Help...my test results are all outa wack

[aesasieta]

My dear husband has been "taking care of" the pool since it was installed in 2013. (That was my condition for getting the pool.) His method has been to take some water to the pool store every 2 or 3 weeks and then dump in whatever they give him. Sometimes it has been great...and a lot of time not.

We've been having an algae problem for several weeks and so I decided to take matters in my own hands and started clicking around the internet and found TFP. I ordered the TF100 and just took my first readings. Not surprisingly everything is out of whack.

FC .5
CC .5 (or less?)
pH 8.2
TA 280
CH 400
CYA ?? I could still see the black dot after pouring all the water into the "view tube"

Any help would be desperately appreciated. THanks!

 

[kimkats]

Well hello there! SO glad you found us! Your pool will look better than ever and your wallet will be heavier than ever! LOL

Good job on getting the test kit! AWESOME start!

You say there is algae. Can you take and share a pic so we can see what you are dealing with.

It sounds like you need to SLAM your pool. Here is the link:

Pool School - SLAM - Shock Level And Maintain

Print it out and read and reread it as you work through the pre-requs.

I will be on the look out for your picture.

We got this!

 

[mgmoore7]

As Kim said, it is SLAM time. . By the time you are done with the SLAM, your pool will look better than ever, you will have the knowledge needed to continue to care fore the pool without the help of the pool store.

 

[aesasieta]

Thank you for your quick responses...and sorry for my slow response. We have a mom & pop restaurant and I got called in to help...Friday night, ya know. Anyway, I called my daughter and she was able to take a picture before it got dark. Thankfully (I think), the water is pretty clear...but this dark algae keeps settling on the bottom.

 

[kimkats]

Friday night + restaurant=BUSY! LOL

I would think about taking the steps out. I bet they are hiding some algae.

Your water is clear. It is now time to push for the finish........no algae seen anywhere.

Is your main drain working? One time when I forgot to open the main drain valve I noticed the pool was using more FC. Opened it back up and shot some chlorine down it and all was good again.

 

[kimkats]

I just realized I forgot you were so new to this. I can't just say finish it up and you know what I am talking about LOL

You need to SLAM your pool to get the rest of the algae out of your water. You also need to vacuum up that algae up from the bottom of your pool. You will need to brush the walls every day to get and keep the algae where the FC can get to it to kill all of it and allow the filter to clear it out of the water.

Pool School - SLAM - Shock Level And Maintain

 

[aesasieta]

Good morning. Yes. I'm pretty sure the main drain is working. At least it was a few weeks ago when the water was pretty cloudy and my husband had bought some stuff (don't remember the name) that we recirculated to make the algae sink to the bottom then vacuumed to waste. The water level got down to the bottom of the skimmer so we turned it off and just used the main drain till we got the water level back up. Water was still shooting out the return line so I assume the main drain was working. Haha.

 

[duraleigh]

Welcome to the forum. Do you have a main drain in the bottom of your AG pool?

 

[aesasieta]

Okay. So, is there a particular order for this. Should I add the bleach, then vacuum, then brush? Also how much bleach should I add/what level am I trying to reach? I looked at the chart, but am not sure since I was not able to get a reading on the cya since I could still see the black dot quite clearly even after squirting all the water into the view tube .

Unfortunately I have to disappear from the computer for an hour or two now to shape the bread. If it over-rises it never turns out right .

 

[kimkats]

I would add the chlorine right away.

We will call your CYA 10 for right now as you should have some. Add the FC to SLAM level for that.

When you have a chance pick up some more CYA. You can buy it at Walmart or lowes. It might be called stabilizer.

Click on the link called Pool Math in my siggy. It will tell you how much to get and add. I want you to shoot for a CYA of 20 for right now so we do not over shoot.

When you go to add the CYA do NOT follow the directions on the bottle. We have found it is much better to put it in a sock (like you wear) and hang it in front of the return. You can and should squeeze it to help it dissolve. You should be able to test for it the day after it is all dissolved.

Fresh bread??? YUM!!!!!!!!

 

[aesasieta]

We will call your CYA 10 for right now as you should have some. Add the FC to SLAM level for that.

I'm assuming shock level is the same as what you call slam level on the "chlorine / cya chart" And there is nothing close to a 10 on the swg chart...and it only goes to a 20 on the non-swg chart...shall i just guestimate that I want my fc goal to be an 8?

And a couple other questions. We usually find it easier (and less mosquito bites) to vacuum from inside the pool. I assume maybe it best not to do that after adding that much bleach or would it still be okay to get in?

And for now am I just adding bleach and cya or should I also add some muriatic acid to lower the ph / ta?

Thanks!

 

[aesasieta]

I'm assuming shock level is the same as what you call slam level on the "chlorine / cya chart" And there is nothing close to a 10 on the swg chart...and it only goes to a 20 on the non-swg chart...shall i just guestimate that I want my fc goal to be an 8?

oops...I just noticed the "suggested fc levels" on the pool math page...so when I plug in my numbers it gives me a shock level of 10. I'll shoot for that unless one of you experts tells me otherwise.

 

[aesasieta]

Welcome to the forum. Do you have a main drain in the bottom of your AG pool?

THanks. Yes, we do have a main drain. There are three 'intake spots" in the middle of the pool. When I stand on them I can never notice them "sucking" in, but when we turn off the skimmer there is still a strong steam of water from the return so I assume it is working.

 

[kimkats]

Good catch on the PH. I forgot about that. You DO want to bring your PH down to 7.2. You will use muiratic acid to do so. It only need to mix up for about 15 or so mins before you test again to see where it is at..

You can get in the water when it is just a tiny bit under SLAM (shock is the same thing to answer that question). I would not wear a good suit just to be on the safe side of bleaching out of colors.

It really sounds like you have a handle on what needs to be done! You can and should ask any and all questions you might have.

 

[aesasieta]

Good catch on the PH. I forgot about that. You DO want to bring your PH down to 7.2.

Okay. So I added a gallon of MA which initially brought my pH to 7.2. Last night and today it is reading 7.5. Should I add a little more MA to get it back down to 7.2 or is it okay at 7.5?

I've been adding bleach to keep bringing the FC back to 10. We did take the steps out of the pool yesterday and I gave it as good of a cleaning as I could...wiped and sprayed and poured lots of beach in every crevice I could find. It had lots of lovely green gunk! Dear spouse thought we should leave the steps out...but I voted to put them back in. I hope we have a good chunk of summer left and what's the point in having steps if we can't use them. They really do make getting in and out of the pool easier. Haha.

I finally added 3 cups of CYA on Sunday night in a sock hung in front of the return. (We live in a small town and had to drive several towns away before we could find it. Walmart was out. Lowe's was out.) It was fully dissolved by morning. However, I can still see the black dot when the tube is full...but the dot is a bit cloudier than it was before. I'm guessing I should add some more. How much? 3 more cups? That's how much the chart said in order to raise it from 10 to 20.

And should I be concerned about my TA and CH being high? Are we just worrying about the "more important" things for now and we'll mess with that later?

Thanks so much for your help.

 

[pooldv]

The ph test is not valid when FC is above 10. Ph is between 7.2 and 7.8. Give the cya 24 hours after it is dissolved to show up on the test.

 

[kimkats]

Ouch on having to drive all that ways for the CYA. Yeah it is getting to the end of summer so the pool stuff is slowly going away and not being replenished at some stores

You are on the right track. Test the CYA this afternoon. It sounds like you have a good handle on the test. Trust it and Pool Math!