Balancing Properly

[JBVanHorn]

So I have been having some trouble with my pool. It's eating chlorine like no else. I have the following:

Pool: Vogue, 28 ft, 18,000 gallons
Chemicals: Omni shock (buffer, oxidizers, shock, etc or all in one package. 1lb bags.), algicide.

Issue: my pool will not stay balanced. I have gone through 16, 1lb bags of shock since may 5th. When I test my water there is no chlorine reading and 7.2 ph. I add the omni and if needed fill the pool up to half way up the skimmer. It will be fine for about 4 days if there is no rain or swimming.

Today we have maybe a 1/8 inch of rain, and when I checked it there was absolutely no chlorine reading. I usually keep a 3 inch tablet in the skimmer but I ran out. Then on the other hand algi is building up on the walls towards the bottom and a fair amount. I scrape the walls and floor, shock and algicide it, then the following sweep on waste. The pool is in a very open spot, with no trees or debris that gets in it. Sun at least 11 hours a day.

I have a 22 inch sand filter and 1 1/2 hp pump. The setup is right, I just have no clue what I'm doing wrong.

I'm spending quite a bit of money on it, more so than I think I should. The kicker is, the water is always clear, so that's good. But as soon as it runs out of chlorine it starts to green even after a 30 day algicide.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Joseph VanHorn

 

[tim5055]

Welcome to TFP!!

My first suggestion is to stop going to the pool store. Their only response it to sell you something. The bags of "shock" you are using are doing nothing but drive up either your stabilizer level or your calcium level. For now, go to WalMart and fill your shopping cat with Great Valu concentrated generic bleach in teh 121oz bottles. With the pump running add one bottle each day until your test kit arrives (see below).

No more algecide, as you can see it really doesn't fix the problem you have right now. You have algae. At times you beat it back quite a bit, but you are not killing it all.

I will tell you, it didn't get this way overnight and it will take time to clear. But, we can teach you how to get it sparkling and keep it that was for a lot less money than the pool store.

We base our pool care system on accurate testing and only adding what the pool needs, when it needs it. To do that you need your own accurate test kit. Order a TF100 and at least include the XL option. That will give you what you need while you are clearing the pool, and probably enough reagents for a couple of years normal use.

While you wait for it to get delivered, you have a homework reading assignment. Start with ABCs of Water Chemistry and Turning Your Green Swamp Back into a Sparkling Oasis

 

[JBVanHorn]

Thank you so much! I will be ordering this kit next friday, (pay day). I will buy the bleach in the meantime. I do have people coming over to swim through out the week.Will adding bleach cause any harm to swimmers, or should I wait until there is no swimming? The great thing is,there is not swamp in my pool, thank goodness. I bought the basic hth test kit from walmart, but I am ready to stop spending all the money in chemicals. Is there anything I will need to buy for once the kit arrives? I assume the bleach kills everything in the pool and neutralizes the water?

I can't wait to get this started. I will respond back once I get the kit. Let me know if I need anything additional.

Thanks,
Joseph VanHorn

 

[tim5055]

Bleach is nothing more than another form of chlorine, so it is safe.

 

[JBVanHorn]

I have ordered everything and should have it in the next week. However I did just add my first bottle of generic bleach as suggested. I've read that bleach can burn a liner, or fade it. I didn't think in 18 thousand gallons of water it would be strong enough to do that. However I do now see the same chemicals in "shock" as I see in the bleach. So that's nice. In what case would bleach hurt my pool?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk

 

[pooldv]

Never, bleach is actually a weaker form of liquid chlorine, same ingredients. Bleach is 6-8.25% and liquid chlorine/shock is 10-12%.