb..........

Oh yeah.