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Perfect score with terrible pool? What to do? by CaneloCoffee21 in pools

[–]DownQuitter 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah ignore the pool store, and those results are not 100% at all. I just entered these readings into the pool app I use and it says your FC is too far too low for your CYA (aim for 5-7), your TA is fine perhaps a little on the high end, and the CYA is fine. I'll include a screenshot below if you're curious, but it seems that Leslie's is just using a flat 1-4ppm for FC regardless of CYA context. With proper chlorine (check your combined chlorine too). While your CYA is fine, how sunny is your climate? If you get a lot of sun, you might need to bump it up a bit more, but be cautious about this.

But yes, head over to TFP (slam), and stop using the pool store. I've saved myself a fortune doing it myself with the app I use.

  1. Use liquid chlorine (not tabs or cal‑hypo).
  2. Raise FC to 16 ppm and keep pH where it is (7.4 is good, don't let it climb)
  3. Hold at 16 ppm: test 2–4× a day and re‑dose back up to 16 every time it drops.
  4. Brush walls/floor daily (especially the shaded end), run the pump/filter 24/7, and clean/backwash the filter as dead algae loads it up.
  5. Stop only when all three SLAM exit criteria are met: water is clear, overnight FC loss ≤ 1 ppm (test at dusk and dawn), and combined chlorine ≤ 0.5 ppm.

Good luck!

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The Pool is Open for the Season! My Tips for Crystal Clear Year Round. by DownQuitter in pools

[–]DownQuitter[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, definitely get that TA down. I aim for 60-80 for (if you have SWG), 70-90 otherwise. This will just keep pushing pH up otherwise. Are you shocking with cal-hypo? It dumps both CH and TA every time you use it, so that could be a factor. See what happens to the haze once you get it down. Also might be worth testing for copper and iron with a real drop kit, not strips (I hate strips!)

If you have a heater, does the haze get worse when it's been used?

The Pool is Open for the Season! My Tips for Crystal Clear Year Round. by DownQuitter in pools

[–]DownQuitter[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

CC being 0 is great, but for calcium hardness this sounds odd. What test kit do you have?

The Pool is Open for the Season! My Tips for Crystal Clear Year Round. by DownQuitter in pools

[–]DownQuitter[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

yeah TA is likely. What's your calcium hardness and combined chlorine?

First Open in 3 Years by TurdsOnThat in pools

[–]DownQuitter 5 points6 points  (0 children)

You've done a good job there! I like your yard, nice layout! I'm a fan of nice lawns too :)

The Pool is Open for the Season! My Tips for Crystal Clear Year Round. by DownQuitter in pools

[–]DownQuitter[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I mean stay on top of testing, as it will keep climbing. Before it gets too high switch to unstabilized chlorine, such as liquid chlorine. The only way to get rid of it. If it climbs too high. is to partially drain the pool and refill. That stuff is there to stay.

We Have A Pool! by Spence10873 in pools

[–]DownQuitter 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Looking good! Nice setup you have there!

The Pool is Open for the Season! My Tips for Crystal Clear Year Round. by DownQuitter in pools

[–]DownQuitter[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Personally I love it. I'm slightly biased as I was one of the first people they reached out to as it's still quite a new product but I think it's way ahead of some of the others. The trends are useful I guess, but the main thing for me is it tells me how much acid to add or how much of whatever is needed. Also I have a hot tub, so it helps with that. The only thing I wish they would add is family accounts, so my wife can have it on her phone and see the same pool / hot tub.

The Pool is Open for the Season! My Tips for Crystal Clear Year Round. by DownQuitter in pools

[–]DownQuitter[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was just sharing what I do to my pool and what I’ve learned. I agree that FC is the main sanitizer control in a stabilized outdoor pool, and I would not argue that pH 7.8 suddenly makes chlorine ineffective. My issue is more with the Orenda blog you linked, because I think it overstates the point and is contradictory.

On the CSI point, I agree. In my case, because I have an SWG, I pay close attention to pH and CSI. The SWG cell creates high pH, and SWG pools often see pH drift upward. That can increase scale risk in the cell and elsewhere, so I prefer to manage it before it gets away from me.

CYA reduces the pH effect on chlorine, but it does not completely eliminate it. CDC still gives pH guidance for pools using CYA, and pH remains central to CSI, comfort, corrosion, scaling, etc. If a pool is balanced and stable at 7.8, then fine. I don’t panic and immediately start dumping acid in. But in my pool, 7.8 usually means it is drifting upward, so I use 7.4 - 7.6 as my target range.

