New to Forum - Possible Problems With Pool Opening

Jump to latest Follow Reply
G

gooselover

0
May 17, 2009
28
I'm so glad I stumbled across this forum! We just opened our 15x30 pool for the first time without draining and completely starting over (we have had the pool for three years). Truthfully, we have had no problems with keeping the pool crystal clear.

However, this year, we didn't drain and start over with fresh water. We just decided to shock it. We did fill the pool about 1/3 with new water because of the winterization. We did, also, have some leakage from our pool cover this winter which made our pool water green.

Now, tell me if I am on track. Doing a pool opening is somewhat new to me starting with the green water.

We have shocked and shocked and shocked and algeacided the pool. Since opening 2 days ago, we have used 5 bag of super shock, 2 gallongs of liquid bleach, five large crushed up and diluted chlorine tabs, another 2 gallons of liquid POOL shock, more algeacide and PH increaser.

On the test strips, my readings are just now:

TH 250 (ok)
TC 10 (high)
FC 10 (high)
ph 6.8 (will add more)
TA 120
Stab 0

I will get the PA up and add more stabilizer (should I get Borax?).

I has been 2 days, should my water have cleared up somewhat by now? It has, truthfully, but is still cloudy and somewhat green/blue.

Do I need to be doing anything else? We are also running an auto pool cleaner at the moment (just turned it on an hour ago)

How would I tell if my sand filter is okay? This is the third season we have had the pool. Should it be okay after 3 seasons? My pressure stays at about 10 or 11. Really doesn't go over that. ***Edit *** I should mention that not last season but at the end of the season before 2007, the pump thru my stupidity lost it's prime for about 10 minutes or so. The pump was making a slight "squealing noise" however, upon opening and running it last year, all was fine. Now, we are hearing it again. Could we have a pump problem????

Should I be backwashing more or ONLY if the pressure goes up? Thanks for all your help!
 
Hey, Goose,

Welcome to the forum.

You must continue to add chlorine to your pool to get it clear. I'm not sure why you have used so many different types, but chlorine will clear the pool. I would suggest you stick with Clorox or Pool Chlorine, whicever is easiest to find.

Secondly, you have a lot of reading to do up in Pool School. YOu got a couple of things mixed up and reading the basic articles in Pool Schol will get you on the right track quickly.

You need stabilizer (CYA) in your pool. Did you have any last year? That's important if you did so please tell us that.

Don't spend any more money on algaecide. It is an adequate preventor of algae but no a good killer of it. Chlorine is what you need......applied evenly over a period of time until your pool is clear.
 
Also...you really want to stop using test strips. They are not very accurate and do not help when shocking your pool. I recommend the TF100 from tftestkits.net or the taylor k2006, however the TF gives you more bang for the buck. I know either may seem pricey, but they will save you money in the long run with chemicals you just do not need...ie Algaecide.

Duraleigh (Dave) actually sells the TF100 (It his product), but as he mentioned you should read pool school a few times over and then armed with a good testkit, your water will be clear in no time.
 
Hi, thanks for the advice. In answer to your questions:

I really do not use stablizer - my readings have always pretty much been o. I have NEVER had a problem with keeping the pool water clear. Ever.

The reason we used different types of chlorine is just to try them. The store wasn't open to get the pool chlorine, so we used the grocery store for regular laundry chlorine. When we went into town, we got the liquid pool chlorine. I also bought some more powdered shock.

I checked the water this morning, still very cloudy. Can't see bottom. The chlorine and the free chlorine are still high. 6.8 on the PH 6.8 TA is good.

I will just keep adding chlorine as you stated and I WILL READ pool school

Any advice on the pump? It seems to be working just fine, but as stated before, I really never have to backwash it as pressure stays around 10-11 - has been that way over the last two seasons.
 
You need to add Borax to your pool ASAP to get your PH up to 7.4. Low PH is very, very bad for pool surfaces and equipment. Use the Pool Calculator to determine your dosage.

CYA prevents the FC from being completely consumed by sunlight, so it cuts down on the amount of chlorine you need, if using bleach (bleach and pool store liquid chlorine are the same thing, sodium hypochlorite, just different strengths). How did you chlorinate your pool for the last three years?

If you had to dump your pool water at the start of each season, then I'd say you had a problem keeping the water clear... :wink:

I second the advice on getting a good kit, strips are useless and notoriously inaccurate.

BTW, Welcome to the forum. :wave: You can update your Profile to include your pool's specs and equipment. Go to User Control Panel, then Profile, then Edit Signature. :goodjob:
 
It may take time to clear. There are many factors. I am starting week 3 of clearing my swamp and I am almost done shocking. I still have cloudy water, but it is getting noticeably better each day.

