Swamp conversion- how long to pass overnight Cl test?

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tigerucla

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May 2, 2011
101
Granite Bay, CA (Sacramento area)
Hello again everyone. I'm converting my swamp into a swimming pool! Started with a green pool (see photos). Got my test kit and tested pH (8.2) and CYA (110- possibly inaccurate due to swamp conditions). Pool store measured TA (130), CH (400) and FC (0 of course).

To lower CYA, I drained 10,000 gallons by siphoning (took 4 days) and refilled. New numbers- pH-8.2, CYA-50, TA-60, CH-250.

I brought pH down to 7.4 with MA (took 68 oz total). Started shocking 7 days ago using 10% liquid chlorine. The water turned milky immediately and after the first day, I was quite pleased with the progress. I've been testing, adding chlorine to bring it up to 20 ppm (I assume, since I never actually measure right after adding), brushing daily (OK, I missed one day a couple days ago) and cleaning the filters daily. I've also been removing as many leaves as I can with the leaf rake each day, considering I can't see the bottom. I do not currently have a working sweeper (will be getting one, along with a new variable speed pump on Monday).

The water is very slowly getting clearer. It took 6 days to see the bottom of the shallow end (I was measuring progress by how many steps I could see). I can now barely make out the black leaf rake at the bottom of the deep end, but can't yet see the drain. It's taking longer than I thought, but is consistently getting better.

The overnight chlorine test, however, does not seem to get better from day to day. I'm typically getting 19-21 after sunset and 16.5-18 first thing in the morning (at 6:30 am, ~45 minutes after sunrise, before the sun hits the pool).

Does it normally take this long to pass the overnight test when converting a swamp? Should I be doing something different? Or do I just need to be patient?

Any suggestions for an inexpensive way to get rid of the white scale line around the pool?

Thanks!

2ym6loh.jpg
(before starting)

1h6qol.jpg
(after draining and refilling)

ayqzwl.jpg
(after first shock)

4r96rs.jpg
(end of day 1)

k9jqqt.jpg
(end of day 4)

dyww7c.jpg
(end of day 6)
 
Yes, it can take a while to recover a pool like that. Nobody can give you a timeframe really. It all depends on how diligent you are with your brushing and your maintenance of FC levels. You can speed things up by bringing your FC up higher than the recommended level for shocking. The higher your FC is, the faster it will clear.

It looks like your water isn't moving in the pictures. Your pump should be on 24/7 during this process, without fail.
 
Thanks for the tip- I will try bringing the FC higher. Any recommendations for how much higher? The pump is definitely running 24/7 (except when I'm cleaning the filters, of course). I'm confident the water will clear. It's all up to the filters, right? Every time I clean them, the water will get clearer. I'm just wondering when all the algae will be good and dead.

Any advice for the white scale?
 
Scale will come off if you keep the water galanced with a slightly negative CSI -
my uncle in town had severe scale, he's been patient, and most of it is gone a year later.
If that's too slow, some pool acid on a rag or brush will do it. dilute it down 5:1 or thereabouts.
Cheers
 
A slightly negative CSI won't usually do it. CSI normally has to be quite negative, usually below -0.6, before much of an effect is seen. Using a sequestrant optimized for calcium also helps as does aggressive brushing with a stainless steel brush. The problem with this approach is that you have very little control over what happens. Sometimes it will erode plaster in areas free of scaling. You get the most control by doing a drain and a manual acid wash, but that is a large amount of effort.
 
Hi Tigerucia. I had to check out your post when I saw the word swamp. Looks like yours is coming along nicely! Love the use of rock features in you layout.
My own is currently a swamp due to weather, canceled modification plans for this summer. (new liner and cement work) As it is, the water has gone from green to brown the past few weeks. If there were a contest for the worst looking pool, I think mine would be in the running. I switched last year from baquacil to chlorine with help from the people here at troublefreepools and the taylor test kit. That took some diligence and a bit of time, but the water was it's best in 28 years after the change over. The folks here are terrific.
Enjoy!
Jule
 
Thanks acroy and Jason for the tips on removing scale. In my case, as you can see from the pictures, the scale is above the normal pool level, which may be a good thing if I have to do a manual acid wash. But I'm wondering how difficult it will be to remove the scale from the rocks. Any help here would be greatly appreciated.

Jule- thanks for the compliments. We had nothing to do with designing the pool- just moved in this year. But I do like the look of the rocks. Removing scale from them may not be much fun, though. And they create some serious problems if we decide we want a pool cover. Good luck with your pool. And I second the comment about the folks here being terrific!

BTW- for anyone who's interested, I've taken my FC up to 25. Hopefully there will be a positive overnight test in my near future...
 
Waterline scale is common and impossible to completely prevent. If PH/TA/CH levels are too high you will get more scale, but you get some even when everything is just right.

You can take it off with a manual application of muriatic acid. Often you can take it off with baking soda and scrubbing, more work but safer. If it is really bad you can take it off with a bead blaster (like a sand blaster but with floating plastic beads).
 

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Wear eye protection and clothes that you don't mind ruining. Take four parts of tap water and pout in one part of acid. Then apply that to the affected areas with a synthetic paint brush or synthetic sponge. The white areas should foam up. When they stops foaming, rinse with pool water. Repeat until all of the scale is gone. When done, check the PH in the pool and adjust as needed.
 
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