lion22

Thanks much for the info. The green has faded on its own since I last posted. I'll keep plugging away, and once I get everything to the proper levels hopefully all will be OK. Thanks again for all your assistance!

Thanks chem geek. I ran the PoolMath, and yesterday afternoon I added dry acid to lower pH, and last night I added liq chl (12.5%). Today, the pool has a slight green haze to it. I have not yet run the numbers, but will soon. Did I do something incorrect, or perhaps the green is due to a reaction to algae that may be there? The last of the Tri tabs are nearly dissolved in the skimmers and I don't want to add any more so I can start to use liq chl unless we leave on vacation. I'm kinda at a loss right now in not knowing how to proceed, and not wanting things to get worse.

Thanks so much chem geek. We have no water aeration features. I will digest the above info, run the Pool Math numbers, and will report back with the progress and/or any questions. As for the Tri in the skimmer, we have never had the pump off during the pool season. We were advised to run the pump 24/7, which I always thought was unnecessary. A few others I spoke with out here do the same so I just went with it. I was gonna get away from that this season, but then we had a few "problems" as described above so I left it alone. Is it necessary, or if not, what is a recommended amount of time to run it? As for the Pool School link, thanks. I had already read through all of it (great info by the way!) a few times and have learned so much. I plan on going thru it again for further absorption. Lastly, regarding how to get the ball rolling, and without having yet run the Pool Math numbers which may answer this question---when I do run the numbers, does it give info as to what to do in what order and how long to wait in between? Thanks again.

Spot on regarding the Tri tabs. I do now get the CYA/FC relationship; now I understand why the CYA has always been so darn high! As for pH, we never had to bring it up, only down using Bioguard Low/Slow. The TA we have never had to bring down, only up using Bioguard Balance Pak 100. It's been a ph/TA see-saw ride to say the least as mostly one or another (or both) are off our Bioguard "ideal" recs of 7.4-7.6 pH & Adjusted Total Alk of 125-150. As for CYA, would it not be "best" to lower the CYA and get it to your 30-50 rec, understanding that will involve emptying/filling until it gets there? Would that target need to be a bit higher since the pool sits mostly in direct sunlight? You are spot on regarding the Tri tabs not keeping up as we use more than I remember using last season when things went smooth (or at least smooth to me before I started to get better educated). No problem not using the tabs. What is better, the chlorinating liquid or bleach, or perhaps it's what I can get cheapest since the one is double the concentration of the other? One thing this season, just in case it matters. All seemed to be going smooth until the first part of July when we went away for a few days and NEGLECTED to check the Tri tabs and they of course ran out. We came home to a "first time ever" cloudy pool (the solar cover was on while we were gone), and we SLAM'ed and things cleared up in less than a week and the FC came back to what we thought was good (1-3). It did not hold for long though. As for the water appearance itself, it is for sure not cloudy; however, slightly dull may fit the bill as I just looked at it again. Perhaps I'm comparing it to what I THINK is clear. There was also some visible algae growth not long after the aforementioned NEGLECT, that I think we got under control. I don't see any visible now. As for Bio products on-hand we have the Low/Slo, Bal Pak 100, Smart Shock & Burnout 3, Back-up Algaecide, Natural Clarifer, Pool Magnet Plus, Scale Inhibitor, and of course the tabs. I think I'm now sick to my stomach after just listing all this junk, lol. For info purposes, our normal routine is to test the water at the pool store weekly (more often when things go wrong), and then adjust as recommended by the computer readout. That was/is normally pH down with Low/Slow and/or Alk up with the Bal Pak 100. Weekly we would shock with the Smart shock (every 3rd week we'd use the Burnout 3 cause they said we could since it was cheaper), and add 5oz each of Back-up and Clarifer. We would keep tabs in the skimmers at their rec of 5 for our 24k gal pool size (2 in one skimmer, 3 in the other). Once a month we would add Scale Inhib. We would add 2oz of the Pool Mag Plus because of our hard water for every 1 hour of water we added to keep at proper skimmer water level. I'm ready and willing to do whatever it takes, and to use whatever you recommend to use/not to use. Pls advise where to start/how to proceed and I will get the ball rolling. The Air Force in me is embracing the challenge of getting this as trouble/worry-free as possible, and getting gone the pool store dependence and/or multiple chemicals not in my best interests. Again, thanks so much for your time and assistance. I hope one day, when I gain further expertise and experience, I can pay it forward to someone else! Have a great weekend!

Here are my current numbers: FC = 0 CC = .6 PH = 8 TA = 149 CH = 243 CYA = 128 Pool Info: 24k gal, IG vinyl, 1.5 HP Centurion pump, Sta-rite System 3 sand filter. Other Info: Pool presently looks very clear, no visible algae. This is our 2nd season owning the pool. The CYA has NEVER been anywhere close to your recommended 30-50. This season, it's been as low as 92 back in July, and as high as 151 last Friday. The FC has NEVER been anywhere near your recommended 7.5% of the CYA (probably the problem, lol). I have not been able to get the FC off of zero since the end of last month. Our water here (in Minnesota) is very hard (we have a softener for our tap water). If you need more info pls let me know. Thanks in advance for your assistance; I'm am SO looking forward to handling this myself and getting away from being dependent on pool stores. Lastly, while I am looking forward to buying non-pool store chemicals in the future, I do still have a small supply of Bioguard products I would like to not waste. If this is not possible, and would not be in my best interests, I will find a new home for what I have left. Thanks again.

OK, thanks. As soon as I have the numbers I will post them.

OK, and thanks for the link. Also, I may have a friend who has the Taylor, and can borrow till mine arrives. What specific numbers do you need?

Thanks much chem geek. I will look into getting the kit you recommend. Until I can order it/get it here, is it possible to use a computer reading I presently get from my local pool store? They use the Bioguard ALEX system which I think has the needed numbers. This is our 2nd year owning our pool and we have been getting those readouts weekly, sometimes twice a week, for the last 2 seasons. If the Taylor is more accurate I can wait, just wanted to get the ball rolling right away if I can. Thanks again, I REALLY do appreciate your time and knowledge.

Hello to all. I'm a newbie and this is my first post. I want to start by saying this is an awesome website I ran across whilst trying to educate myself on proper water chemistry, due to my "raised eyebrows" regarding the Bioguard computer readings. The thread "Bioguard = Run?" was quite the read. I'm blown away by waterbear & chem geek's comments in this thread. I guess I shouldn't be since the water chem industry is probably no different from any other industry making simple stuff appear difficult in hopes of selling you stuff you may/may not need, and/or could use inexpensive alternatives. CYA in the "ideal" range of 30-200 always seemed a bit squirrelly to me. Now that I'm completely confused as to what is/isn't right/wrong, I would appreciate any advice you can provide to steer me in the direction of having the most "high quality", "cost effective" pool as is humanly possible. Presently, I regret owning a pool as it has become a bigger chore than dealing with teenagers, lol. I have my latest readout and can provide whatever info needed for the proper guidance. Pls tell me what to provide as I don't want to fill up space with a lot of stuff not needed. Thanks in advance for any advice, and thanks for all of the great reading in this forum and on this website in general. Sincerely, L22