New Pool Owner, New to BBB, Test Results

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BlueCollarBelle

0
Jul 5, 2011
16
Covington, TN
Hello,
My husband and I bought a home with an inground pool that had been neglected. We had a new liner installed and the liner man opened the pool. We know nothing about maintaining a pool! I have carefully studied the BBB method in Pool School and I am almost ready to attack our problem pool! Current equipment is a cartridge filter but the cartridge has a hole somewhere and we are installing a sand filter tomorrow. Our current issue is algae, the pool is now a lovely shade of emerald! Blah!
I will be beginning BBB with the shock process tomorrow afternoon when the new sand filter is up and running.
I have purchased the Leslie's version of the recommended test kit.
Any advice is appreciated! Thank you!
Current Levels per the Pool Store's tester:
FC: 1ppm
CH: 150
CYA: 30
TA: 80
pH: 7.4
Phosphates: 500ppb

Is the high phosphate level a cause for concern? Pool Store Guy talked about PHOSfree but I really don't want to add anything like that, especially until I get the BBB method running nicely.
 
Thanks for the help!
I re-ran the tests with my new kit and got...
FC:1
CC:1
TC:2
pH:7.5
TA:100
CH:70
CYA: <30

I couldn't get the CYA test to obscure the dot at all. Are the differences in the values because I'm new to this or because my test kit will read differently from the store's?
 
The sand filter is up and running nicely! I have begun to shock the pool by adding the recommended amount of 6% bleach. I have a problem with my new test kit though...it will not register the goal shock level of FC: 12. My kit (that I thought was a good one!) only reads up to 5! Should I be taking my samples back to a store to check my level? If I do, will my early morning sample stay "good" until the store opens?
 
Leslie's sold you a Taylor K-2005 instead of the K-2006. The kit should have a powder/reagent chlorine test, not R-0001 and R-0002 used with a color block.

Shame on them! Take the kit back, tell them it's old and useless and they stole your money.
 
frogabog said:
Leslie's sold you a Taylor K-2005 instead of the K-2006. The kit should have a powder/reagent chlorine test, not R-0001 and R-0002 used with a color block.

Shame on them! Take the kit back, tell them it's old and useless and they stole your money.
Click to expand...

AARG! Thanks for the info on the kit. I was looking at the K-2006 trying to figure out how mine differed...
Problem...not realizing this test kit mix-up, I began to shock. I live an hour away from the store that sold me the kit and there is not another location closer. Is there any way I can maintain this shock process until I am able to get back to the store tomorrow? I would really hate to have wasted all that bleach. Especially since I am trying to get DH on board with the BBB plan.

Just wanted to say a HUGE thanks for all the help so far. This board is an amazing resource, especially for a total newbie!
 

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Someone here knows a good way to guestimate shocking for you till you can get the kit replaced. Around here, the H's answer would be to just dump loads of bleach in regularly. Do not ask me to quantify "loads"... It would likely involve whole bottles, lol.

Maybe look through some of the threads that have described their shocking numbers, guess (+ a bit more to be sure) from the average losses people report?? i.e. if many people report loosing 50% of the chlorine in the first two hours, and then 30% the next two hours, assume you will too and dose accordingly.

The worst that can happen is you over dose or under dose a little tonight although neither option will be the end of the world. If you under dose, you might loose a few hours of the process but you won't loose as much as if you dose once and then do nothing afterwards because you can't test. As long as you're not adding more than the mustard algae shock level you can't really hurt the pool with overdosing so that is even less worrisome.
 
Well, after making a flying trip to Memphis because the Leslie's guy said they had the kit in stock...they didn't! And the manager actually asked me "so, what's the difference in the kits and why do you need the other one?" sheesh. I ordered a Taylor 2006 kit and I hope it arrives quickly. Until then,'I'll be researching the guesstimatons and trying to keep my shock level up.
I brushed my pool today and the algae made a nasty cloud. Hopefully my filter will be able to take care of everything I stir up.
Any additional advice on shocking by approximation?
 
Someone else should answer this but what about dosing to shock, and then adding 2-3ppm every hour for as long as you can tonight?

Not sure what to do in the am, I'd probably dump enough in to go from 0 to shock as soon as you wake up, and then do the 2-3ppm route every hour or two all day long. It's a stab in the dark, and if this isn't a good idea or 2-3ppm/hr isn't a good hourly guestimate I sure hope someone else will tell you what to do.

You can try it, and if the pool looks different tomorrow you can assume you're doing ok till the kit arrives. It might take more than a day to see big results but if shocking is working, you really should see "some" kind of difference in one day even if it's just a small change.
 
Thanks Bama Rambler, I'll do that for now.
I added more bleach before bed and lo and behold the water is bluish and milky this morning! Its sad that I'm excited about that but it looks much better than green!
I tested with my OTO kit when I got up and got about a 2ppm so I used the Pool Calculator and added enough to bring it back up to 12 ppm (my shock level). Now that I know I can use my OTO kit until the good one comes in, I'll be able to monitor my levels hourly.
Thanks again!
 
OK, the kit is in ( :party: ) and I took the plunge tonight to thoroughly vacuum, brush, etc. Stirred up lots of mess but I think the filter can handle it now. I also added some clarifier (I know, I know!) because I'm in a hurry to clear up this mess.
My first test results with my new kit are...
TC 3.5
pH 7.6
TA 100
CYA- very low

In my excitement, I forgot to do the CC.
Back to raising that chlorine level. I was surprised at how much fun using the test was! Lucky me, I get to do it again before I hit the bed at about 1am.
If it is cloudy but I can see the bottom, would it be ok to have people swim? The youth group from Church wants to come tomorrow afternoon. I know I will have to be sure my chlorine is at a safe level to swim and that will set me back some on my shock process. Anything else I'm not taking into consideration?
 
If you cannot see the bottom you cannot see a child on the bottom. If it is cloudy now it will be more so with chlorine levels lower and people in the pool. Be very, very careful. If you do this you should be prepared to test and clear the pool to add chlorine if needed,allowing 30 min to circulate.

Or,the clever idea someone posted, have everyone run in the same direction to stir the water into a whirlpool, then pull them out to add chlorine. Mixing should be done in minutes, I'd guess.
 
Thanks for the reply. As of this morning I can see the entire bottom including the main drain area at the deepest point. It is slightly hazy but much improved. Test results show that I still can't pass the OCLT but my CCs are at 0. ph is a little low due to the dichlor I guess. I'm going to adjust before they get here and I'll use the great whirlpool idea when we drag them out for lunch. They'll be out for 30-45 min so it should have plenty of time to mix then.
I'll try to get some pictures up today too!
 

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