Stick with liquid chlorine and it will work.
 
gooselvoer said:
Any advice on the pump? It seems to be working just fine, but as stated before, I really never have to backwash it as pressure stays around 10-11 - has been that way over the last two seasons.
Click to expand...

What kind of pump is it? How much HP, speeds, model, brand?

Pressure gauges can go bad. I good way to check is backwash, rinse, then set it back to filter. Note with your hand the pressure from the return flow when the filter is "clean". When clearing algae you will have to backwash more frequently than otherwise would. As the filter becomes dirty you will notice a substantial decrease in the return flow, even if the pressure gauge doesn't change. If it doesn't change on the gauge but you notice a big difference with your hand, the gauge could be bad, but they aren't expensive and simple to replace.
 
The ONLY reason we dumped the pool water from the season before is because our cover blew off during a winter storm and several branches from trees took a nose dive into the pool.

The year before, same thing - winter storms, ice storms, etc.

However, the year before that, 2006, when we removed the cover??? CRYSTAL CLEAR!! Gosh, that was a great year.

Pump is a Hayward 1.5 HP
 
The 1.5 HP is it a one speed, two speed? Do you see any water/slow drips coming from the pump area?

Storms, debris doesn't require dumping and starting over. I'm sorry you had to use all that water. Are you on a well?

So how did you chlorinate in prior years?
 
The pump is a Hayward Power Flow LX 1 speed. I DO SEE a little (very little) seepage from the collar of the pump on both sides!

How did I chlorinate the years before? I would simply put a large 3" shock tab in the skimmer and 1x per week a bag of 1lb shock. Algeacide 1x per week about 1/3 bottle. I have never had a problem. Maybe I was just lucky.

I checked the outflow - going into the pool - very strong. We usually have a flower on it and the way I can tell is if the flower will squirt all the way to the end of the pool and then some when I open the flow all the way up - I know stupid way, but that is my way of telling.

Could this little bit of seepage be a problem? Other than that, all is well.

It seems, too, that while the water is cloudy, when the pool lights are on, there are particles in there?
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Lucky - yes. Because you would replace your water, you started out each time with 0 CYA. Using the tablets and some forms of granular bags will increase the CYA, so you did have some in your pool, which helped keep the FC and it wasn't all lost to sunlight... So while you didn't add stabilizer seperately, it was present in your water, albeit maybe at low levels.

One item of note, NEVER put tablets in the skimmer. the Tablets are acidic and they lower PH (note your 6.8 PH). When in a concentrated area like the skimmer, especially when the pump is off, the localized water becomes very acidic... the skimmer materials can become brittle and break easily, and the low ph can wreak havoc on pumps/heaters/filter equipment. Unfortunately many pool professionals either don't know or don't tell you this.

It sounds to me like your pump seals have gone bad, and that could be part of the reason. I know people have repaired these things - I can't help with that though! I would begin a new thread with your pump specific info and they can probably walk you through the steps to see if it is repairable. I would think a 3 year old pump is certainly salvageable. No more pucks, mkay! If you do use them, use a floater, or install an inline chlorinator AFTER the pump/filter.

Understand that the granular shock Dichlor and tablets (trichlor) are acidic, so keep your PH in line using Borax or soda ash/washing soda.

Understand that these dichlor/trichlor products do add CYA, and while you have replaced your water, keeping CYA in check, over time the use of these products can lead to CYA that is too high. Using Cal-Hypo granular product can cause cloudy water in some situations, and can lead to too high calcium. For chlorination and shocking in general we mostly recommend liquid chlorine a.k.a. bleach.

If your water is cloudy, you may not be done shocking. So read about How to Shock your Pool, Defeating Algae and Recommended Levels in Pool School. Order the kit.... :wink:

Hope this helps.
 
Tabs + algaecide is one way to maintain your pool, and as FPM says, starting fresh each year keeps the CYA from getting totally out of hand. The real problem with that is if you DO get algae, it will be hard to get rid of; algaecide is, despite its name, more of a preventative measure and not a good way to kill algae once you get it. The tabs are almost certainly trichlor, and will cause CYA to accumulate over time to the point where it won't be feasible to maintain adequate chlorine levels; see the Chlorine/CYA Chart for the relationship.
--paulr
 
Oh, yes! All the advice helps tremedously. Hate to say it, but I will read Pool School at work!

Yes, I agree, I must have been lucky! I will use the floating chlorine or liquid? from now on. The floating device for the chlorine had a tendancy to get "caught" in the skimmer (probably trying to get sucked into the square there).

I will have DH check the seals on the top also.

