Hi, I'm Kim in GA and a new BBBer and need ADVICE AND HELP!!

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K

kpsuzyq

0
May 3, 2012
5
Macon, Georgia
We had our in ground vinyl put in 6 years ago and the pool guy dumped bleach and baking soda, nothing fancy, the first couple of years it was crystal clear. The last two, we ve dumped and dumped money and time and shock packs, etc. our steps constantly turn orange (they are orange now) so we would buy metal out of some type dump it, and a week later, we would have to buy it again. Last year, we spent so much $$ and time, we basically gave up mid July and just accepted it would stay green and cloudy. We have 1 boy in college and 1 headed there and money is tight. Soooo... Last Nov our pump died, and we didn't replace it until March. SWAMP PEOPLE...GA Style! We've been scooping leaves and branches and dog toys (?) and think the bottom is fairly clear. It's dark green, and the steps are orange again. I found this forum a couple of days ago, and have been shocking with clorox and borax and baking soda. Then I went to the pool store to have them check my numbers.... I think I overdid it and now I dont know what to do....I've been bleaching for four days....when I started I had 0 levels of everything except algaecide and some pucks in the chlorinator. (this was before I found this forum. ) I know I need to order a test kit, but I didn't want to blindly put anything else in until I had it checked. I did buy the 8 lb bucket of CYA for 30 that they recommended I buy, and put it in this afternoon. My ph and alk are really high, and I'm starting to panic. The water is dark green and a little foamy on top. Can some one tell me what I should do before I make more of a mess out this?.Pretty please?. I am way in over my head, but we aren't taking a vacation, we planned to do a staycation and just hang out and relax in our pool $$$$$$$ it's been a rough yr all over.

Saturation: .06
TDS: 1000
CYA: 0 (I added 8 lbs this afternoon)5
Free chlorine : 5
Ph : 8.2
Alk: 240
Hardness: 110
Copper: 0
Iron: 0
Total Chlorine:
Algae: 0


I appreciate any advice y'all can give me!
25000 vinyl liner inground Grecian, cartridge filter, Pentair Flo pump
 
Re: Hi, I'm Kim in GA and a new BBBer and need ADVICE AND HE

Welcome to TFP!

You have a little work ahead of you, but nothing to get freaked out about :)

The first step is to get your PH and TA down by adding acid. You want to lower the PH to 7.2 every time it gets to 7.8. Doing that for a while will lower the TA, which will slow down the rate at which PH goes up. Chlorine is not as effective when the PH is really high. Also, keep in mind that the PH test is not reliable when FC is above 10.

Having added CYA it will get much easier to shock the pool. With CYA really low you were losing most of your chlorine to sunlight and have only a little left over to fight algae.
 
Re: Hi, I'm Kim in GA and a new BBBer and need ADVICE AND HE

Thank you! If I just added the cya today, can I add the muriatic acid tomorrow, or should I wait? I'm so excited y'all are willing to help, last year was a nightmare and we love our pool and want it back! It seems like we've been working on it endlessly for the past couple of weeks, it doesn't smell like swamp anymore, but the green and the foam have me worried.
 
Re: Hi, I'm Kim in GA and a new BBBer and need ADVICE AND HE

You can add the acid right now if you wish....but the light tomorrow I'm sure will help you out. :D A good test kit (TF-100) will save you SOOOOO much in the long run. Take a few minutes and read over the Pool School. It's well wrote out, very simple to understand and follow. In a matter of about a week your pool will be back better than before. :D

Keep your chlorine up as you have. No need to go blindly dumping in tons of chlorine without knowing just where you are....but a bottle of bleach a day until you get a good kit won't hurt your cause one bit.

Oh ya....welcome!
 
Re: Hi, I'm Kim in GA and a new BBBer and need ADVICE AND HE

Welcome to tfp, Kim :wave:

You can and should add the muriatic acid now since you want that ph down asap. Generally you can add chemicals 1 hour after the previous addition.

You will need your own good test kit to be most efficient with clearing up your pool. See link in my sig.

