New Owners of a former Tadpole Pool :-)

[MellisaAM]

Hi,

We just moved cross country (Washington State to Connecticut) to a new home with a pool a few weeks ago. The safety cover was in place so I was hoping taking off the cover and have the pool up and running in a week. LOL not that simple. We took off the cover to find hundreds of tadpoles, bullfrogs and the cute little green ones (cute if they weren't in our pool!) in a swamp mess. We netted up as many as we could and put them in a big plastic tub on the deck to watch them grow away from the pool. We then dumped 5 packets of shock into the pool. It was a pretty blue with no sight of the bottom yet, the next day. We have the pump, filter and in-line chlorinator running. Sta-rite s8m150, Hayward super pump 2 and a hayward chlorinator. Until I can see to the bottom to know exactly where the deepest is, I've estimated the pool at around 23,000. I've been using the leaf net to try and get as much sludge as I can from the bottom but boy its a black mess when i bring it up.

I ordered the test kit today, thanks for having a discount for supporters, so as soon as it gets here I can get some numbers on here and then start doing chemicals properly. Hubby got a strip test kit (I know, wrong) and it says that the ph is below 6. We'll see what it says in a few days with the new test kit. I'm very happy to find an excellent forums. I've been reading so much and there is great information on here. So thank you for that!

I'll upload our progress. It's already came a long way in a matter of a few days but the kids are driving me nuts to get it done.

I only have videos of the swamp mess. This was taken today. I'm on the path of BBB now tho. No more Cal-hypo.

 

[RobbieH]

Re: New Owners of a Tadpole Pool

Sounds like you have a good plan! No more pool store products unless they are truly needed, and your good test kit is on the way!

 

[linen]

Re: New Owners of a Tadpole Pool

That is a cool pool! Let us know how it goes and if you need help (or swimmers)

 

[MellisaAM]

Re: New Owners of a Tadpole Pool

Thank you My parents have a 38k back in Washington and I've watched them go through so much money on chemicals that I vowed I'd find another way. Maybe I can get Mom to convert to BBB. That is wasted money that would do better somewhere else. I'm happy to have found the BBB plan and this wonderful forum to help with that.

The pool sure looks like its on its way tho. I didn't realize the big difference until I posted pics.

 

[linen]

Re: New Owners of a Tadpole Pool

Hubby got a strip test kit (I know, wrong) and it says that the ph is below 6. We'll see what it says in a few days with the new test kit.

In the mean time, if you can find it cheap locally, you could get a 2-way drop based test kit (usually test ph and Total chlorine). The ph measurement on those is accurate (and the same as what you will get in the tf100). You then could start dosing for ph, and be ready for shocking by the time the tf100 kit comes. ...just thinking out loud what I might do in your shoes...

 

[MellisaAM]

Re: New Owners of a Tadpole Pool

I'll go out tomorrow and see what I can find cheap. Thanks for the tips. I'm so used to my parents Sand filter and backwashing that this is a whole new deal to me. We had no instructions on the pool so we're kind of just flying blind here. We do have a heater but its not hooked up since it is propane and we just haven't had a chance for that expense yet. I'm attaching pics of all the pipes. We're still trying to get the feeling of what does what.

We have a deep skimmer and a shallow skimmer. When I'm vacuuming should I be bypassing everything using the red valve near the heater thats shown in the one pic? I tried to vacuum yesterday the shallow area since I was able to see well enough but then we started having dirty brown and then green florescent water come out of the returns. I just stopped the vacuum and put on circulate and took a break lol

 

[zea3]

Re: New Owners of a Tadpole Pool

Have you opened up the filter and cleaned the cartridge yet? That is where the nasty water was coming from. You will probably need to clean the cartridge several times during the shock process. If you have a spare cartridge that will make it much easier.

 

[Richard320]

Re: New Owners of a Tadpole Pool

The test strip pH is probably bleaching out because of the high chlorine level.

Even a drop test is unreliable at high FC. That's why my usual advice is to adjust pH before you shock, then ignore it until you're done.

 

[MellisaAM]

Re: New Owners of a Tadpole Pool

Zea- Thanks for the reminder. We should have done that the first thing but procrastinated on it. Not sure my husband thanks you since I had him pull it apart and clean it but its all clean inside and out. What a pain to put back on tho! We'll see how it works tomorrow. It was getting way too dark so not sure everything is on there right so the pump will have to be off for the night. I'm guessing I'll have to start our shocking all over but we'll see. I wish we had a spare cartridge but there isn't a spare here and 500+ is a bit out of price range atm while trying to settle in to a new state and home.

Richard-I didn't even think of the bleaching out. I've worked with ph test kits for 13 years with Aquariums so that thought didn't even come into thought, so thank you. I won't be using those test strips anymore. I'll just be a POP and wait for my testkit to get here to figure out the right levels of everything else then.

It still looks way better than it did when we got here tho. Not sure exactly how many seasons its been closed.

 

[MellisaAM]

I'm wanted to post here since this was where my first thread is with all the pictures. If its not in the right forums please move it

Ok, test kit has been here a week but I waited to post all this till life slowed down a little.

I learned a little more about the pool and our surroundings this past week. We are on a well and the water coming out from it is perfect according to the testing that the former owner had done. We are also on the end of the runoff of an artisian well that, I'm a bit confused on this one so I won't be able to answer any questions, that was capped off. We get water seeping about 6 inches overnight coming up from the ground where the pool is. The former owner had said when the pool was being dug that each morning while it was being done that they would have a good 6+ inches in the pool that would have to be sumped out. The pool hasn't been opened for two seasons before we got here. No wonder it was a frog pond!

