The CC could very well be that high from the steps because they can harbor a lot of algae, but I suspect if the steps are that bad, and it has been neglect that long there's a lot more algae in there then just what you found under the steps.
Ph not registering and TA of zero
- Thread starter lindz18
- Start date
Ok. I was curious. I have brushed and brushed. I scraped the bottom with the leaf rake and I couldn't get nothing in it. Since the water is bad cloudy I was wondering what was in the deep end. Seems to be pretty clean. Once we get the pH up the water clarity should improve some more, correct?
It could still take awhile for it to clear, or at least mine did. Mine was a 3 yr neglected swamp when I started on it.
So I think it will depend on what is causing it to be cloudy, is it the algae, or is there other chemicals in there that are reacting to the chlorine, are there particles floating around, etc.
What helped clear mine quicker was doing frequent vac to waste, also putting a knee high panty hose in the skimmer basket, it does the same as a skimmer sock would, and it helps trap all those little fine particles preventing them from making their way to the filter, and possible being returned through the return. Also if he has a sand filter you can add a little DE to it, and it will help trap smaller particles too.
I was also reading a thread the other day where the gentleman just could Not get his to clear (he tried everything mentioned above), but no luck.
So what he ended up having to do was actually shutting off the pump for a couple of days to allow all the tiny particles to settle to the bottom, and then did an extended vacuum to waste which removed them all with a couple of vacs a day, for like 2 days, and it completely cleared his pool. The transformation was unbelievable. Hopefully some of these suggestions will help.
So I think it will depend on what is causing it to be cloudy, is it the algae, or is there other chemicals in there that are reacting to the chlorine, are there particles floating around, etc.
What helped clear mine quicker was doing frequent vac to waste, also putting a knee high panty hose in the skimmer basket, it does the same as a skimmer sock would, and it helps trap all those little fine particles preventing them from making their way to the filter, and possible being returned through the return. Also if he has a sand filter you can add a little DE to it, and it will help trap smaller particles too.
I was also reading a thread the other day where the gentleman just could Not get his to clear (he tried everything mentioned above), but no luck.
So what he ended up having to do was actually shutting off the pump for a couple of days to allow all the tiny particles to settle to the bottom, and then did an extended vacuum to waste which removed them all with a couple of vacs a day, for like 2 days, and it completely cleared his pool. The transformation was unbelievable. Hopefully some of these suggestions will help.
You're welcome. Hopefully one of those, or a combination of them will clear it right up for you.
Here is the link for the thread that I was telling you about if you are interested in seeing it. There are a lot of pics throughout the thread http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/103190-Green-swamp
Have a wonderful night
EDIT: Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention one of the most important parts of HOW they determined in the thread above that the pump shut off, over night settle, and vacuum to waste Might work. They had him take a glass of the actual pool water, and sit it somewhere untouched for the night to see if anything settled when particles did in fact settle that's when someone suggested he turn off the pump, let it settle overnight and then try to do a vac to waste to remove it from the bottom of the pool.
Here is the link for the thread that I was telling you about if you are interested in seeing it. There are a lot of pics throughout the thread http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/103190-Green-swamp
Have a wonderful night
EDIT: Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention one of the most important parts of HOW they determined in the thread above that the pump shut off, over night settle, and vacuum to waste Might work. They had him take a glass of the actual pool water, and sit it somewhere untouched for the night to see if anything settled when particles did in fact settle that's when someone suggested he turn off the pump, let it settle overnight and then try to do a vac to waste to remove it from the bottom of the pool.
I have read this thread a couple of times. Please report FC first and then CC next as that is the order in which we test.
Just to make sure you are testing properly, are you:
-filling vial to 10ml
-adding 1 heaping to 2 scoops of powder
-counting drops of 0871 until solution clears
-multiplying drop count by 0.5 and recording as FC
-adding 5 drops of 003
-counting drops of 0871 until solution clears and recording as CC
-swirling the tube after each drop of 0871 above
Just want to confirm that you are testing correctly.
Just to make sure you are testing properly, are you:
-filling vial to 10ml
-adding 1 heaping to 2 scoops of powder
-counting drops of 0871 until solution clears
-multiplying drop count by 0.5 and recording as FC
-adding 5 drops of 003
-counting drops of 0871 until solution clears and recording as CC
-swirling the tube after each drop of 0871 above
Just want to confirm that you are testing correctly.
For your future reference, when the TA is zero, that is initially red instead of green, this means that the pH is 4.5 or lower.
Uh-oh. Chem geek is on to something significant if the pH is really that low!
Washing soda or borax now!!!!
Washing soda or borax now!!!!
You raised TA too much to start. Now when you raise the pH, the TA is going to go up more.
Having pH in range is much more important than the TA.
Having pH in range is much more important than the TA.
Good catch, Jason. I missed the post about the new TA level. Don't use the washing soda!
i'm back on the bandwagon of a sneaky drain and refill.
i'm back on the bandwagon of a sneaky drain and refill.
With the TA now at 90 ppm, aeration of the water should get the pH up without increasing the TA. One can point the returns upwards to help with that.
