New Pool Owner in Mesa, AZ

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Wonderful That's what we are wanting to see. He probably won't need to add any chlorine tonight, and hopefully it will hold above 24 on its own. With him seeing some green dust just last night, we won't attempt OCLT yet, but hopefully within another day, or so all that ole algae will be dead.

I'll be out a while in the AM having tests for my surgery, but I'll catch up with you when I return.

Just keep doing what you're doing because you guys are doing a great job. Have a wonderful night :)
 
9:30pm FC 25.5 dropped 2.5 in the last 3 1/2 hours. We just bumped it back up to 28 for the night.

When brushing the pool early evening my husband did see some more green around the bottoms of each step and in the area next to the steps where are the black spots were located when we started the SLAM. Very little left compared to when we started...yay!

Have a wonderful night! ��
 
Sounds awesome. Keep it up, and you guys are doing exactly what you need to be doing. The steps, lights, returns, skimmers, corners where the wall and the floor meet, etc., are all excellent hiding places for the algae.

The 2.5ppm FC drop tells me that he moved some algae out of it's hiding place, and the chlorine jumped on it to kill it out, which is exactly what we want it to do.

Just continue to keep the FC levels above 24ppm at all times, brush/sweep and vacuum the pool often, paying special attention to the hiding places, and it will be gone before you know it. Have a wonderful day :)
 
7 am FC 24 (down 4 overnight). Bumped it up to 27.
9:30am FC 27 (no change in 2 1/2 hours), will check it again in a couple of hours.

Hope all went well with your pre-surgery tests this morning. Our thoughts and prayers will be with you on the 17th.

Have a great day ��
 
Thank you. Hopefully the no change in 2 1/2 hours means it has eradicated what it found yesterday, and the only decrease you'll see is from the sun depletion. (You must have sent your clouds from the other day here to me today because it is a cloudy day, and is suppose to rain. You both have a great day too. You're doing great. :)
 
I sure hope that what he brushed up yesterday is gone! 4pm FC 25.5, down about 1 - maybe 1 1/2 in the last 4 hours. We just bumped it back up to 27. Seems to be using a lot less chlorine today. My husband is going to brush it again this evening, concentrating on the areas where that algae can hide.
 
Sounds good. Hopefully there's not anymore hiding out in there. A lot of people get hiding algae so bad that they have to remove their steps, lights etc. completely out of their pool, and once out they're like I can't believe there was that much algae hiding under, and inside those steps. lights etc.. They make the steps for the water to flow through them, but it leaves all these little gaps for the algae to hide in which makes things a lot harder to clean up should algae start to grow. With your CC level being .5 though I suspect whatever was in there is just about killed out.
 
Good morning! We did our last test yesterday 4 1/2 hours after the previous test and it went down 1. We bumped it back up to 28 for the night. 11 hours later 8:25 am FC 22, down 6.

Before testing it for the last time yesterday, he brushed it down paying close attention to areas where the algae can hide. He is going to vacuum it later this morning.

Our steps are built in, not removeable. We think having pebble tec probably gives algae a lot of places to hide since it's all textured.
 

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Wow it sounds like he found some hiding spots for sure last night and moved it out where the chlorine could reach it easier. Yes the little grooves in the pebble tec can give it more hiding places. The vacuuming should help get some more of that out of there. If he sees a lot of algae dead or alive down there doing a vac to waste if possible would be better as to not have it in your filter. I did a vac to waste on mine after slamming for several days and ended up removing about a 5 gallon bucket of dead algae yuck from the bottom which helped to speed things along faster.

Adding a knee high panty hose, or a skimmer sock to your skimmer basket will help retrieve the smaller particles too.
and /or
Adding a small amount of POOL GRADE DE (NOT FOOD GRADE DE) to your sand filter could also help. Here are the directions for that: http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/133-add-de-to-a-sand-filter.

NOTE:If you do decide to go with the DE option you'll have to be able to babysit your filter especially the 1st few hours until you're sure the pressure doesn't rise too high. (If it starts rising above where it should just do a backwash to remove it from the filter, and start again adding less the next time around).

You'll want to start with a low amount of DE 1/4th cup diluted in 2-3 gallons of water, and stirred with a stick or something because it settles to the bottom of the bucket. Pour small amounts of the diluted mixture into the skimmer, watching the pressure gauge continuously, then add another small amount doing the same thing . Do this until your pressure gauge increases by 1psi. Also be sure to remove the knee high or skimmer sock prior to pouring the DE in the skimmer and you can put the knee high or skimmer sock back in after you get the DE added). You'll repeat this procedure after each backwash.

These are just suggestions that may help you guys get the rest of that out of there quicker, but won't eliminate the algae if it is not killed out.

Otherwise just keep on doing what you're doing because it Will eventually get it all out of there. I hope this helps, and have a wonderful day. :)
 
11:45am FC 27, 3 hours 15 minutes with no loss. My husband is adding some water and added just a splash of chlorine because of that. Otherwise leaving it at the same level and planning to test it again in about 2 hours.