Read: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/defeating_algae and http://www.troublefreepool.com/turning-your-green-swamp-back-into-a-sparking-oasis-t4147.html

Let us know what questions you have!
 
Re: Hi, I'm Kim in GA and a new BBBer and need ADVICE AND HE

Thanks, guys!! Great advice! I know I need to be patient, but it's already in the 90s here and our water is 84 degrees. I grew up in PA so anything over 60 is warm. :lol: I'm so ready to spend my weekends floating around instead of folding laundry :thequeen: .i just want some sparkly water!!!
 
Re: Hi, I'm Kim in GA and a new BBBer and need ADVICE AND HE

Okay, guys, I'm on Day 8... it's pretty bluish/ green, bluer in the the shallow end & greener in the deep end. I'm cleaning the filters every other day and my drop tests for chlorine (10) and PH (7.2) look okay. it's still very cloudy though. I've added CYA and muriatic acid and that brought the ph down. it's keeping the chlorine level pretty level even with the 90 degree weather we've been having here. Today's payday, so i'm buying the recommended test kit today. (I've spent so much on chlorine & other chem, i'm broke :)) Should I just keep on keeping on, or is there any other advice you can give me to fine tune this? Also, i added the acid last weekend and there are still foam/bubbles on the surface (although not as many as before) I don't know what to do about this. I've read pool school 5 times. LOL. I'm taking the water to Ace Hardware today,, there's a guy there who is excellent and just prints it out, doesn't try to sell anything. The brown stains on my steps have faded a bit, although I'm planning on adding more chlorine tonight. Also,, the last tests showed no iron or copper in the water at all, so I believe it's from the crappy algaecide I used before I found this site. Any advice is helpful & welcome! THANKS!!
 
Re: Hi, I'm Kim in GA and a new BBBer and need ADVICE AND HE

I don't think you're keeping your FC at shock level. 8 lbs of CYA would have raised your level to about 40 ppm and therefore the shock level is 15 ppm.

Once you get a good test kit you'll know for sure where you're at and be able to finish the task.

If your current kit will only read to 10 ppm then you can mix half chlorine free water (bottled) and half pool water and test it and double the results. It not very precise that way but at least you'll be able to tell close to what FC level you are and be able to adjust your FC from there to maintain shock level until your kit arrives.
 
Re: Hi, I'm Kim in GA and a new BBBer and need ADVICE AND HE

Kim! Hello! I am in Warner Robins, me and the Warden (Michelle...shhhh dont tell her I said that :D) would be glad to come out and give you a hand if you need it!!!!! I highly reccommend the TF-100 test kit- I have it and it makes life som much easier!!!!!
 
Re: Hi, I'm Kim in GA and a new BBBer and need ADVICE AND HE

Thanks! I added more chlorine last night..I think my cloudiness is from all of the dead algae..I can see the bottom of the shallow end now and brushing kicked up clouds of dust . The Polaris and filter should help with that with time..my college boy is home now and has been cleaning the filter daily , which has been an amazing help... To my WR friends, Thanks!! And let me know if you need help too! neat that we are so close and basically fighting the same weather and heat conditions , which is brutal on algae in the summer.
 

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Re: Hi, I'm Kim in GA and a new BBBer and need ADVICE AND HE

i dont know about GA but here in CA the pool stores give us free water testing. that helps out a lot and they will let you know which chemicals to buy. i take my water in once a month and have it fully tested by them. the other poster knows what they are talking about but thats based on what you told them which is based on what you know. get your water tested then tell us the results
 
Re: Hi, I'm Kim in GA and a new BBBer and need ADVICE AND HE

i dont know about GA but here in CA the pool stores give us free water testing. that helps out a lot and they will let you know which chemicals to buy. i take my water in once a month and have it fully tested by them.
Click to expand...
All pool stores give free water testing....the purpose of which is to enhance their chemical sales.

Now that's not always a bad thing but the tendency is for pool stores to sell you chemistry that you really don't need. BBB is sort of a minimalist approach and an important principle of BBB is not putting chemistry in your water that you do not need.
 
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