novice

My water was always crystal clear, but we had no reading on fc and cya. I would go out and buy the ammonia test kit and test. When chemgeek/Richard replies, listen to him he knows his stuff. I feel so much better here, than going to the pool store. He was very helpful. Good Luck-debbie

Richard, I couldn't resist I just tested ammonia, 0, Yeah!!! fc 2, ph 7.2...Yeah... thank you, thank you -Debbie

Richard, Well we added a box of the Borax, which at first made my pool a little cloudy, then some of the dichlor gran, a 1 lb bag and a jug of bleach. We tested with the quick strips, because we're running out, fc 3,ph 7.2, ta 100 and stablizer low. We haven't had a reading on those test strips for the fc . Now to maintain. Can we just ad a jug of bleach a day?? Shock 1x a week? -Debbie

Richard,My pool size is 12x24, 9000 gallons. So I used the pool calc and added 1 jug of the bleach, my husband went out to get the borax, is that a liquid or powder? If powder, am I supposed to put in the whole thing if it is a 100 oz box? I don't know if I read that right?? He also went out to get the dichlor granules. We had trichloro tabs, but I guess that wouldn't do. So how long before the kids can go in after putting in the borax and dichlor?-Debbie

Hi Richard,last night we put in 8 jugs of bleach. Today I tested the water, which is still clear, Ammonia .50, fc 1-2,ph 6.8, ta 100, cya 0. I say the fc is 1-2 because of the color. Listen I thought I had brought a Fas-dpd test kit, because that is what I asked for, but after reading someone elses problems I pulled the sticker off the top of the test kit and it just says dpd test kit. So I ordered the fas-dpd test kit and will be returning this one. Back to my pool. I believe I'm to add more bleach, but should I add only 4 jugs? And how long should I wait to test? I notice my ph is going down, should I do something about that now or wait? It's going to be a hot one today 90's, and I 'm worried about algea. Can I let the kids in the pool for the day and treat the pool at night?? Thanks again. I feel like I can see the light at the end of this long, long pool.-Debbie

Richard, scratch the bucket test, with the fc I didn't wait a 1/2 hour, I did for the ammonia. I got so into being a chemist, I messed up.Oops!-Debbie

Hi Richard, ok, I brought the test kit from Leslie's pool. Before I tried the bucket test I tested the water. Results fc 2,ph 7.2, ta 130, cya 0,ammonia 4 and tc was a little darker than 5. So what do I do now? I than tried the bucket test, only on the fc and it went up to fc 3 close to fc 5 and ammonia .5 with 2 tsp of bleach. So I guess my main concern is the cya and ammonia. I'm not sure what to do with those levels. As far as the winter, I live in New York, so we definitely turn off the pump etc. Thanks- Debbie

Richard, I repeated the test and got the same answer 8.0 ppm. Not sure what happened either. We closed it with chemicals and when we opened it, the pool really didn't look bad, slightly cloudy. As far as maintaining during the winter, the pool is closed and covered. Are we supposed to be doing something else during the winter? We did add some water when we opened it, like 5-6 inches. It's been clear since we shocked it but the levels have been off. So what should I do now?? Get 17 jugs of unscented bleach? Do I put it in all at once or over a period of days?? Then how long before I test it again? I called a Leslies and they say they have the test kit in and the supermarket has the bleach on sale tomorrow. So I'll be heading out tomorrow morning. I really don't know why the ammonia level is so high. We've always bought our chemicals from a pool place and did what they told us to do. Does the shock pump up the ammonia level, because that and 3inch slo-dissolving stablized chlorine tablets and some Super Blue Crystal Clear water polisher are all we used. Thanks again -Debbie

Well, I got the ammonia test kit and next door was another pool store. So I had them test my water. They recommended non-chlorine shock, they said I had too much chlorine in pool, a chlorine lock or something like that. Here are my new readings cya and fc still 0, Tot chl 8.5,ph 7.5, ta 111, th 59. The ammonia tested 8.0, nice dark green. What does this mean? Pool still looks nice and clear. Yes I know I need my own test kit, I'm going to try to go to Leslie's Pools to get there test kit Chlorine fas-dpd svc. or order the one you recommended. Thanks again-Debbie

Thanks Richard for responding. We're still shocking with no change. We closed the pool with a pool closing kit, not sure if the water was tested before closing. We used GLB'S pool closing kit, which has oxybrite,Algimycin winter and sequa-sol. The water wasn't too bad when we opened,just a little cloudy, with a couple of leaves that got under the cover. Never had a problem with cya last year. Anyway i will get the ammonia level tested and get back to you with results. Pool is still crystal clear and we've been running filter 12+ hours a day. Pool size 12x24 4 1/2 feet deep, aprox 9000 gal. We would like to get the kids in pool before summer so any help is greatly appreciated. We're definitely feeling frustrated with this. Thanks again-Debbie

On 5/31 I opened our semi-inground pool. Added water, cleaned etc. Took the water to a pool place to be tested, and followed there advice. Well as of today, after shocking 6x. My fc is 0, tc 14.9 cyanuric acid 0, ph 7.6,total alkalinity is 210,total hardness is 80. What am i doing wrong???Why is my free chlorine 0. The pool is perfectly clear.....Please help..Thanks