The pool had been crystal clear and my 18 year old blonde hair daughter decided it looked good enough to swim in.......you guessed it her hair turned a tint of green. It wasn't a pretty green till she went inside and rinsed her hair with our well water. She got it out with baking soda mixture but I knew it was time to test for minerals. It was copper. I'm guessing either it was in our pool before or it came with the algaecide that I used BEFORE I finally got to the right forums to help So I ordered a copper test and twiddled my thumbs till it got here.

The test came out at around 1.5. I went and bought Metal out. I hadn't raised the ph yet so I went exactly by instructions and the next morning the pool was a bit cloudy at the deep end. I let it do its job a couple days and had black settlement down near the main drain. I vaccummed it yesterday and had tested it for copper and it was at zero. I tested ph and cl lastnight before we went to bed and it was at 6.8 ph and FC was 8.

This morning I got out my big test kit and this is what I come up with. (The filter shuts off at midnight. I still need to mess around with it and figure out the darn timer).

FC - 8
TC - 8.5
pH - 6.8
TA - 40
CH - 640
CYA - 0 (I'm hoping that I'm doing the test right. I've read Taylors site and it looks like I am)

I redid the copper testing this morning and its now showing lower than .25 but it went from zero to this from yesterday. Do I need to drop the chlorine again and redo the metal out? Or is it time to get the stabilizer in there and get the ph up too? I calculated using The Pool Calculator and its showing what I need to do. Just not sure which step I am supposed to do first. I'm guessing not losing any FC overnight was a good thing tho. Am I in the right direction?

I'm thinking I'm going to get the pool perfect right as we need to close the pool here in CT. lol The pool is still pretty clear. Not as clear as it will be when I get done. I've wandered through all the pictures here of your guys pools and let me just say I'm jealous!

 

[Bama Rambler]

Re: New Owners of a Tadpole Pool

What does the Metal out say about chlorine level? What about pH?

If neither of those matter then I'd add the metal out and then adjust everything else.

 

[MellisaAM]

Theres a couple directions: I followed the first one but re-reading it again thanks to this question I'm guessing I'm safe to put 1 more quart in it without having to drop the darn chlorine again. I'll throw the directions up just in case I'm not thinking too well this morning.

To correct an existing colored water problem (due to the presence of minerals in the pool water), first close the pool to all swimmers. Leave the filter pump running. Stop chlorinating the pool and allow the chlorine level to drop to zero. Lower the pH of the pool water to 6.8 with pH lower, lowering the pH will redissolve the metallic impurities).

Add one quart of Metal Out per 10,000 gallons of water and allow the pool water to circulate overnight, or until the water is clear. Readjust the pH of the pool water between 7.2 to 7.8 with pH rise. (We all know what I'll be using instead tho). Begin normal chlorination and pool operation. Swimming may resume when chlorine residual is 1.0 to 3.0 ppm.

To make up for loss of Metal Out due to backwashing and/or splash-out, add one quart of Metal Out for each 20,000 gallons of pool water, once each month.

I'm making progress tho! There is water actually on the steps

 

[Bama Rambler]

That's typical instructions. Until you replace enough water from backwash or splashout to get the metals down below .3 ppm you'll have to add maintenance doses of sequestrant.

 

[MellisaAM]

The metals are below .3 at this point. Its showing below .25. There is hardly a tint to the test tube but its not at zero, I know that one for sure. I'm hoping that there isn't something else upping the copper levels since it was zero the night before. I'll have to keep my eye on it for sure.

 

[MellisaAM]

Here is a totally noobie question. (Atleast I'm learning alot here this past month thanks to this forum). If the metals are well below the .3 ppm mark and just barely above the 0 mark. If the test is being fully accurate, am I safe to put one more quart of metal out, wait another day and then start upping pH and wait for the FC to get to 3 before I let the kids in? I have a 10 year old that is driving me crazy to let him swim!

I just want to add THANKS to this wonderful forum and users. Without it I probably would have just put that cover back on and said run in the sprinklers to the kids!

 

[anonapersona]

Hey, Bama, does she need to worry about the pH being lower than 6.8 and any effect on the heater parts? How to know?

 

[Bama Rambler]

I wouldn't leave it that low very long. In fact I'd add a pint of Metal out and give it about 2 hours and then raise the pH. Once you get your FC up you can let them swim again.

 

[MellisaAM]

Okay thank you Metal Out is in and I'll wait a few hours then get it to the proper pH.The pH is actually a lot higher than it had been. We've only had the pool uncovered at the new home a few weeks and it had been closed for two years before we moved in. I'm pretty happy that I found this place sooner than later. Next year will be a breeze. I hope we get a month out of the pool before we have to close it. Not quite sure when we need to start closing the pool before it starts getting too cold here.

 

[MellisaAM]

Okay, thanks to a few days of rain I've been out of commission a bit thanks to trying to drain the pool every night. We've taken about 8 inches out in the last 3 days. Hooray for no rain lastnight tho! The pool is looking tons better. I'm still low on TA but lets see what the verdict is after these numbers.

Lastnight after sun was down for a little bit:
FC- 3
CC- .5
TC- 3.5
TA-40
PH-7.2
CH-550

Just a few minutes ago:
FC- 3
CC-0
TC-3
TA-40
PH- 7.2
CH-550

Now for my cya.....I'm still seeing the dot but not as clear as I was before. I should still be considering my cya at zero, correct? My FC didn't go down lastnight but the CC did. If my FC isn't changing overnight is there a possibility I'm just flunking chemistry 101 on my cya? I'm off to get some more stabilizer and washing soda today. Should I be testing my TC every few hours today to make sure how much I'm actually loosing now? Oh, and Metal out totally took out the copper. The test is coming out perfect.

 

[linen]

Loss of FC at night is not controlled by CYA level. CYA helps protect the chlorine from the sun during the day. How much CYA have you put in the pool and when did you put it in?