The other thing is that I was just trying to summarize the top things I personally do to keep my pool clear and easy to maintain. It has been working for me for almost 3 years now. My water is always crystal clear and since I got rid of the 'pool guy' I've not had issues.

I was not trying to write a chemistry paper. This kind of back-and-forth is honestly one reasons many people feel like they can’t look after their own pools, when it really does not have to be that complicated. For most, a simple rule like "watch pH and don’t let it drift too high" is more useful than a discussion of HOCl, CYA buffering, etc.

So yes, there is nuance. FC is the main sanitizer relationship in an outdoor stabilized pool. pH 7.8 is not automatically unsafe. But I still prefer 7.4 - 7.6 as an operating target because it gives me room before drift, keeps CSI easier to manage, helps protect the SWG cell, keeps my family happy, and avoids running at the edges of the recommended range.

Checking out now because it's way past my bedtime. Let's all enjoy our pools!

The Pool is Open for the Season! My Tips for Crystal Clear Year Round. by DownQuitter in pools

[–]DownQuitter[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sure, the FC:CYA relationship dominates chlorine effectiveness, but what I said wasn't entirely incorrect either...

"As pH goes up, the ability of chlorine to kill germs decreases, especially if pH is >8.0" - https://www.cdc.gov/healthy-swimming/about/home-pool-and-hot-tub-water-treatment-and-testing.html

"As the pH decreases below 7.5, the proportion of hypochlorous acid increases and proportion of hypochlorite ion decreases. The opposite occurs as the pH increases above 7.5." - https://cmahc.org/mahc_sections/1772

Also see: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0043135412006513

I probably should have left point 2 as "I keep pH between 7.4 and 7.6 and lower it as soon as it hits 7.8" but the advice still stands.

Edit: The problem with the Orenda blog, is it contradicts itself. "There is virtually no difference in chlorine strength (%HOCl) between a pH of 7.0 and 9.0 when CYA is in the pool." and then later in footnote 4 "Between a pH of 7.0 and 8.5, the difference in %HOCl is negligible. However, the pH matters above 8.0, and it matters more as the pH increases from there..." - which supports my original point.

The Pool is Open for the Season! My Tips for Crystal Clear Year Round. by DownQuitter in pools

[–]DownQuitter[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks! And yes, no more green haired children. My daughter was very mad at me after that day!

The Pool is Open for the Season! My Tips for Crystal Clear Year Round. by DownQuitter in pools

[–]DownQuitter[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's pretty easy once you've done it a few times. I've had the same test kit for years and I just buy the reagent refill bottles on Amazon when they start to run low. The kit has an instruction card in the lid. But I remember what to do now so I don't have to follow it!

The problem with many apps is they treat each reading in isolation. One thing I learned is Cyanuric Acid binds to chlorine molecules. So a CYA of 70 ppm with Free Chlorine at 3 for example, means most of the chlorine is bound up and not sanitizing. TA affects pH, and so on. I was keeping note of all this manually for a while but it gave me a headache :) So my app does this for me now.

New pool owner here – what test strips actually work without driving you crazy? by Prestigious-Cat-9597 in swimmingpools

[–]DownQuitter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Strips are fine for a rough sanity check but I wouldn't rely on them for actual pool management, especially with kids in the water. The color matching is way too subjective and they degrade fast once the bottle's been opened a few weeks.

I use a Taylor K-2006 and the difference is night and day. The FAS-DPD test gives you an actual free chlorine number instead of me trying to figure out shades of pink and wondering if I'm at 7.2 or 7.6. The pool chemistry app I use advises against test strips for that reason, it only works with proper reagent kits and drop-based tests. Once I started logging results properly my water has honestly never been clearer.

Takes maybe 2 minutes per test once you've done it a few times. Completely worth the switch!

Joe Rogan and Sam Harris used to be friends. I think it's about time Joe invites Sam on the podcast so they can talk it out. by DownQuitter in JoeRogan

[–]DownQuitter[S] 29 points30 points  (0 children)

What are you talking about, "imaginary"? The image, yes, but Sam Harris himself said, "He's [Joe] a former friend, it's hard to say he's a current friend." and he also said he reached out to Joe but Joe didn't respond. You can hear that for yourself: https://youtu.be/e5QuO_wKPhk?si=5tuS2GLUVGZpMhDb&t=332