I Need Help..... New Pool Owner..

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Drumsolodude

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Apr 9, 2012
26
Ok we bought a house last winter that has an inground pool. Approx. 16000 gallon vinyl liner pool with a filtering system few people know about from a company that used to do business in us called Utopia.. They are back in the US now selling under a different name.

Anyways they are fabric bag type filters that can filter 6,15,30 microns depending on which bags you choose. When we pulled the cover off this spring the water was crystal clear but with leaves and debris on bottom along with a bunch of white fluffly stuff that reminded me of almost like a cotton look. We added water to the pool to bring back to proper level which really made the water a cloudy or opaque.

I did the recommended shock and chlorine dosage from the local store and had the water tested they said that the ph and TA were good and they also told me to add a bottle of enzyme stuff that said open and close, also a bottle of something to take out all metals. And a treatment of algecide. Which I asked why because my pool was not green and they said for preventative.

My water temp is about 56 I have not turned on the heater yet. I have been changing and cleaning the filter bags every other day. I have gotten all debris off the floor and the best I can tell the pool is pretty clean thanks to 4 days of aquabot scrubbing.

I have added a second dose of shock and the filters have been running 24hrs for 7 days and no change to the super cloudy water. I can't see the bottom of the ladder much less the bottom. The pool store says just give it time.. Some of the water got on top of my solar blanket and when it dried it left a white powdery looking trace behind much like a calcium deposit..

Any help would be much appreciated. My test strips still show no free chlorine and I have added supershock treatment twice in two weeks and have 4 chlorine tabs in skimmer and have replaced them as soon as they are gone.. All othe items on strip seem ok..
 
Welcome to TFP!

I'd say your main issue is the quality of your test results. Most all pool stores are suspect at best, as are your strips. You should look into a good quality drop-based kit. The TF-100 at http://tftestkits.netor the Taylor K-2006 are good choices. They seem expensive, but the savings on chemicals and frustration make them bargains.

Adding chlorine to shock is just a random action unless you know the CYA level for the pool, add enough chlorine to actually reach a useful shock level and then monitor and replenish the chlorine every few hours until the level holds. You can read about the process in Pool School , particularly Chlorine CYA Chart and Shocking Your Pool
 
Hi Drumsolodude and welcome to the forum!,

I am new to the forum as well (this pool season) and the vast amount of knowledge you will gain here is amazing! Start with the "pool school" as JohnT said. Read it all, and when you are done read it again! I'm not insinuating that you cannot retain the information, just that it took me two times through just too start really absorbing it. Once you get into the BBB method and learn the real process of shocking your pool you will be amazed at the results you will start to see! Some of the real experts will be along to comment as well I'm sure, so be patient and enjoy the learning and your pool!
 
:wave: Welcome :wave:

Just to reiterate what was written above. We need to see a full set of test results to be able to give correct advice (even if it is from the pool store ... but your own test would be great).

The main concern I have right now is your stabilizer/conditioner/CYA level. Since you are using tablets, I am assuming it is too high which will make clearing and maintaining your pool difficult. Read the links that were given to you above.

Chlorine tablets seem to have been design to make pool stores money. They each add chlorine and stabilizer, and while the FC gets used up, the CYA remains and its level keeps rising the more tablets you use. As the CYA goes up, you need higher levels of FC to ward off the algae ... eventually you just can not add enough FC using tablets.

Also, note that there is no need to spend money on algaecide/etc. All you need to clear your pool is liquid chlorine/bleach.

But, before we can give you a course of action, we need to see your test results. If CYA is already too high, the only 2 options are partial drain and refill or paying someone to do a Reverse Osmosis treatment on your pool.

Read up and please ask any questions that come up.
 
I have been testing with the strips, which as I found out very quickly, are not accurate. The aqua check strips I have test for free chlorine, ph, TA, and stabilizer. I have been testing daily. The ph was around 6.8-7.0, I have never gotten any color change on FC, TA was in the good range not sure the numbers, and stabilizer was at 30-50. I have read every thing in pool school and I am not planning on using tablets. I was just using what was left in the pool box. I am installing a swg as soon as it gets here.. I just want the water clear.. I was figuring that green water would be my trouble opening the pool and when I saw clear water I was thinking this would be easy.. You can see like a white powder in the water flowing. With my 2hp pump it really circulates the water.. Thanks for the help and I will be ordering a new
Test kit today and will post more accurate numbers.
 
Hey....St. Mary's. I've been down that way before. :) I'm about an hour or so north of you by Steubenville Ohio. Weird opening the pool this early isn't it. ;)

As for the issues. I 100% agree with the others. A good test kit is a must. With the cash it sounds like you blindly dumped into the pool via the stores directions you could have bought the kit no problem. For now however....is there a way you can take a sample to the store (don't buy anything) and post their results. It's better than nothing at this point, and we can start to get you ready to clean the pool.

Welcome to the board!!
 
