After starting pool for summer can't get FC up, Cloudy, Algae, pool eats Dichlor

[richc233]

Texas Splash - I thought if the chlorine is that high it is bad for people, bathing suits, etc. or is that just an old chlorine idea? I poured the bleach directly into the skimmer to try and kill any algae in the filter grids. I guess I will be off to Shop Rite - their bleach is on sale for $3.00 but my wife bought all they had yesterday, hopefully they put some more out!

Viking68 - I do have an old bag on the Polaris because it gets filled with sand, drags on the rough plaster, and gets holes! I have a new one and can put that on or just run it without the bag. I didn't think a old or dirty/algae holding bag could cause that much trouble.

12:46 AM - I followed the Pool Math and added 4 3/4 bottles of bleach to get to FC 22, but it went a bit over I'm at FC 26 with CC .5

Thanks for your help, will see how it is in the morning.

Rich

 

[richc233]

It looks like I didn't pass the test. I didn't get to check it when the sun was coming up, but at 10 AM I had FC-19 and CC-0, and last night after adding bleach it was FC-26 with CC-.5 - I also gave it about 45 minutes to circulate after adding the bleach. Do you agree that I am not done?

Need to use the pool today, but what do you think I should do to complete the Slam.

Thanks,
Rich

 

[JoeSelf]

As long as you are under SLAM value and pool is clear, it's OK to swim. Bring it back up to you shock level after you are done swimming and continue on with your SLAM until all three criteria are met.

 

[viking68]

Algae hides in lots of places - light niches, around ladders/slides, etc. I replaced my light a few weeks ago (that was a chore and a half) and there was gunk in there as well. Cleaned it out, but the algae bloomed back every few days, even with Cl @ 5.0+ (my "normal" level for my CYA). After soaking the bag in Cl, been a great week without problems - about a quart of Cl a day and a cup or 2 of acid a week. Life is good with TFP! My normal, expected loss is about 2ppm/day. Have screen, but the pool gets hit about 3/4 of the day with direct sun.

 

[richc233]

I do have 2 large lights in the pool and a small one in the attached spa, that definitely could be hiding some algae so I will take a look and clean them out. I also have a waterfall in the deep end which is a bit of an extension of the pool, with about 4-5 inches of water at the bottom where the rocks sit, and there is no way to actually brush inside that area. There was algae on the front of the rocks that are at the water level of the pool, which I brushed off yesterday. The rest of the pool looks good with no visible algae, though I still am having a hard time getting rid of the very fine and sandy particles that are coming off of the plaster. I'm not sure what is still eating the chlorine, or if the FC has not stayed at the shock level for a long enough period.

The pool was good for swimming today, though it ended up raining at pool party time. I just added 3 gallons of bleach to get it from FC 13.5 up to FC 25, CC .5

Any ideas or suggestions would be great.

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Texas Splash]

Stay with it Rich. Definitely give those lights a good look. Maintain the SLAM FC level as best as you can. When you match the FC to your current CYA it's safe. Remember, you're bleach is fighting algae AND the sun, do it's a double-threat. You'll get it. Have a good day.

 

[richc233]

This lights really needed to be cleaned out, there was a pile of sand mixed with dead and green algae in both of the large pool lights. I vacuumed it out to waste so that it would get out of the pool. I was also able to push a hose into the bottom of the waterfall and it forced out some "stuff" though I didn't see any green. I think I still lost too much chlorine overnight, but I wasn't up at sunrise for an exact reading!

- Brought it to Shock level 8:30 pm, FC 21, CC .5, added more bleach to go a little higher
- Tested at 9PM FC 24, CC .5
- At 1 am it was down to FC 21 so I added more bleach to get to FC 22 (which should be my shock level)

- This morning at 10 am FC 18.5, CC .5

- Now at 12:30 pm FC 18, CC .5

I am not sure how much better the reading would have been at sunrise, though it is very hot and sunny today.

I guess I am still almost there but not quite. We really want to use the pool now so I am going to have to let the chlorine go to a normal level at least for the next week or so and we will also see if stays clear.

A couple of questions on what normal is and how to keep it there:

- The PoolMath page shows that with CYA 55 normal FC is 4-9. I would like to keep it at the low end, will that be OK or are there any drawbacks?

- Am I OK to use Trichlor tablets in the skimmer to maintain the FC? I am just not clear on how much they will bring the CYA up.