What is DE and where is the best place to get it in case he decides to try your suggestion from the last post?
 
Yeah :whoot:I'm so glad to see that.

It's given name is Diatomaceous Earth (It is real fine mineral. (The food grade can be used on gardens, put into dogs food, and even some people use it to supplement their dietary needs of silica, etc. When you go to some hotels you will see a white line of powder around their walls that is in fact food grade DE. They use it to help kill bugs, and DE can also be used in the treatment of Bed bugs too. Yuck.

As far as the pool grade (which is what you'll want to use) A lot of people actually have DE filters and use DE instead of sand. It is a little finer than sand and tends to sometimes help.

But you have to get a huge bag, and only use like 1 cup lol.

Since your numbers are finally holding hopefully you won't Need any help at all let's just let the chlorine and sand filter do their thing, and see how it goes because I really do think you will soon get er done. Just need to be sure the chlorine has killed all that algae out. Have a wonderful day :)
 
Looking good. Let's give it at least one more day at the high levels before considering whether to check OCLT, or not since it's been a cloudy day I want to ensure you have it all killed out before we begin letting that level drop because if it isn't then you have to bump it right back up again so it's easier to bump from 26 to 27 then it is to bump from 5 or 7 all the way back up to 27ppm.

We want to try to avoid that and get it killed out the 1st time around :). I do think, unless something else gets stirred up again in there, that you'll most likely get this done probably by Saturday as long as things keep on the way they have today.

If the numbers hold tomorrow like they have been today you should be able to check OCLT tomorrow night but we'll see what tomorrow brings.

Has your hubby seen anymore algae dust this evening?

Keep up the great job, and Have a wonderful night. :)
 
It was holding pretty well all day, then we went 4 hours aftetnoon/evening and went from FC 27 to FC 23, down 4 in the past 4 hours.

When he was first vacuuming around noon today he said it seemed like it wasn't doing anything. Then he looked at the pressure gauge and it was double what it usually is (usual 13-15 and was over 30). He had already put the vacuum away. Then he put his hand over the hole and there was basically no suction. He back washed the filter, put his hand on the hole again and had a lot of suction. Is this normal?
 
Good morning. Yes, when a filter needs to be backwashed or the pressure rises to 20-25% or more higher than normal It Will significantly decrease the flow, suction etc. (actually mine rose one time during my SLAM so much that it stopped them both (the water coming in and the water returning to the pool) all together) then once it gets backwashed, and is allowed to return to normal pressure, all operation of the equipment also returns to normal.

It's best to try to do a backwash before it gets to that point but sometime it will do it quickly. I suspect it rose so fast after vacuuming because he picked up a lot of stuff in there (Keeping my fingers crossed that he got any remaining dead algae etc. off the bottom). The 4ppm drop tells me he again found a hiding place, and moved the algae out where the Chlorine could attack it, and do its job.

Just keep doing what you've been doing. You guys are doing Great!!!

I bet you guys had no idea that there could be that much algae lurking, and hiding in a clear pool, did you? I hope this helps and have a nice day. :)
 
Excellent, you guys can attempt an OCLT tonight if you want to see if it is in fact out of there.

You Can do the OCLT using the 10ml water sample for it too like you have been for your testing.

To do the OCLT check your FC and CC levels after dark , and as your last check of the night (usually checked around bedtime).

If the FC level is at or above Shock level of 24ppm leave it there (document those results BUT add no more bleach),

Then recheck both FC and CC in the morning before direct sun is on the pool. Document Those results also.

When doing OCLT and checking FC and CC levels around bedtime tonight, IF the FC level is BELOW your Shock level of 24ppm, add enough bleach to get it up to the 24ppm level per Pool Math.

Then Allow the bleach you added to circulate at least 30 mins with the pump running,
RECheck the level 30 mins after the bleach add, and document those FC and CC results (These are the readings you will use for your nightly levels).

Then in the AM before direct sun is on the pool Check both the FC and CC levels again, and document those results.

Then just post both tonight's FC and CC readings, and the FC and CC readings for in the morning here, and we can see if you passed OCLT. I'm keeping my fingers crossed :).

If you have any questions just let me know. You guys are doing such an awesome job. Keep up the great work and have a wonderful day. :)
 
12:30pm FC 22, down 6 in the last 4 hours. We have full sun today which is the first time in several days. My son took the water sample. This is only the second time he has gotten the sample and we are wondering if that could have anything to do with the big FC drop because the last time he took the sample the same thing happened. Maybe he takes the sample close to the top or something even though we told him how my husband does it. Since it's my 33rd anniversary today, I was meeting my husband for lunch and had to leave as soon as I finished the test. We put 3 quarts of chlorine in to bump it back up to 28. We will see what the next reading is in a little while.
 

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