Hello everyone! I am new to the BBB method and have recently opened my swamp with hopes to make it a sparkling oasis. I have read the instructions on this forum many times on how to shock and how to get rid of algae.
But before I read all those helpful instructions, my hubby and I drained the green water from the pool and used a shop vac to get as much water out as possible, then we refilled. Almost immediately I noticed spots of algae all over the bottom. So I tried to vacuum it up several times thinking the filter would catch it all. Wrong!
Then I came to this forum to search for help, and of course I found it!
At this point I only had test strips to use for testing, but had ordered the TF100. While waiting for it to arrive, I began the shocking process because of time restraints. I had several bags of dichlor left from last year and started the shocking process with this. My FC was 0, my CYA was very low (close to 0) and my pH was around 7.5 so I thought dichlor would be ok temporarily. My CYA and pH didn't really change much. I received the TF100 on 5/9 and tested:
FC - 10.6
CC - .4
CYA - <30
I kept the FC at or above 10 and all other levels close to the same as above until 5/10 when I was away from home longer than I expected and the FC level dropped from 10 at 6:15am to 5.6 at 3:30pm. This was the first time I ditched the dichlor and started using bleach (6%). By 6:30am the next morning my FC had only dropped to 9.2, my CC was 0 (now officially love the bleach! :-D ) and pH was 7.7. These levels have remained consistent since.
Now my problem....I vacuumed today for the first time and noticed the dead algae that was light grey yesterday was now darker with a brown tint. When I cleaned the filter after vacuuming, the water coming from the filter was light brown when it was milky white before. The texture of some of the stuff coming out of the filter was sand-like but not as gritty. Is the algae coming back? I tested for everything tonight at 8:00 and here are the results:
FC - 9.5
CC - 0
pH - 7.6
CYA - 37
TA - 90
CH - 280
The only other variance I can think of is the temp here went from 60's and 70's at night to 40's and 50's since I started the shocking process. The temp of the water has fallen from 82 to 73 in the last week.
Any help is appreciated!
But before I read all those helpful instructions, my hubby and I drained the green water from the pool and used a shop vac to get as much water out as possible, then we refilled. Almost immediately I noticed spots of algae all over the bottom. So I tried to vacuum it up several times thinking the filter would catch it all. Wrong!
Then I came to this forum to search for help, and of course I found it!
At this point I only had test strips to use for testing, but had ordered the TF100. While waiting for it to arrive, I began the shocking process because of time restraints. I had several bags of dichlor left from last year and started the shocking process with this. My FC was 0, my CYA was very low (close to 0) and my pH was around 7.5 so I thought dichlor would be ok temporarily. My CYA and pH didn't really change much. I received the TF100 on 5/9 and tested:
FC - 10.6
CC - .4
CYA - <30
I kept the FC at or above 10 and all other levels close to the same as above until 5/10 when I was away from home longer than I expected and the FC level dropped from 10 at 6:15am to 5.6 at 3:30pm. This was the first time I ditched the dichlor and started using bleach (6%). By 6:30am the next morning my FC had only dropped to 9.2, my CC was 0 (now officially love the bleach! :-D ) and pH was 7.7. These levels have remained consistent since.
Now my problem....I vacuumed today for the first time and noticed the dead algae that was light grey yesterday was now darker with a brown tint. When I cleaned the filter after vacuuming, the water coming from the filter was light brown when it was milky white before. The texture of some of the stuff coming out of the filter was sand-like but not as gritty. Is the algae coming back? I tested for everything tonight at 8:00 and here are the results:
FC - 9.5
CC - 0
pH - 7.6
CYA - 37
TA - 90
CH - 280
The only other variance I can think of is the temp here went from 60's and 70's at night to 40's and 50's since I started the shocking process. The temp of the water has fallen from 82 to 73 in the last week.
Any help is appreciated!
