Help with Neighbor's Pool

[wkusae31]

Hi TFP community. My neighbor has a pool that he has had a lot of problems with, and I was wondering if you guys can help me try to get him corrected.

Please disregard my signature because I am troubleshooting for a neighbor. Here are his specs:

he actually has a very nice set-up and pool with much better automated equipment.
around 25,000 gallon gunite pool
SWG set to 60%
2 speed pump
pH regulator set at 7.5

We used TF-100 testkit on Sunday. His results:

FC: .5
CC: .5
pH: 7.2
salt: 2600 (he had check cell light on).
CYA: ~30
TA: 70

That day, we added:
80 lbs of salt (Pool math said to use 120 lbs to get it to 3200)---this should've brought it to 3000
6 lbs of CYA (Pool math said to use 8 lbs to get it to 70)---should've brought to 60
111 oz of 8.25% bleach (Pool math said to use around 167 oz).---should've brought to 4.5

Today, our test results:
FC: .5
CC: 0
pH: did not test
salt: 2800 (his SWG read 3000).
CYA: ~40 (I know it takes a week to fully register)
TA: 70

He has his SWG running at 60% when his pump is running. Questions:

1. Why is his FC still so low? I know that his CYA is low so that does not help his FC situation, but I would assume that he would have at least 2-3 FC if he's running his SWG at 60%, right?
2. I told him to bump it up to 100% for the next 24 hours to see if it raises his FC. Is this correct advice?
3. Is his equipment malfunctioning?

I appreciate any advice. As you can see from my number of posts, I'm still a newbie, but I've learned a lot through TFP and Pool School. I think I'm steering him on the right track with adding the correct chemicals, but not sure why some of the numbers (especially FC) are still off.

 

[kimkats]

So nice of you to help!

Do something for me please.

Add enough bleach to bring the pool to FC 5. In 30 mins check the FC again and let us know what the results are.

Kim

 

[wkusae31]

Ok. Will do. I told him to add 187 oz to get his FC to 5 and have him text me the result. With all of his automated equipment, one would figure that his levels would be stable; however, he has gotten advice from pool stores throughout his time with the pool so that may have caused an issue. He has shocked his pool 2-3 times already this year (per instructions from pool store).

 

[jaduck]

I might have missed it in your post, but what does his water look like. I hope you left your kit with him to test his water...

 

[wkusae31]

His water, from my perspective, is not as clear as mine, and I believe it has more of a green tint. He said he had been dealing with some possible algae issues this summer. I was not sure if the color issue was due to him having a gray, gunite pool compared to a blue vinyl liner that I have. My water is pretty sparkling clear, but my numbers are within TFP guidelines. When I say "neighbor", his home is about half a mile away from mine because we have 10 acre lots so I cannot view his pool from my window.

He has one of those big blue Taylor test kits so I did not leave mine. I figured that would be good enough for his FC and pH test. I was going to go back and do his salt and CYA later this week.

 

[jaduck]

Did you ever get the results that Kim requested? I think I would turn off the SWG and perform the OCLT. If he fails the OCLT have him SLAM the pool with bleach. He will need to use a FAS/DPD FC test, not the OTO...

 

[wkusae31]

He's doing that today. Will post as soon as I find out. He has been running the SWG, though.

 

[jaduck]

I think it would be best to turn off the SWG until he figures out what is causing his problems. I would be willing to bet that he is going to have to perform a SLAM.

 

[wkusae31]

Him and I actually miscalculated his pool size. It's 21,500 gallons instead of our estimated 25,000. With that said, he put in 220 oz of bleach (2 bottles) and only raised his FC to 2.5. It seems that he's having a lot of problems with his FC. His pH went down to 7.0 from 7.2, but it's probably because he's doing a CYA addition (his CYA is around 40).

***Edit: His CC is .5 or lower each time we have tested.

Should he just go ahead and do an OCLT and then a SLAM? Or should he just go ahead and SLAM? I'm pretty sure his OCLT will not be favorable.

