Shocked.Flocked.Shocked.Flocked.Shocked and still not clear

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kkilgore

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Jun 18, 2012
12
I have been battling my pool for almost a month.... It is an inground pool ~30000 gal. It was almost black a month ago, the pool store said my ph was high but that would work to our advantage to floc with alum, so I did that with really no results, I went to a different pool store and they had this new product called clearx by Poolife, which is a 2 part shock and floc and I did that on Thurs. I get up Fri. expecting amazing results, but was disappointed, so I started vacuuming blindly to get rid of whatever algae, etc has fallen to the bottom of the pool and I have vacuumed blindly for close to 2hrs Fri, Sat, and Sun. Last night I shocked it with 7lbs of shock the water is cloudy and I'm thinking still may have algae. I can see maybe 2-3 ft down in the water. I have a sample to carry to the pool place today to see what they say. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Kim
 
Re: Shocked.Flocked.Shocked.Flocked.Shocked and still not cl

Hi Kim, welcome to TFP! I'm sorry you are having such a struggle with your pool. Go ahead and get the pool water tested but don't buy anything else. Post the results here and we will tell you what you need to do to get your pool cleared up. Much of our advice relies on current test results, but I can tell you that you will need lots of liquid chlorine. There is no miracle product that will clear a pool in 24 hours or less. It may take several days to a couple of weeks to clear the pool. The good news is liquid chlorine will clear up even the nastiest pool when you follow the instructions in the shock process. Read through pool school, especially shocking your pool and defeating algea.

When you have a moment, please edit your signature to include the type of pool (in ground, or above ground) pool surface (plaster, fiberglass, or vinyl), pool size in gallons, pump horse power and brand, filter type (sand, DE, or cartridge), and any water features you may have (deck jets, fountains, infloor cleaning systems, ect...)
 
Re: Shocked.Flocked.Shocked.Flocked.Shocked and still not cl

You can get 10-12% liquid chlorine from pool stores or you can use plain, unscented 6% bleach from your grocery store.
 
Re: Shocked.Flocked.Shocked.Flocked.Shocked and still not cl

The Mod Squad's advice has helped me very much. I was a pool chemistry novice, like you, even though I have been opening and closing my pool for nearly 30 years with limited knowledge of how to solve specific problems. I knew how to use a primitive test kit to check chlorine, pH, and Total Alkalinity.

Our pool had been closed for over 2 years (divorce). I had little time to work with a pool. Now I have the kids back (some help) and need something for them to do. My pool was black as pitch about two weeks ago. I made several attempts to "shock" the heck out of the water, hoping for the best, like you. Ultimately, I got frustrated, hit the web, found TFP Forum, asked for help, bought a TF-100 test kit (http://www.tftestkits.net/), learned about the effect of Stabilizer (CYA) on free chlorine (FC), and followed the recommendations given freely by The Mod Squad. I'm almost there.

Best advice I have is to ask questions, listen, and read, read, read Pool School and other posts on this forum. Just try to consume this site's educational content. It's good stuff.

Bottom line is this ...
(1) use this site to help educate yourself on pool care,
(2) get a good test kit like the TF-100,
(3) learn to use The Pool Calculator (http://www.poolcalculator.com/), and
(4) understand that you have to get ahead and stay ahead of the algae to clear up your pool.

My test kit and this forum has helped me to replace my pool store dependence. I like being informed and empowered.
 
Re: Shocked.Flocked.Shocked.Flocked.Shocked and still not cl

Here are the results of my water test:

Total Chlorine - 6.5
Free Chlorine - 0
Ph - 7
Total Alk - 63
Calcium - 120
I was told to add 25lbs of alkalinity (add 1/2 wait 2 hours and add the rest), wait 2 hours and add 2 lbs of ph rise, wait 2 hours add 6 lbs chlorine shock, wait 2 hours test water, and keep adding shock and testing my water every 2 hours until my pool is holding free chlorine.......

So what do I need to do.
 
Re: Shocked.Flocked.Shocked.Flocked.Shocked and still not cl

So what do I need to do.
Click to expand...
take sailinshuz great advice above and immerse yourself in taking charge of your pool. It's not as hard as it sounds.

As far as reacting to the results you got from the pool store, you are missing the all-important CYA test. I would also not put faith in their testing.....it's just too often wrong.
 

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Re: Shocked.Flocked.Shocked.Flocked.Shocked and still not cl

I am not able to give advice on clearing a pool yet, but I have read so many different threads where the wonderful folks here have helped one person after another, so this much I feel confident telling you.

First order your own test kit TF100, that will keep you out of the pool store where you are going to get bombarded with BAD advice on how to solve your problem, (they just want to sell you stuff you really don't need).

Second until you get your own test kit, take your sample to the store and have them test, but don't listen to what they have to tell you, just bring the test results back here, (which by the way are going to be questionable at best), even though the results may not be the best, these people can work with it until you are able to test ACCURATELY Yoursefl.

Best advice I have is listen to these folks, NOT the store people.
 
