Balancing & User Experiences

[rjordan390]

I am awaiting my Tayor test kit K-2600. Until then, I would like to hear if there is a preferance to the time interval between adding chemicals for the following:

pH, Sanitizing, Alkalinity and Cya.

The manufacturer of the Cya suggests when using its product to wait 48 hours before adding chlorine. Do you agree? What about the other parameters? Is there a recommended time interval between applications.

I live in the northeast and my tapwater pH is 7.15, General Hardness is 120 ppm and Carbonate hardness is 40 ppm. I think the general hardness needs to be converted to alkalinity but I do not know the formula.

[waterbear]

Carbonate hardness is alkalinity so your TA is about 40 ppm which is a bit on the low side. Baking soda will raise it. However, wait for your Taylor K-2006 to come and test your fill water since you will then know the pH, TA and CH of the fill water. There will be no CYA in the fill water (unless your ground water has been contaminated by atrazine, an herbacide), and there might be some combined clorine present but will be destroyed by your first shocking

First think is balance pH if needed (anything above 7.0 is acceptable on filling)

Then get chlorine in there ASAP (to 10 ppm for the initial shocking)!

Put in your stabilizer (it can take up to a week to dissolve so don't even worry about testing it for a week). If you want to get the stabilzer in their quickly you can chlorinate with dichlor until the stabilzier is where you need it to be and then switch to an unstabilzied chlorine source like bleach (sodium hypochlorite), which is also available in some areas as pool chlorine--sometimes at double the strength of laundry bleach but otherwise no different. Dichlor will add 9 ppm CYA for every 10 ppm FC added.

If you are planning on using trichlor tabs in a floater or feeder I would only bring the CYA up to about 30 ppm initially since triclor will add 6 ppm CYA for ever 10 ppm FC added. CYA builds up in the water when using either trichlor or dichlor and will lead to an overstabilized pool and all the problems associated with overstabilization (algae outbreaks , cloudy water, and worse).

[rjordan390]

Thank you,

Very good information.