Need some help from the experts

[Muley4x4]

I've lived in my home for approximately two years. I'm currently located in North Central Texas in Arlington. Prior to moving in the home I personally have never owned or taken care of a pool. I'm at a place where it is very frustrating and I'm reaching out for help. I tested the water on Saturday afternoon. I will attach pictures with the results from the test. I'll take a water sample up to Leslie's and give you guys more specific numbers as soon as possible.

My problem is that even though I believe the algae is gone it always seems to come back and it's a constant fight. I want to get to a point where I keep the pool in check prior to the rain and so on. This spring however it seems to be even more rampant with the growth of new algae from all of the rain that we have received in Texas. I currently have 23 oak trees on our property and it seems like they are the gifts that keep on giving to the pool. Between the pollen and the little squiggles there is always something in the pool.

I'll attach pictures of the pool, landscape, and equipment.

I cannot post the other numbers at this time. I only have a Leslies test kit. I'll proceed to buy a better kit as soon as possible.

FC- 1.5
pH- 7.8
TA- 60

If I forgot anything please ask. I'm here for the help and won't mind answering any questions.

 

[tim5055]

Welcome to TFP!

Don't bother with Leslie's, we don't trust the numbers from pool stores. We would ask that you purchase your own quality test kit. My recommendation is the TF-100.

Here is what you will need to do to eradicate the algae once & for all. SLAM Process

 

[cowboycasey]

Welcome to TFP

I promise your not the first person to run into this I bet you use 3 inch pucks and what ever the pool store has said to throw in there... don't worry, we will get your pool all sparkly in no time... Here is my recommendation

1. Order the TF100 + xl option and the Speedstir the link below has 2 different ones..
2. find a store to buy bleach/liquid chlorine.. Walmart has 8.5% bleach in the laundry isle, they also have 10% liquid chlorine in the pool isle, you may have a HASA dealer near you that sells 12.5% the higher % the less you will use daily http://www.hasapool.com/dealer_locator_hasa.php
3. pour 1 gallon bleach or 1/2 gallon 12% in a day and brush the whole pool until your test kit arrives

Once your kit arrives post your numbers back here and we will get you going... while your waiting check out some of the links below in my sig

I hope this helps

 

[JVTrain]

Welcome aboard!

It's a daunting task the first time around but if you spend some time in Pool School and ask questions about the methods we teach here, we can help you take control of the pool.

The most important tool to have is your own test kit. The tests are better than the results you get at the pool store, more convenient since you don't have to haul a sample in and less harassment from PS staff about what magic potion they want to sell you for $99.95 (that your pool likely doesn't need). They Taylor K-2006 kit is decent and has all the tests you need but the TF-100 also has all the tests you need with more appropriate amounts of reagents that will last you longer before having to replace reagents.

The hard part about this stage for you right now is that you not only have to read up on our methods here but you're frustrated with your pool and want it fixed yesterday. Take a deep breath and commit to checking out Pool School starting with the ABCs. Get your kit ordered in the mean time and ask lots of questions!

 

[Muley4x4]

Welcome aboard!

It's a daunting task the first time around but if you spend some time in Pool School and ask questions about the methods we teach here, we can help you take control of the pool.

The most important tool to have is your own test kit. The tests are better than the results you get at the pool store, more convenient since you don't have to haul a sample in and less harassment from PS staff about what magic potion they want to sell you for $99.95 (that your pool likely doesn't need). They Taylor K-2006 kit is decent and has all the tests you need but the TF-100 also has all the tests you need with more appropriate amounts of reagents that will last you longer before having to replace reagents.

The hard part about this stage for you right now is that you not only have to read up on our methods here but you're frustrated with your pool and want it fixed yesterday. Take a deep breath and commit to checking out Pool School starting with the ABCs. Get your kit ordered in the mean time and ask lots of questions!

Thank you all for the introductions it seems like I came to the right place. I've been reading up on everything. It seems like every person that I have talked to including my parents have a different method of maintaining water clarity and pool balance. Seems like I've heard the method, "throw 6 bags a shock in a week and that should last you" to "Call a pool expert".

 

[tim5055]

Thank you all for the introductions it seems like I came to the right place. I've been reading up on everything. It seems like every person that I have talked to including my parents have a different method of maintaining water clarity and pool balance. Seems like I've heard the method, "throw 6 bags a shock in a week and that should last you" to "Call a pool expert".

Yup, the answers you get will vary by the "expert" you are talking to. I can only say that what we teach here has been tested in tens of thousands of pools across the U.S. But, I will caution you, mixing our advice with that given by others generally won't work.

We base our pool care on accurate testing and only adding what the pool needs, when it needs it. No shocking once a week and no magic potions. What we recommend can generally be purchased at your local big box store (Lowes/WalMart) for a lot less than the local pool $tore.

 

[JVTrain]

The answer here is to become the expert yourself! Some time in Pool School here, then getting familiar with daily testing and you'll know more than anyone else you've ever asked, including that "pool expert" you're supposed to call.

 

[Muley4x4]

Welcome to TFP

I promise your not the first person to run into this I bet you use 3 inch pucks and what ever the pool store has said to throw in there... don't worry, we will get your pool all sparkly in no time... Here is my recommendation

1. Order the TF100 + xl option and the Speedstir the link below has 2 different ones..
2. find a store to buy bleach/liquid chlorine.. Walmart has 8.5% bleach in the laundry isle, they also have 10% liquid chlorine in the pool isle, you may have a HASA dealer near you that sells 12.5% the higher % the less you will use daily http://www.hasapool.com/dealer_locator_hasa.php
3. pour 1 gallon bleach or 1/2 gallon 12% in a day and brush the whole pool until your test kit arrives

Once your kit arrives post your numbers back here and we will get you going... while your waiting check out some of the links below in my sig

I hope this helps

Thank you for the advice. I'll go ahead and order the test when I get home from work. On adding the bleach in your opinion is there any negative side effects in terms of having dogs around the pool? I'll plan to pick some up on my way home and add it once daily until my test kit arrives.

