Unidentified opject in my pool!!

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mr.rongilbert

mr.rongilbert

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LifeTime Supporter
Apr 21, 2011
20
Houston
Its my pool drain in the deep end!!!! :party:

Have not seen it in a while and was wondering what that darkish object that started to take shape was...

After spending weeks fighting this thing (and spending a load of $$ at the pool store) I have started to make progress thanks to what I have learned on this forum through the Pool School. I have already started spreading the word! BBB all the way!

I picked up a DPD test kit from Leslie's before I found this place. I wish I had not purchased it but it will have to get me by until I pick up one of the TF100 kits (soon) I want the ability to test CYA and CH as well as higher FC. I have a gently used Aquachek TruTest that needs a new home.... perhaps a trotline weight :mrgreen: I have been amazed at how far that thing is off and how inconsistent it it - even when checking the same sample of water.

A few quick questions about the test block:
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The numbers for the chlorine ".5-5" How does one know when the correct shock FC is met when higher than 5 (test results follow)? Is it impossible to do with that DPD kit? I will order the TF kit ASAP but even if I ordered it right now it would be next week before it arrives even with fast shipping - I am already rolling with this process and would hate to see it take a step back. I see that some test strips are available and know that they are inaccurate.... would it get my by until I get the TF-100?

Current test results:
FC - *5+ (see above.. it is "pinker" than the 5 box)
TC - *5+
CC - ~1 (this is a guess.. it is slightly a shade lighter... hardly noticeable)
pH - **7.5 (it was 7.2 before starting shock Rx as per Pool School)
TA - 140
CH - 269 (per store B)
CYA - 90 (Salt pool w/SWG) (Per store B)
Salt - ***3850 (Per test strip)
*Higher than scale
**7.2 when shock Rx started
***Another issue created by inaccurate SWG readings.... even after cleaning. I added two 40# bags of salt to bring it up and the number didn't change (2000) I tested it at the pool store (3200) and purchased some of the salt test strips which show it to be at 3850. I will fight that battle after I get the pool turned around. :?

For giggles I had the water tested at two stores today... no one result was the same. The samples were taken at the same time (noonish) and the same place ~18" below water surface.
Mine / Store A / Store B
FC - *5+ / 6.8 / 9.5
TC - *5+ / 6.8 / 9.5
CC - ~1 / NR / NR (NR = Not Reported)
pH - 7.5 / 7.4 / 7.7
TA - 140 / 120 / 90
CH - UTT / UTT / 269 (UTT = Unable to test)
CYA - UTT / 100 / 90
Salt - 3850 / 3200 / 4200


I brushed the pool twice today and will do the same in the AM after testing the water again. I have gone through a box of DE just from plugging the filter with algae... good news is that the last time seems to be holding well. I vacuumed the pool (which helped) mainly to get rid of the layer of DE what was in the pool from bad grids. Have a new set of grids now... will clean them thoroughly once this operation is complete.

I feel free having the knowledge to get my arms around this thing... no longer dependent on the pool store!! I wish I had taken the time to educate myself years ago!

My kids are anxiously awaiting the pool to open for business.
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It sounds like things are going the right direction, you can dilute the test samples with non chlorinated water 1:1, 2:1, etc to extend the range on your DPD chlorine test, but you do loose resolution when you do that. (uncertainty range gets multiplied) Also you CYA levels look a bit on the high side, you may want to avoid any use of stabilized chlorine and replace some of your water to get it down.

Ike
 
Thanks for the reply!

The CYA levels have worried me a bit..... most of it was created by products added as per the pool store. (face palm) Only liquid bleach from here on out, unless the CYA gets low then I will treat that.

I have backwashed the filter many, many times due to it getting clogged up with algae and replaced some of the water when it got too low on the skimmer which is about 10% - the pool calc tells me that I would need to replace 20% of the water to get the CYA to about 80ppm - draining water is a bit of a pain due to my setup.. I end up flooding the neighbor's yard. I am hoping that I can make it happen even though it is on the high end, I have had very good results so far. I will see where it is at after I am finished - with plans on vac'ing to waste and backwashing tomorrow I bet it ends up in the 80 range.

If I was not making headway I would for sure figure out a way to pipe the waste to a better spot... for now I think I am OK.

I will try the diluted sample routine and see where it ends up.
 
I tried the dilution method and it shows me to be right in the 30 range which is where I wanted to be as per ChemGeek's chart. It seems to be working very well, I have a bit more scrubbing to do - mainly in the corners and nooks. The rest of the pool looks clean - hard to tell water tint at night but I can now see the pool drains from the shallow end. I could not see them from right over the top of them this morning. I will check it again first thing in the am and then hit everything with a scrubber.

Life is much better!
 
Good news is that the chlorine levels did not drop over night.

PH is right at 7.5 as expected and the TA is 140.

I snapped a few photos during the journey.

This was yesterday at noon when I started the battle note that this is after fighting it with pool store methods for over a week!:
2011-04-22_12-02-17_94.jpg


About 6 hours into it (and 6 backwashes on the filter!)
2011-04-22_16-57-29_241.jpg


It got better and better through the night, I could finally see the drains (just barely) before I went to bed last night.
This was when I woke up this morning:
2011-04-23_08-50-56_602.jpg


My plans for today are to vac a few settled particles out after brushing everything, clean the DE grids and make sure that there isn't any algae anywhere - if there is a hint of green on them I will soak them in a chlorine solution (unless that is a bad idea) and replace followed by some new DE.

I found a new issue to tackle when the drains finally were clearly visible..... will be doing some searching to see how to tackle these stains next:
2011-04-23_08-51-02_385.jpg


I know the chlorine level is high and will be for several days - at what point is it safe (chlorine level) to get into the pool?
 
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