How much is enough???

[gorgio1]

ok this is my first official year on BBB and i started out last week uncovered my pool it was green and leafy so i started up the filter and everything and sucked all i could see and get and started dumping in bleach i was at 40ppm CYA so i figured a 15ppm FC should be my shock so i put in 6 jugs of bleach during the day i put in 2 more at night my TF test kit was not in yet until Thursday so i had to test with the old 5ppm FC test so i was not sure if i was getting up there so i just kept guessing and putting more bleach in about 2 every day and now my TF test kit is in and yesterday i got a reading of like 2ppm so i went out and got another round of bleach and poured that in there and i tested again this morning and it was back to 2ppm so i poured another 7 jugs this morning and i just now tested and i am getting a FC of about 6 so that brings my total bleach in the pool for one week of opening to about 30 jugs IS THIS NORMAL OR is it just because i didn't have accurate test and didn't have it high enough so i kept loosing the algae fight?? How much do you guys usually use for opening or shocking? My pool did clear up some but its still kinda green so 2mar i have to run out and get more bleach...


ALSO on the CYA test what do you guys consider seeing the black dot ? like right when it kinda disappears or until you really cant see anything at all???


THANKS :-D

 

[Richard320]

Easy question first: The black dot should disappear, in good light, but not necessarily in full sun. I do my testing on the patio with my back to the sun, but otherwise things are pretty bright. I only hold the tube with my thumb and finger, so I'm not shading it with my hand.

Pour the sample back and forth between the mixing bottle and the test tube until you get a consistent reading. You will get faster with practice.

The hard question: Your chlorine consumption could be normal, could be extreme. Without accurate measurements, you don't know if you're keeping FC high enough. If you let it slip below shock, the algae starts growing again. You're at a stalemate, or possibly losing, until you raise it up to shock again. This could be as often as every hour!

Here's one poster confirming it works. pool-is-finally-clear-t32939.html I know there have been other success stories posted recently, but threads are coming fast-n-furious right now, hard to find them all.

 

[gorgio1]

thanks!!

well now that i have my good test kit i will be keeping it up will see how it goes


Thanks again !

 

[gorgio1]

ok so after this whole weekend i still have algae and i have been working on the pool all weekend and i only see slight algae going away, i even brush atleast once a day, so last night i thought maybe i had a higher cya then the 50 i originally read or i just didn't test right so i did it again and i see that the dot slightly goes unseen around 60 70 so i guessed 65 so i bumped up my shock level to 19 as suggested on the pool calc. I had an FC of 24 this morning , i came home later had an FC of 16 brought it back up to 20 now will see what happens in the morning... but its not looking good so far... idk whats wrong i think im doing everything right the only thing i am not sure of is how accurate my readings of cya are .

ill post pics 2mar


ph: 7.8
TA:100
CH:260
FC:20
cya: 65 (best guess of when u actually cant see the dot)

thanks

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Heres a helpful link when performing the CYA Test:

http://www.taylortechnologies.com/ChemistryTopicsCM.ASP?ContentID=44

 

[chem geek]

You might Add DE to a Sand Filter to improve filtration. Also, if you have only skimmers and no floor drain, brush the pool to stir up the bottom so that it circulates to the skimmer.

 

[duraleigh]

giorgio,

ok so after this whole weekend i still have algae

this process could take a week....sometimes longer.

Chlorine is lost for two reasons.....sunlight and organics in the pool. If you are losing chlorine at night (you are) then you have organics in the pool.

You must continue to hold the chlorine at shock value until your water is clear and you don't lose chlorine at night. This is a process that is sometimes is hard because it doesn't go as fast as you want it to.

 

[gorgio1]

Heres a helpful link when performing the CYA Test:

http://www.taylortechnologies.com/ChemistryTopicsCM.ASP?ContentID=44

Thank you thats what i needed to verify my tests

 

[gorgio1]

giorgio,

ok so after this whole weekend i still have algae

this process could take a week....sometimes longer.

Chlorine is lost for two reasons.....sunlight and organics in the pool. If you are losing chlorine at night (you are) then you have organics in the pool.

You must continue to hold the chlorine at shock value until your water is clear and you don't lose chlorine at night. This is a process that is sometimes is hard because it doesn't go as fast as you want it to.

well what i meant by i still have algae is: it didn't look like any of it was getting killed...

I looked this morning though and it looks like it is now starting to clear up some algae, so it could have been that i was using the wrong cya level so i had the wrong shock level

i will continue working on it and see how it goes this week.



Thank you all for your help!

 

[RobbieH]

You'll know things are going well when you start to get a milky blue colored water instead of green. You'll get there, keep after it!

IMO you did the right thing bumping up your FC level, better to be on the high side if you are unsure of your exact CYA level.

 

[Guest]

Just thought I would throw some encouragement out there. My swamp clear took nearly two weeks but the process DOES work. a-final-picture-set-of-how-well-the-bbb-method-works-t33199.html

 

[mynewpool]

Here is another one. My success was all from the information that I got here.

my-journey-from-green-to-crystal-clear-t20117.html