Yes I planned on taking a sample to
A different store to get it tested. I already ordered a kit referenced in the previous post.. I know Stubenville. I used to work in Wheeling and had clients in Stubenville and Wintersville. I how to always open mine this early even if I can't swim in it.. I just like looking out the window at it.. LOL.. I will post the results ASAP.. What should I ask them to test for other than FC,TC,TA,PH,CYA..
 
I'd also have them check for your calcium level. If the previous owners used a TON of shock there's a chance that your pool may have high CA levels....which could cause cloudy water as well. Without a full set of tests however we would all be just guessing on what your issue is.

I promise you your test kit will pay you back several times over.......best purchase you made for your pool so far. :D
 

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Ok can I start off by saying that pool stores are almost criminal at least some of them.. And I can quickly see why people think pool ownership is a royal pain.. Everybody has a different opinion and a person doesn't know who to believe.. With that being said I can tell that this forum is going to be where I need to turn for support..

I had them run a complete water test at least everything they could test for and here are the numbers which is all I can go on until my test kit gets here..
TC-2.4
FC-0.2
PH-6.6
TA-50
CH-50
CYA-15
And of course they said phosphates were of the chart high.

Their course of action is bottle of phos out 21.99, and a bucket of stabilizer 37.99.
Add phos out circulate 24 hrs then add 4lbs shock powder and half bucket stabilizer..

I asked about using liquid chlorine instead of tabs or shock and they said no way not strong enough..

I have already learned so much so please keep the advice coming..

Thanks
Jeremy
 
My mom has this same set up. The dealer that installed it no longer sells parts for this brand. You mentioned it is back in the U.S. under a new name. What is that name? I'm having a hard time finding the bags and rings that go around them. Is there any way you can provide any information on this stuff if you have it? I really appreciate any help.
 
Drumsolodude said:
I had them run a complete water test at least everything they could test for and here are the numbers which is all I can go on until my test kit gets here..
TC-2.4
FC-0.2
PH-6.6
TA-50
CH-50
CYA-15
Click to expand...

These tests show me that your Free Chlorine are way to low. I would start off by raising your PH to around 7.2 and then don't worry about re-testing until finished shocking. With a CYA level of 15 your shock level is around 11. TO do this you'll need to add about 2 gallons of bleach to your pool. After this you'll want to keep your FC levels above 11 until the shock process is finished. After that you will need to add stabilizer to raise your CYA levels to around 40-60. Here's one spot where the pool store was correct. :D At least you're not in the same boat as many other users are, and have a CYA level on the opposite side of the scale, and are forced to drain some water to get their levels under wrap. I would only add no more than 2 gallons of bleach per day for now, until you get your own test kit. It should only be a matter of days until it gets here and you can start hitting the pool hard. In the mean time focus on your PH levels and read-read-read pool school.

Any chance you can post a current photo of your pool for us to see?? We're a visual bunch here we are.........
 
Ok sorry for the small pics.. I went and stocked up on 6% clorox and went ahead and got some borax, muratic acid, and some CYA. My test kits should be here very soon.. I am going to use what I have to raise ph and retest to see what my ph and TA are and then
I will start the chlorine shock process followed by the CYA after reading until I was cross eyed I feel like this is the best plan of attack.. I am going to ignore the phosphates trusting more people on her saying that the cya/chlorine is more important than the ones who try and make a case for it.. And I will keep my fingers crossed.. Next week my swg should be here so if I can get pool clear then I hope the swg will help keep routine work to a min..

I will keep you updated with some bigger pics.
 
Sounds like a good plan.

When you get your test kit, post up a full set of data.
You are correct to get your pH in line first.
The only other thing you may want to do before shocking is bump up the CYA a little bit to the 20-30ppm range to help protect the FC from the sun ... but definitely test it before adding anything.
 
Ok test kit came today.. Thank god.... I'm impatient.. Here is the new numbers
I ran all test 2 times to make sure since it was a new test kit. And I'm an beginner.
FC-4
CC-0
TC-4
TA- 80
CH-80
CYA-100
PH-6.8
I have been trying to get ph up by adding the amount of washing soda that the calculator said based on test results from pool store.. It was 6.6 so I need more to get it up to 7.4. But I'm concerned by the cYA the store results said I had 50 I have not added any and my tests said 100.. I had been adding the remaining bags of shock- trichlor to at least bring up chlorine.. Cleaning filters every couple days and water is clearing up enough to see the bottom..
Now I need everyone's help to where I go from here...
Please help....

Thanks
 
Stop using products that contain CYA. YOu are already overdosed and it will make your pool chemistry management nearly impossible. I assume you are chlorinating manually so I suggest you drain almost 50% of your pool water to get your CYA down to a manageable 50ppm
 
What Dave said.

You have been adding more CYA with that trichlor and now its level is really not manageable (in fact it could be well over 100). Suggest you drain your pool 50% (or at least leave 1 foot of water in the shallow end) and retest your CYA. There is really no point in adding anything to your pool until the CYA is in the 30-50ppm range.
 

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