 

[PAGirl]

I would continue the SLAM since you lost so much while it was pretty dark (8:30-2:00 a.m.) If your water is clear, you could swim while it is below SLAM level (just a few ppm under is still safe, though you may wish to wear older suits, just in case) and then you'll want to bump it back up after everyone is out to SLAM levels until you pass the OCLT. No sense doing all this work to end too early and have problems again
It's better to keep the FC at the middle target. If you regularly fall below, and you'll always lose some during the day to sunlight and swimmers, you'll end up with a cloudy pool or a
Gae.
With a CYA of 55 you won't want to use the tablets. (You can see home much each one adds at the bottom of pool math, be sure to put your correct pool volume at the top)

 

[richc233]

It was a 90 degree very sunny day, and I just re-tested (4:30 PM) and have FC 15.5 CC .5. It seems like it went down a little less during the day today, though I think it was hotter and sunnier so hopefully getting the algae out of the lights helped. I understand I am at a good level now to continue, but for the weekend I want to see how it is if the chlorine gets to a normal level.

Should normal target be FC of 6, with my CYA of 55?

10:30 PM Update - FC 13.5, CC 0 . 0

Thanks,
Rich

 

[viking68]

This lights really needed to be cleaned out, there was a pile of sand mixed with dead and green algae in both of the large pool lights. I vacuumed it out to waste so that it would get out of the pool. I was also able to push a hose into the bottom of the waterfall and it forced out some "stuff" though I didn't see any green. I think I still lost too much chlorine overnight, but I wasn't up at sunrise for an exact reading!

- Brought it to Shock level 8:30 pm, FC 21, CC .5, added more bleach to go a little higher
- Tested at 9PM FC 24, CC .5
- At 1 am it was down to FC 21 so I added more bleach to get to FC 22 (which should be my shock level)

- This morning at 10 am FC 18.5, CC .5

- Now at 12:30 pm FC 18, CC .5

I am not sure how much better the reading would have been at sunrise, though it is very hot and sunny today.

I guess I am still almost there but not quite. We really want to use the pool now so I am going to have to let the chlorine go to a normal level at least for the next week or so and we will also see if stays clear.

A couple of questions on what normal is and how to keep it there:

- The PoolMath page shows that with CYA 55 normal FC is 4-9. I would like to keep it at the low end, will that be OK or are there any drawbacks?

- Am I OK to use Trichlor tablets in the skimmer to maintain the FC? I am just not clear on how much they will bring the CYA up.

My advice - do not use tablets forget they exist. They will ultimately screw up your CYA and they will not put enough chlorine in the water to maintain.

Also, I tried the low-end of the chlorine range. Sun kills off 2ppm/day so, in my case, that means I'm down to 3 and the algae jumps right back within a couple days of a 3-5 bounce. Successful only when I NEVER let it go below 5, so about a quart every day or 2 - depends on sun/clouds. Based on how I've come to learn what my pool does, I get nervous when I see it drop below 6ppm.

Do you have a SWG? That could chlorinate well from what I've read. Too rich for my budget this year (re-plaster this fall/winter).

 

[richc233]

I wanted to check back in with a couple of things. The pool is looking great, the water is nice and clear and I have not found any algae hiding anywhere else nor in corners when I brush. I have been keeping the FC in the 4-6 range, adding bleach in the morning and at night.

- I am using about 1 121oz bottle per day, with my 30k gallon pool - is that normal or still a little high?

- I still didn't pass the overnight chlorine loss test, I think I am losing about 2 ppm overnight. I think the only place left that could have algae is the filter and I should be able to change out the DE tonight and I plan to open up the filter and really wash it out.

- In all of the testing of the FC, CYA I neglected to test the CH level since my initial testing (where it was 200). I tested it today and it is 100, which will probably start eating away at whatever plaster I have left! Pool Math says I should be at 250 and need lots of either [FONT=&quot]55 lbs calcium chloride dihydrate. or 42 lbs [/FONT][FONT=&quot]calcium chloride in[/FONT] do you recommend one over the other, or could I use Calcium Hypochlorite instead of bleach - would that have a significant affect?

Thanks in advance for suggestions!

Rich

 

[viking68]

For sure up the CH to proper level. I've used Calcium Chloride with no problems.

Until you pass OCLT, you are NOT done with SLAM! I have made this mistake and lived to regret it.

Really clean that DE out well and recharge. Then SLAM again. Even though pool looks good, and you aren't "seeing" visible algae, if your'e failing OCLT, there IS algae in the water, just waiting to bloom!

Finally, on a bright sunny day, I loose about 2ppm with CYA @40. That's about normal from what others say here. With everything balanced, I maintain FC @ 5 ppm with about a quart of 12.5% trade chlorine/day - sometimes every other day, but my pool is half your size. If I could afford it, I would do a SWG, but cash is tight just now.

 

[richc233]

I didn't change the DE yet, and was thinking about where the algae is hiding. It seems that if there is algae in the filter, but the filter isn't running at night, it couldn't be using up the chlorine there - does that make sense?

I am leaning towards the waterfall causing the trouble, with trapped water/algae inside that doesn't get circulation and that I can't get to. I am adding a photo of it. The water is pumped from the pool and comes out over the rocks, but there is water below the rocks that has a small area at each side where it can circulate with the pool water.