 

[tim5055]

Thank you for the advice. I'll go ahead and order the test when I get home from work. On adding the bleach in your opinion is there any negative side effects in terms of having dogs around the pool? I'll plan to pick some up on my way home and add it once daily until my test kit arrives.

Nope, bleach is nothing more than liquid chlorine. The pool stores like to confuse you and give different names for different things, but when it comes down to it chlorine is chlorine is chlorine. In its natural state chlorine is a gas, so we need to bind it to something to use it in our pools.

Pool stores generally advocate pucks and powered shock. Pucks (generally TriChlor) and powered shock (generally DiChlor) are chlorine bound to stabilizer/CYA

They also sell "liquid shock" which is nothing more than liquid chlorine. Liquid chlorine comes in different strengths:

12.5% & 10% are generally sold as liquid shock
8.25% is concentrated "bleach"
6%, 5% & 3% are regular bleach

But, when it comes down to it all forms of chlorine deliver the same chemical, just different carriers.

Oh, once diluted in the pool it is safe for your dog. Mine thinks,the pool is a big water bowl.

 

[duraleigh]

is there any negative side effects in terms of having dogs around the pool?

Yes, you will soon be out of tennis balls!!

 

[Muley4x4]

Went ahead and added the WalMart 121oz bottle. I'm about to brush the pool as instructed

 

[cowboycasey]

Perfect

You may see your pool start to turn back to blue before you get your kit in the mail, just keep doing what you did today, pour 1 bottle in and brush... you are just trying to keep algae from getting worse...

I can't wait until your pool gets all sparkly

 

[Muley4x4]

@Casey you have no idea. My goal is to keep it there. In the past I could get it there but maintaining it was the hard part

 

[bbrock]

Sorry, just read 1st post and last one. Keep your pump going during the whole SLAM process. And, as seen by your 1st pic Muley4x4, get that floater out of your pool. Leslie's and a floater can lead to problems. Floaters and pucks could work to maintain a chlorine level if you go on a short vaca, but I would not recommend that until 1) you get to know your particular pool's chemistry and "behavior," and 2) you have exhausted your options trying to find a neighbor or friend who could come by and dump in chlorine.

Just having read comboycasey's comment above, I assume you are on the right track.

- - - Updated - - -

The following is after having read your 1548 post:
Get it "there," test chlorine and pH daily, and add accordingly, until you get your pool dialed in and are comfortable.

 

[Muley4x4]

I'm on day 2. I ran the pump last night. I didn't brush or add the bleach until about 5:30 pm. The water was obviously still cloudy this morning. I noticed the pressure on the pump was somewhere around 20 PSI.

Should I back wash or just clean the filter grids throughout the process?

 

[JVTrain]

I don't have a DE filter myself but the general guideline is to back wash when your filter pressure rises 25% above clean pressure. Do you know your clean pressure? That's the pressure of your filter when you've completely backwashed, cleaned the grids and added the proper amount of DE. Check out this great guide for DE filters too: Use and care for DE filters For instance... if your clean pressure is 15, 15 x 1.25 = 18.75, so you'd want to back wash when your pressure is at 19 or so.

DE filters do an EXCELLENT job of filtering so when dealing with filtering algae during a SLAM, they can clog up quickly so be sure to keep and eye on your pressure as you go.

 

[Muley4x4]

I don't have a DE filter myself but the general guideline is to back wash when your filter pressure rises 25% above clean pressure. Do you know your clean pressure? That's the pressure of your filter when you've completely backwashed, cleaned the grids and added the proper amount of DE. Check out this great guide for DE filters too: Use and care for DE filters For instance... if your clean pressure is 15, 15 x 1.25 = 18.75, so you'd want to back wash when your pressure is at 19 or so.


DE filters do an EXCELLENT job of filtering so when dealing with filtering algae during a SLAM, they can clog up quickly so be sure to keep and eye on your pressure as you go.

My clean pressure is normally somewhere around the 12% mark. That is after cleaning my filters.

 

[JVTrain]

My clean pressure is normally somewhere around the 12% mark. That is after cleaning my filters.

I'm assuming you mean 12 psi. Haha! If that's the case you should backwash at 15-16 psi and reload with DE. You'll go through a lot of DE when clearing a pool with algae...

 

[Muley4x4]

Just cleaned the grids, brushed the pool, added DE, and another gallon of WalMart Bleach.

The grids were pretty slimy by the way.

Thanks guys for all of the help and advice so far.

 

[Muley4x4]

Woke up this morning to a fairly blue pool.

I have no idea what is in the bleach bottles but to me it seems like magic. Obviously shocking the pool like I would have done in the past would not have cleared it up to the point it is now in less than 48 hours. I'll get a picture when I get home. By the way it has rained the last two days and in the past that would have been a recipe for disaster. Thanks guys! I'm here to learn and become more educated.

P.S. In about 12 hours my PSI jumped from 12PSI to 30PSI. I backwashed this morning before I left for work and added more DE to the filter. I brushed again but did not add bleach I'll just will wait until I get home.