Kick off the 2016 Pool season!

[mackguy]

Thanks to a friend loaning their sump pump, and some extra muscle we got the winter cover off yesterday! Underneath was not clear (didn't do a full, proper slam when the cover went on) but not terrible. Green tint and cloudy but could still see the bottom @10' down.

We just have the temp sensor on the pump so water level was still up and there was no "de-winterizing" other than pulling the cover.

Steps so far
1) remove and store cover
2) backwash pump
3) top off water level
4) start pump
5) start a diet of bleach (side-note, Wal-Mart now has 10% "pool chlorinating liquid" @$2.50/gal.. woohoo!). Last year I found 2 gal/day kept at SLAM levels.. for the first batch I used the remainder of a gallon from last season, and 2 gal of the 10%.
6) started Aquabot and brushing

Next step
1) water sample/chem test : might have done this sooner, but thought it would be more accurate after the pump had been circulating for a day, and knew we would need to spike the chlorine levels anyway. Thought giving a day to let everything homogenize would be good.

2) Adjust chem per test
3) continue aquabot/brushing
4) SLAM until TFP clear!

Last year (before stumbling across TFP) this process took almost 2 months. This year I'm expecting we'll be "mostly clear" in just a few days based on the dramatic overnight improvement (see pics), and then probably a couple weeks before the filter/vac get the rest of the cloudiness out.

Thanks TFP for all the knowledge on here that I can approach this with confidence, and some knowledge of what I'm doing!

Pool right after cover removal (~2pm yesterday)

Pool this morning

 

[Texas Splash]

Nice to know what you're doing right? Progress is being made. Nice!

 

[mackguy]

Yep, last year (our first as pool operators) was a disaster.. got the cover off, then scrambled to find a "pool guy" which took us about $400 in the wrong direction with no results other than lighter wallet...
Finally gave up on him and found TFP.

 

[pooldv]

Nice work and nice pool!

 

[mackguy]

General question... is my theory on ramping up chlorine and running pump BEFORE doing a chem test sound, or do most people do a chem test immediately, before doing anything?

 

[kimkats]

2 weeks??? and major $$ = OUCH!

The year is off to a great start for you! SWEET!

Have you thought about becoming a supporting member? Here is the link:

CLICK HERE to Become a TroubleFreePool.com Supporter!!

Win-win for all.............we get to keep the lights on while you and others get to keep more money in their wallet!

Kim:cat:

- - - Updated - - -

The pump DOES need to run for around 15 mins or so to mix everything up good before you test. When you saw the green there was nothing wrong with adding the chlorine when you turned on the pump. I WOULD make sure the pump was up and working BEFORE adding anything just in case though.

 

[mackguy]

Initial test levels
TC= <.5 considering 2 gal at 10% and 1 gal at 8.25% bleach added yesterday this is consuming lots of chlorine!
Add 3 gal 10% tonight

TA= 30.. a little low
PH=6.8 a little low. will add baking soda to bring up TA and PH

CYA <20, looks like I'll get some dichlor shock to kick it up a notch.

 

[Texas Splash]

Yes, while FC is low, definitely increase pH to 7.2. After that, you really need to increase CYA with some stabilizer to save your FC each day from the sun - target 30 ppm. Speaking of FC, your FC needs to me maintained at 12 for the SLAM. It requires a bit of bleach, and must be consistent throughout the day, but it's necessary to completely kill the algae. DI-Chlor is okay in a quick pinch, but bleach will serve you better and quicker in the long run.

 

[mackguy]

Yes, while FC is low, definitely increase pH to 7.2. After that, you really need to increase CYA with some stabilizer to save your FC each day from the sun - target 30 ppm. Speaking of FC, your FC needs to me maintained at 12 for the SLAM. It requires a bit of bleach, and must be consistent throughout the day, but it's necessary to completely kill the algae. DI-Chlor is okay in a quick pinch, but bleach will serve you better and quicker in the long run.

DiChlor just seems like an efficient/easy way to add CYA, that's what I did last year.

 

[pooldv]

That is correct, dichlor is an easy way to increase your CYA. We have quite a few members who use dichlor to increase CYA. I am probably going to start using it once my last jug of CYA is used up.

 

[mackguy]

Progress!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Texas Splash]

Looking good!

 

[mikegtown]

Nice spot!

 

[mackguy]

Well I've got CYA up to 30 finally, shooting for 40, so not long now.

CH is 125 though, which is what I remember from last year.. should probably get on that.

PH dropped to 7.2 probably due to trichlor, so looks like more soda ash in order.

Water is crystal clear though!