Brand new pool owners

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I didn't get up to do a OFCT based on MarianPoo's recommendation. We just tested and after 10 hours, 3 of them sunlight, it was at 27.5. However, then I chose a spot across the pool and far away from where we added the chlorine and it was only 24. So maybe my pool isn't circulating as well as one would hope.

Either way, its looking better.

Last night:


This morning.


You can still see some algae at the bottom, so we are doing a long, slow vacuum and then going to backwash the pump. Progress despite the weird unexpected chlorine numbers.

 
I just wish I knew why the chlorine is so much higher than expected. I haven't put any in since last night, so it should start dropping. Could I have really screwed up the lining getting it so high? Is there any super danger?

Also a more frivolous question... when can we swim? :D
 
You can swim as long as your FC has not exceeded that listed for your current CYA. That's also a good time to get in there and do some manual touch-up brushing & inspecting. When it comes to chlorine testing, most of the time it boils-down to consistency. At least it does for me. :) I make sure the pump is running the same time before/after testing, I grab my water sample from the same place each time, add the same hefty scoop of powder and take my time counting drops. Sometimes I forget to check/update the "weight" (%) of my bleach on the Poolmath Calculator so I go back and manually update it. :hammer:
 
OK, FINALLY dropped below 20. We've had some shady days and some rain. It's 13 and we are bringing it up to 16. Can you give any advice on getting the pool to circulate better? We definitely seem to get different results depending on where we test. I will let you know what the 30 minute test is. Also, is it possible for algae to fall out of the water? Because we definitely got a some more greenish brown coating on the bottom of the pool while it was up in the 20's. What does Mustard Algae look like?
 
Many people will try to improve circulation by adding a 45 or 90 degree PVC fitting on the return jets. You can test your circulation by dropping some ping pong balls on the water to see how they move around. Dead algae can indeed sink to the bottom. It can also turn pale in color. Mustard algae is a bit more stubborn and usually hides on the bottom or sides of a pool in the shady areas. Initial treatment for MA is still a regular SLAM followed by a 24-hr spike in FC.
 
My return jets don't aim at all. They just spit straight out as far as I can tell.

Also we WAY over shot chlorine again. This pool has to be WAY smaller than we think it is. Fell to 13 added 2 quarts, 1 cup chlorine it jumped to 22.

It's a 14x48 rectangle with a 4ft side, a 7ft deep pit and a 3ft side. It's deeper in the middle than the two sides. The poolmath calculator says a average volume of 4.5 should be 23,600 gallons but that's just not working for us.

Did an OCLT and chlorine climbed to 23.

The chlorine factor is driving me crazy. I am desperate to understand the WHY this is happening. Maybe we are mismeasuring the bleach too? I'm going to see if I can't find some way to measure more accurately.

Despite the fact that we technically passed an OCLT, I can still see some slight algae in the bottom of the pool. So we haven't finished this SLAM yet.

It seems so frivolous to complain about overshooting the chlorine during a SLAM when every article I read is complaining about not being able to keep it high enough. So sorry about that. Still I'd like to see pool math work for once instead of constantly rising.
 
Just to make sure .... on the Poolmath Calculator, are you updating the "weight" block with the correct bleach (percentage) you are using? As for the return jets, some owners are able to modify those by adding/inserting a PVC fitting, much like what you would get at Home Depot or Lowes. Just depends on if your original jet fittings have any way to access them from inside the pool to allow something else like that to attached to them.
 

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I don't get it either. Even if I lowered your pool size to 20K, going from FC 13 to 22 is almost two gallons of 10%. Basically, in a 20K pool, one gallon of 10% should raise FC by 5 ppm. The primary factors that drive FC testing disparities would be:
- Pool size ( I don't thin that's it)
- Calculator not updated correctly
- Bleach was stronger/weaker than anticipated
- Taking water samples from different pool locations
- Water not mixed well enough/poor circulation
- Testing error/consistancy; should be using the 10ml sample, multiply drop count by 0.5 (standard method); Example: 18 drops = FC of 9.
 
Okay for the sake of your sanity do this. Add your chlorine in the same spot each time (in front of a return) and take your sample from the same spot (across from the return) after the pump has run for 15 mins. each time you do the test. I would also run the brush along the sides the return is sending it to to make sure it is mixed in good. Do it the same way, at the place each time for now.

Returns------can you take a picture of what they look like? Take GREAT care to NOT get your phone/camera wet BUT we need to see what you are dealing with so we can help you fix it.

Kim:cat:
 
We completed our first SLAM and then immediately got algae again a week later. Now we've completed our second SLAM.

We are coming up on a tough time though. We will be home for a week, gone for a week, home for 2 days, gone for 2 weeks, home for 2 weeks, gone for a week.

We will have sporadic but consistent help. Any suggestions to keeping up the progress would be much appreciated.
 
How does your CYA look now? If it is not too high you can use pucks in a floater to help keep the FC up between helpers.

While you are home look REAL close at your returns, ladder, light to see if something is hiding or look at your test log to see where the FC dropped out of level with your CYA.

Kim:cat:
 
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