Gosh, thanks so much everyone!
 
those particle at the bottom is probably dead algae...if you vacum that may speed the process of clearing it. CYA, as mentioned by FPM, helps cutback on your chlorine usage and keeps your FC level more consistent. If your FC is maintained daily at the proper level, there is no need to shock a pool unless your CC rises above 0.5ppm or you lose significant FC overnight, which would mean your FC is being consumed by contaminants. IMHO, adding a bag of shock on a weekly basis allows for way too much fluctuation of your FC and may even raise it to unsafe levels for swimming given you have no CYA.

Also, you want to avoid letting a 3" tab sit in your skimmer, unless you have the pump running 24/7...tabs can be very acidic and over time can cause your skimmer and plumbing to become brittle.
 
If I have the solar cover off and the pump on, my floater parks in front of the skimmer too; just shows that the skimmer is really doing its job! (Dropping tabs in the skimmer is not good; a floater parked in front of the skimmer is okay, as after the pump turns off the floater will drift away.) I suspect that will boost the flow of water through the floater and dissolve the tabs a little faster, which in my case is just what I want; I'm using up some tabs to increase my CYA, which got too low after the winter rains. (I did a 2/3 drain to get it where I want, then we had another 6" rain. :roll: ) Another 2-3 tabs should do it, then I'm back to bleach.
--paulr
 
We usually run the pump 24x7 - just last year I found out we did not have to do that. So, about the last 2 months of last season, we would turn it off at night only - mainly just to save on the electric bill.

It has been running 24x7 now since Friday when we opened it.

OH - the pressure gauge is working! Crept up a tad
 
ITS WORKING!!!! Pool is clearing up!! One last question

Threads Merged for Consistency by Moderator.

I took everyone's advice. The pool is clearing up slowly. DH just read numbers and TC and FC is high but holding since I put in this morning, so it had all day sun and it is still holding! PH is 7.2 and CYA is 50.

Does this sound good?

Next and last question. How LONG will it take to have clear water?????

Thanks SO MUCH!
 
Re: ITS WORKING!!!! Pool is clearing up!! One last question

It is much simpler to answer your questions if you keep your whole story together in one place. I can't really answer your question because I can't figure out between your four topics what is actually going on with your pool.

If you had algae, and the algae is dead, then it can take the filter a week or more to clear up the water. But those are some big ifs.

Give us some more context about what the water looked like before, and what you did, and we can give you a much better answer.
 
Re: ITS WORKING!!!! Pool is clearing up!! One last question

Okay, what transpired is that the cover didn't hold completely and the debris from the cover got in the pool. Not much, but just enough to where the water turned icky green. There was alot of debris (leaves) down at the bottom. We got as much up as we could at the beginning. I assumed we just needed to get the water clearer and then work on the debris. What I have done is:

1st day - shocked the pool with 3lbs of shock and added algeacide (okay, I know better now)
2nd day - shocked again and added 3" tablet. Added PH increaser since it was low
3rd day - Discovered this forum and started using chlorine bleach. Got 2 gallons of liquid shock 12%) and put in pool. BUT, before we got the liquid bleach, went to store and got 2 gallon bottles of laundry bleach and put in.
4th day (today) Got a 94oz of Clorox unscented and poured in along with Borax. FC and CC are now high and PH is now 7.2. Stabilizer went up, also.

So, the pool water was green to begin with. Now, it is kinda a cloudy blue. No green at all. I assumed the green was from algae, along with a wonderful home to a BUNCH of frogs! (and tadpoles)

As I stated before, the first season we opened, the cover held and the water was crystal clear. The second season, cover didn't hold (Oklahoma has ALOT of wind at times) and I just said, oh heck, drain it and start over. We did, no problem, water remained crystal clear with little effort. The third season, ice storm here, again debris and green, so I drained it, and refilled.

This season, instead of spending the money on the water bill to refill, I decided to try and clear up myself. Thus, all the questions.

I guess I may be a tad paranoid about trying to clear the green water thinking this is much harder than just draining and refilling. There is alot more balancing of chemicals doing it this way, at least to me, than just draining and refilling. So, since I am new at clearing up green water, I just want to make sure I am on the right track.
 
I'm kinda confused... your CYA went from 0 to 50 in a day but you didn't add any?

Clearing up an algae bloom can take several days and lots of POP - pool owner patience.

Keep the FC at shock level for your CYA of 50, and hold it there, till your FC holds overnight, your CC is .5 or less and your water is clear. This could take another day or two, or three. Just kinda depends on how diligent one is about adding chlorine. Sounds like you are getting a handle on things.

(Please keep all your pool related posts on this thread, rather than starting several...it gets too confusing for us Mods.) :wink:
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply