New! Just tested water! Now what?

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Just wanted to update! I was doing good with keeping the pool shocked but now the cord to pump caught fire while being plugged in. We are going to have to get it repaired, so pretty much everything I've done thus far was in vain. :( I will start again when we get it replaced.

This whole process has been quite a journey. I feel like I'm taking 1 step forward and 2 steps backwards...
 
You can continue to add some bleach slowly around the pool and then brush the pool really well to mix it. Might help to not lose as much ground.

Posted with Tapatalk ... sorry if I sound short ... hate typing on phone ;)
 
We just got the head of the cord replaced and bought a new extension cord. I talked to my father, who is an electrician, he said we had too high of a gauge of wire (extension cord) and the electrical current running through the wire was too high of a pull... so we replaced it with a lower gauge. Anyways, it's all fixed and running again.

FC = 8.5, dumped 1 gallon of bleach at 9:30 pm est to get back up to 15ppm.
CC = 1ppm

Thanks guys! I'll hit it again before I go to bed. :)
 
Brushed the pool and skimmed it several times. Filter is good. It's 1:50pm. FC is 12.5ppm. Going to add 1 quart 7oz of bleach to get back up to 15ppm. The pool water is still milky and light green. Is this normal? Should it be clearing up at this point? I feel like I am doing something wrong. I expected the chlorine to be dropping faster than it is and to be adding more throughout the day but I've only had to add chlorine maybe once or twice a day.
 
Thank you techguy for the pictures! Very exciting. I tested the pool for the first time today (12:30pm est) and got a chlorine level of 7.5, so I put 3 quarts and 3 cups of bleach in. We are all sick over here, so I'm trying to stay on top of it. How often should I be measuring the levels and adding bleach? I feel like I might be getting low on that R0817 (I think it is) and don't want to test every hour or two if I don't need to. I'm going to order some more. The pool is at a whitish blue, but not quite as clear as the pictures.
 
If you are shocking, then testing the FC/CC only is all you need to test. You can test as often as once an hour but let your FC levels tell you.

The longer you stay at shock FC, the faster is will kill off the algae. If you're consuming FC, you need to add CL as often as practical. If you are home sick and have nothing better to do, once an hour is great. During the the day, the sunlight may burn off as much of the FC as the algae killing process. If you still have cloudy water, you need to level the FC at shiock. If all the algae in your cloudy water is dead, it will consume much less FC and your CC will drop closer to 0.5-0.0 and your testing could drop to once every 2-4 hours. Keep filtering 24/7 and check your pressures.

If you have a small box of DE or "filter cellulose" and your CL is getting close to stable, you could try adding a cup or two into your skimmer basket (or enough to cause a 1 psi pressure increase) to improve your filters effectiveness. Each cartridge change or backwash you will need to add the DE/cellulose again. DE and cellulose are available at the pool store but my HomeDepot and Wal-Mart have it also.

If your FC is over 10, the pH test will not be accurate.
 
Ok - I'm still confused. My CC was at 7.5, so to get it to 15ppm the calculator told me to add 3 quarts 3 cups - which I did. I'm measuring in a pyrex big glass measuring cup. I have the pool calculated at 7600 gallons (it is 18 feet in diameter). I'm doing something wrong, because I tested 2 hour later and the FC is at 20ppm!!! The CC is at 0.5ppm and has stayed that way for the past two days. My husband has brushed the pool, and when he does he sweeps up green algae (not very much) so I don't think it is all dead. My math, or something is wrong for my FC to be that high! I am using 6% bleach (no scent, plain bleach) at 96oz a jug. What am I doing wrong?? Perhaps my math is off on the gallons?
 
Only 2 options:
1. You think your pool is larger than it is (is you water really 4' deep or is it 3.5'?)
2. Your bleach is stronger than 6% ... if it is very fresh that is certainly possible.

Or maybe a bit of both. Does not matter that you go over a bit though really.
 

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OK, if I understand it, your CC was 12.5 and now it's 7.5, that good progress. You need to keep it at the shock levels until the CC drops to 0.0-0.5ppm, the water is clear and you loose less than 1 FC overnight. This is called the OCLT in the PoolSchool. You need to pass the OCLT test before ending your shock process. The good news... once you get past this shock, you may not need to shock again, assuming you test your pool each day and stay current with your BB&B.

Adding more CL every hour is a great way to resolve this faster, based on the results of the FC/CC testing (each hour)

The 7.5 CC indicates the chlorine is still actively consuming algae and other organics. Are you sure the CC in your last posting was not your FC reading? The FC is the Free Chlorine available to clean pool, the CC are the Combined Chloramines and these need to resolved before ending a shock. TC is Total Chlorine and is FC+CC. This is what the OTO (yellow cap drops in the color block tester) tests for but most OTO tests top out at 5 TC.

I see someone's comment, if you used 10% or 12.5% chlorine, you can adjust for that in the PoolCalculator... and your FC/TC numbers would be higher than you expected.
 
I'm sorry, the 7.5CC was supposed to say 7.5 FC. The CC has been at 0.5ppm for 2 days.

I'm positive the bleach is 6%, it may be fresh. I'll go remeasure the depth and try to recalculate the gallons. It matters to me, because If I'm going to be using this to calculate how much bleach to use every day to maintain the pool, I want it to be accurate.

So the CC is 0.5ppm, but the water is not clear yet. So I will continue to test and pour in bleach until the water is clear. Once the water is clear I will do the FC overnight test.

Thanks for the response!
 
You have to realize that this is not really an exact science. There will always be some variation in the bleach strength.

Once you finish shocking, the only FC requirement is to stay above the minimum in the chlorine/CYA chart. You will get a feel for how much bleach is required every day and if you go a little high, just means you need a little less the next day. Note that many people do not measure the amount they put in ... they may just estimate to the 1/4 of a bottle and call it close enough.
 
I went to the restaurant supply store and got myself a nice Lexan 2 Qt measuring pitcher and a smaller plastic cup. Both have the scale as raised letting on the outside so the chemicals cannot wash off the scales. This way if I drop it, it will bounce and not shatter.

4-quart-cambro-400mccw-camwear-measuring-cup.jpg


I have the big one with the "milk" in it. Metric one side, US on the other. It was about $10 USD.

Most days I can measure in the the 40-60 oz I have needed to add each day. It works well for the MA that I do want more accurate.
 
techguy said:
Most days I can measure in the the 40-60 oz I have needed to add each day. It works well for the MA that I do want more accurate.
Click to expand...

Make sure you are rinsing this VERY well. I would not think it would be recommended to use the same container to measure bleach and acid ... they do not play well together ... explosively :shock:
 
Of course, I rinse it in the pool several times and I don't typically add both chemicals during the same adjustment. I normally add one and let it run for 30 minutes to an hour before adding the second chemical. Normally around here, that means the the pitcher is empty, clean, and dry at all times.
 
Okay! The pool is clear. I've still been shocking. CC is at 0. FC is now at 12. It lost less than 1 FC overnight. So I'm assuming I'm done with the shocking process. I am going to go out there and put enough CL in to shock one last time. What are the next steps?? Do I wait until the CL drops down in order to swim? When can I swim? What are safe CL levels? When can I measure the pH and TA and CYA again? Should I do this before swimming? etc.

Thanks guys! This is miraculous! I truly should have taken pictures of the process, because it went from smelling like a swamp and GREEEENNNN to crystal clear and new!
 

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