 

[zea3]

Since he has a plaster pool go ahead and get a CH test also. Since you have a vinyl pool you may not have been using this test, be he needs it. Do you know whether the shock he used was dichlor or cal-hypo?

Once you have a fresh set of test results go ahead and start the slam. Remind him to brush daily and vacuum as needed. What kind of filter does he have?

 

[kimkats]

What I was looking for was two FC tests 30 mins apart. I want to see if the FC sticks around at all.

Kim

 

[wkusae31]

Zea: He told me he used cal-hypo. He has a sand filter.

Kim: Sorry, this is my first time dealing with this. I did not realize it was two FC tests. I'm pretty sure that he has pretty rapid FC loss. Here's why I think so and let me know if it makes sense:

1. He has SWG set at 65% and FC is at .5, usually.
2. We miscalculated his pool volume and the amount of bleach that we threw in the pool should've raised his FC to around 7-8. Instead, it was having trouble getting to 2.5

 

[sbcpool]

Get one of these full of bleach and start a SLAM . Make sure he has an FAS-DPD chlorine test.

 

[wkusae31]

Lol. I'm going to have to lend him my test kit.

 

[kimkats]

Zea are you thinking what I am thinking?

W, this is going to take a LOT for bleach! There is something eating it and fast! There is a cure for it ..............BLEACH!

Have your friend buy as much bleach as his car will hold. Take it home and have him go here:

http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html

And print this out or write it out for his pool. Tell him to use the SLAM levels

Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart

Have him read and print out this

Pool School - SLAM - Shock Level And Maintain

Tell him the stuff in the pool will eat the bleach as fast as he can pour it in at first. He is going to HAVE to add, test, add, test every 30 mins to start with until he can start to hold his FC for the 30 mins. Once he is holding the FC he can move to once an hour.

He is going to have to beat back what is in the pool. The harder he hits it the faster it will go.

He is going to need to get more test stuff for the FC test.

It will NOT be easy but it can be done and it will not have to be done again if he keeps the pool balanced from now on.

Kim

 

[robertmee]

Just because the SWG is set to 60% that's pretty meaningless as a predictor of chlorine production. First off was the generator cell sized properly? Generators when rated are at 100% production. So most recommend a SWG be sized to 2x the size of a pool. Next has the cell been cleaned lately? Third 60% is only as long as the pump is running...what's the pump schedule? All these factors determine chlorine addition. Now you have to take into account chlorine loss. What's the sun exposure per day? What's the current CYA? Are there any organics present? All these determine chlorine loss. Right now your net production is less than the net loss so over time the FC is dropping. Also realize a SWG is a slow generator of FC but the sun and organics are quick eaters. So the time of day you are testing has a bearing on your results. For example I run my SWG 8 hours at night and 4 hours from noon to 4. That's to recover FC at night and to try and maintain during the sunniest part of the day. My FC measures around 8.5 in the morning after 8 hours and 6 by the evening. It would even be lower without running that 4 hours. The reason why I'm doing that now is that my CYA is low. Once I bring it up I can probably eliminate that 4 hour run during the day. Point is you have to consider net gains and net losses and ALL factors in regards to using an SWG. It's not the save all be all that PBS try to sell you on.

 

[wkusae31]

Yeah, I've emailed him the link to all of the info and told him that he has a fairly decent size task on his hands. His CYA is at 40 so that should help with getting his FC up to shock levels. Thanks for all of the info. It appears he's got an aggressive chlorine eater in his pool.

 

[kimkats]

Tell him the hardest fight is going to be getting to where his pool will hold the FC. The longest will be getting it to pass the OCLT.

You are a good friend.

Kim

 

[Chuckiechan]

Why not use an algecide to kill the algae instead of such a huge amount of bleach?

If algae is eating is chlorine, then in a day or two it should begin to stabilize (with proper CYA levels).

 

[kimkats]

We are not sure WHAT is eating the FC. The water is clear so....................Right now BLEACH is the way to go.

Kim