First time using BBB method to close pool

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L

Lcts

Bronze Supporter
Jul 7, 2015
47
Long Island. NY
Hello again.
Pool crystal clear. Been that way all summer. Small spots of Algae.
Used BBB method as much as possible all summer, I had to cheat a bit because pool pump is on the way out, and not circulating water as much as it should. (will get new one in spring) I tied a floater with chlorine puck in it next to spot that kept getting a silver dollar size of green algae growing. Kept free chlorine about 3 - 5 ppm by adding 12.5% "shock" every day and brushed every other day (and used the pool as much as possible).

Pool water at 60 degrees and want to get it ready to close.
Removed pool ladder and liner protector under it. Green algae there about 2 inch by 6 inch spot.

Oct.1 - Raised FC to 12, took out pucks, and brushed pool. PH 7.4 TA 100 CYA 95 ish?
Oct.2 - Rain raised pool level about 4-5 inches . Lots of leaves etc.
Oct 3 - Cleaned out leaves, FC 11ppm (no chlorine additions since Oct. 1) CC - Zero CYA down to 55 Checked FC level about 5 hrs. later and it was 9.5

Oct 4 - thinking I should lower water level down a bit more and add fresh water to lower CYA even more. Then proceed to slam with lower level of FC needed, the thought of bringing FC to 22( with a CYA of 55) Scares me because of vinyl liner. Would like to get CYA down to about 30 ideally. Or does the Higher CYA serve to "protect" the liner from higher FC levels?

Any of this make sense?
What are your recommendations?
 
You sound like you've been trying to meet the best of both worlds - traditional pool store methods with TFPC. But they are not compatible. The long use of pucks and pool store "shock" have certainly made your CYA unmanageable. All you can do it exchange water to lower CYA. As long as your FC and CYA coincide as noted on the Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart, your liner will be safe. No worries there. To clear your algae, you'll need to:
1 - Exchange water and verify new (lower) CYA
2 - Adjust pH to about 7.2 prior to SLAM
3 - SLAM via Pool School - SLAM - Shock Level And Maintain

Use only regular bleach. No more tabs, pucks, or pool store products. Make sure you follow all the steps in the SLAM page and it will work. Good luck.
 
Ok. Got refill finally of r-0013
new cya of 45.
ph. At 7.0
Ta. 90
fc 8 (Down from 12 since 10/3 with no additional liquid chlorine since, not much sun on pool thi time of year)
Cc. Could be zero, definitely less than .5
Pool crystal clear. 60 degrees or less
no algae since 10/3

want to close it
texas mentioned bring ph to 7.2 before slamming.
thought vinyl liner was supposed to be 7.6?
just making sure
thanks
 
Lcts said:
So what should ph be before slaming and closing pool for a vinyl liner?
Click to expand...

Have you passed an overnight chlorine loss test to complete the SLAM criteria? You should verify that you pass that before closing.

It's recommended to bring pH to 7.2 before SLAMing because you cannot check the pH accurately at elevated FC levels over the course of a long SLAM procedure that can sometimes take weeks. pH tends to rise with the pump running 24/7 during a SLAM so that's the reason for a pH 7.2 before a SLAM. If your pool is clean and passed the OCLT, you should bring the pH to 7.4 to 7.6 before closing. Keep in mind, you need to check pH when FC is less than 10 ppm for accuracy. SLAM and closing recommendations are different.
 
Hi again. You can keep your pH in the normal recommended range (7.6) when simply closing. But if you still have those algae spots, you need to SLAM first. Prior to a SLAM, the pH needs to be lowered to 7.2-7.4 first. After you pass the SLAM, the pH can be allowed to rise back up.
 
I also live on LI and my cover is on ( 3 wks now) pump runs 3 hrs a day. I wait until water is closer to 50 then balance water and shock. Next day lower water below returns, blow lines and pull pump. Over the course of the winter and spring your pool is going to fill back up and your cya will be a bit lower. I also don't put anything else in the water. The temp of the water, plus your chlorine when you shock will keep the algae at bay all winter long. Plus when I open early in the spring I still have chlorine.
 
Thanks everyone for responding! Hello fellow long islander!
If my pump was working correctly i would take the advice to wait until water was 50 degrees, but its on its way out.
So I need to close ASAP. Pool Temp below 60 degrees

FC 7.5 (down from 12 on 10/3 with no additional chlorine added since 10/3) No algae since 10/3
CC Zero
PH 7.8 ( must have measured wrong and put to much in )
TA 100
CYA 45

I have no algae, Pool crystal clear, zero cc, and chlorine lose is less than 1ppm over night.
I have not brought chlorine to slam level as yet.
Do you think I still need to?
 

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Lcts said:
duh.(been a hectic week) Need to bring FC to shock level to close anyway, so Is it ok to bring Chlorine up to 18 ppm with PH at 7.8 and run pump for 24 hours?
Todays test results in previous post above
Click to expand...

Yea you need to get it up to shock level for sure if you have to close soon. I just took the temp of my pool here with the cover on and it's 64 degrees.
 
Lcts said:
duh.(been a hectic week) Need to bring FC to shock level to close anyway, so Is it ok to bring Chlorine up to 18 ppm with PH at 7.8 and run pump for 24 hours?
Todays test results in previous post above
Click to expand...

I know here on LI I have to keep my PH low to help with metal stains that come from our water supply. I bet you may have the same problem. Do you get stains on your liner with high PH?
 
I have never had a problem with high ph. It has always been a battle to keep raising it. (no more pucks) This is the first time ever. I must have read yesterdays PH of 7.0 incorrectly and adjusted it to 7.8 Uggh! But anyway, yes I have had tiny little spots of like rust here and there. This spring after 7 years I got a new liner. So far so good. So now I guess I have to get the acid stuff and lower it... Is that the only way?
Then I will slam, and run pump 24 hrs. and close. New pump in spring
 
Lcts said:
I have never had a problem with high ph. It has always been a battle to keep raising it. (no more pucks) This is the first time ever. I must have read yesterdays PH of 7.0 incorrectly and adjusted it to 7.8 Uggh! But anyway, yes I have had tiny little spots of like rust here and there. This spring after 7 years I got a new liner. So far so good. So now I guess I have to get the acid stuff and lower it... Is that the only way?
Then I will slam, and run pump 24 hrs. and close. New pump in spring
Click to expand...

Yes you need the acid to lower ph. You can get it at ace hardware or any hardware store.
 

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