Hi. New member from The Republic of Panama with pool problems.

[Kalei808]

We just moved into a house where the creature from the green lagoon lives. I have very little experience with swimming pools. I was told I needed to get the PH under control first, then the Chlorine. Nothing else mattered until then. Along with the advice from people we met I did the fallowing over the past 3 weeks. Slammed the pool 2 times, added about 35lb or more of PH+ to get it to 7.2. Vacuumed and back flushed, add floc, more vacuuming and back flushing, add copper sulfate and more vacuuming and back flushing, added some pool clarifier. WOW I can start to see the bottom. For got to mention it rains a lot here (don't know if that makes a difference). Currently the water comes from the municipal but eventually it will come from a well. I finally got a test kit from Lamotte colorQ Pro-7 code 2056. I had a problem matching the colors with the other test kit, poor eye sight .

Here are my latest test results:
FCL-10.74; TLC-10.74; PH-7.E; ALK-82; CH36; CYA;140;

Your POOL MATH calculator (not exactly sure it I'm using it correctly), says I need to replace 71% of the pool water. WHAT!!! after all that work and expense???? I can see all the money I spent at the bottom of the pool.

Problem is that we are on water control. Panama is in a drought. Is there any way around draining the pool.
PS. Mama is already not to happy with me at the moment.

 

[kimkats]

HI! Sorry to hear of your troubles. You have come to the right place to get your water all fixed up. What I am going to do is give the links that I give to new pool owners. Read over it all and then come back with any other questions you might have.

Print these out:
Pool School - Basic Pool Care Schedule

Pool School - Recommended Levels

Bookmark these:
Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals

http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html

Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

You can deal with the high CYA IF you keep your FC up to the levels talked about in the above link. It might be a struggle but...........bleach or new water. I don't know which will easier for you to do.

PLEASE ask any and all questions you might have! We would LOVE to see a picture of your pool also!

Kim:cat:

 

[Kalei808]

I would like to thank you for your guidance. I studied all the material you recommended and after reading a numbed of threads for CYA I've come up with a plan. I think.
It is now our winter season here with rain and overcast sky's almost every day. With the countries water levels still low we are still considered to be in a drought.
I'll continue to back flush (the water is still a bit cloudy but no agile) twice a day (about 4" of water) and use the municipal water along with the rain water to refill. I will monitor the CYA level and use bleach to keep the Chlorine to CYA ratio at 11.5%. I plan to use the TFP maintenance schedule and modify as needed and also use the recommended chemicals to maintain proper water chemistry.
How does that sound?
Any recommendations can you make will really be appreciated.
Thanks & Take Care
Kalei808

 

[jblizzle]

That sounds reasonable, but may not be feasible. The color Q will not read a high enough FC level for your high CYA level. We generally do not recommend that tester.

 

[Isaac-1]

Welcome, and sorry about your troubles,

Let me add one other thing to what has already been said, we strongly advise NOT using any copper based algaecides, they can cause stains in the pool, blond hair to turn green, and worst of all while they are somewhat effective at controlling algae, which is visible to the naked eye, they do little or nothing to control bacteria and viruses which can not be seen by the naked eye so can make you assume clear water equals safe water which is not the case. With properly chlorinated pools which do not have copper algaecide products in them, we can use the lack of algae as a proxy for the effectiveness of the chlorine against bacteria and viruses as well, since chlorine is roughly equally effective against most viruses and bacteria as it is against algae. Of course like CYA the only way to remove copper from a pool is through water replacement.

 

[Casey]

Welcome

 

[Kalei808]

Thanks for your help. The instructions for the test kit say that if the results read HI, to redo the test but to only fill the tube with 1/2 the required pool water, and the remaining 1/2 with distilled water. Then multiply the test result by 2 to get the correct reading.?

 

[Kalei808]

Thanks a lot. Won't copper any more, I got enough problems as it is. Also been looking for unscented bleach. Non of the stores in this area that I've been to carries any. Also FYI the scented stuff is only 3% chlorine. There are four pool supply stores in this area and none for them bring in liquid chlorine. HMMMMMMM... Still Searching.

 

[Kalei808]

Thank You.

 

[jblizzle]

Your CH appears to be low so you could use cal hypo for your chlorine if that is more readily available. Just keep your eye on the CH.