Re: Shocked.Flocked.Shocked.Flocked.Shocked and still not cl

Samantha Sabrina said:
I am not able to give advice on clearing a pool yet, but I have read so many different threads where the wonderful folks here have helped one person after another, so this much I feel confident telling you.

First order your own test kit TF100, that will keep you out of the pool store where you are going to get bombarded with BAD advice on how to solve your problem, (they just want to sell you stuff you really don't need).

Second until you get your own test kit, take your sample to the store and have them test, but don't listen to what they have to tell you, just bring the test results back here, (which by the way are going to be questionable at best), even though the results may not be the best, these people can work with it until you are able to test ACCURATELY Yoursefl.

Best advice I have is listen to these folks, NOT the store people.
Click to expand...

Amen, SS !!!!
 
Re: Shocked.Flocked.Shocked.Flocked.Shocked and still not cl

Sorry I couldn't get back to you earlier. I hope you did not follow the pool store's recommendation since that will not help you at all. Are the total chlorine and free chlorine results correct or are they reversed? If your FC really is 0 then you need to complete the shock process with your pool, but in order to begin the shock process you need to know your CYA level. They didn't give you a result for conditioner, stabilizer, or CYA?

You don't need the TA increaser or the pH increaser at this time. Do not use any powdered shock products, they contain either CYA or calcium, and according to the test results you posted your calcium is fine and we don't know the CYA. Could be sky high for all we know and the only practical way to lower CYA is to drain and replace some of the water. So until you know what the CYA is you don't want to add any more.

This is just one of the reason why we recommend folks have their own test kit. You would be able to run the tests you need when you need them and be confident in the reliability of the results. The TF 100 and the Taylor k2006 are both good kits and will enable you to test higher chlorine levels needed during the shock process.
 
Re: Shocked.Flocked.Shocked.Flocked.Shocked and still not cl

Hi, I to am new to all this pool cleaning/shocking lark and like many have pointed out, read read and read more on this site before you do anything that may cause you more problems and time, I am having a similar problem with the pool, I was using the test kit from hth the basic one with strips which dont give a true reading, and therfore I was in turn adding this and that from the store to get this and that level right...causing more problems... pool turned green due to all that nonsence. now I have ordered the new test kit K2006, should be here today I hope, but during the wait I went and bought the hth 6 way test kit that enabled me to check the CYA levels... "stabilizer"... I was putting in all the stuff from the store prior to not knowing this level and making things worse, algae at bottom turning pool milky green, now I have been shocking my pool with 6% bleach from the store.. changing the filters out every few hours to start with (2hrs) now they can be left 12-24 hrs without a change....over the last 6 days I have been doing this process and now showing some improvement with the milky green colour of pool water turning milky blue, I have not been able to check the CYA levels for a few days as run out of the cya test chem but I have been checking the PH and FC levels to make sure my pool is at shock level at least I hope so, I have added a lot of bleach during this period, taking a chance with lack of testing agents/chems. I have been hoovering and brushing the pool every single day adding 92oz daily as a top up of bleach to keep it up there at a shock level, well I hope so, at least it aint going to get worse... later on today I should be able to check everything with the new test kit and i'll know where I stand... I would have been at a loss if not for the good folk on here, take your time and make sure you cover everything you need to ask and do everything correctly and be patient. you will get there and in the process learn a lot more than before. knowing the CYA level is a must to get started
 
Re: Shocked.Flocked.Shocked.Flocked.Shocked and still not cl

and from what I have hopefully learnt so far on here, Knowing what the CYA level is a must no1. then you calculate the amount of FC needed to get your pool to a shock stage against the CYA level... then it is all about maintaing that level of shock along with daily routine of cleaning pool...i'll keep doing this until the water changes and is clean.... I have only concerned myself with this info for now, gets to overwhemling and confusing to take it all in at once, after the new test kit arrives and I take the tests then i'll know more...and i'll be back to ask more questions and do more reading.... all the very best and good luck to you....
 
Re: Shocked.Flocked.Shocked.Flocked.Shocked and still not cl

Make that your last call to the pool store. Order the TF-100 test kit, and follow the instructions of the folks here, and you WILL take control of your pool. Following the pool store recommendations that you've been given so far will result in 2 things:

1. A HUGE waste of money.
2. A losing battle with your pool.
 
Re: Shocked.Flocked.Shocked.Flocked.Shocked and still not cl

Ok...I know I'm not suppose to go back to the pool store but my test kit has not arrived and I wanted to get the water tested to see if it is getting any better. I have added 35lbs or alkalinity, 7lbs of pH rise and approx. 30lbs of shock to my pool since Monday. Here are my numbers:

TC - 1.7
FC - 0
pH - 7
Total Alk. - 137
Calcium - 133
CYA - 50

They told me to add 2lbs of pH rise and to continue adding 5lbs of shock every hour until I could get a chlorine reading.

I want to use the BBB method, but don't know where to start. I used the pool calculator and if I used it correctly based on these numbers to bring my pool up to shock level I would have to add 257ozs of borax to fix my pH and close to 12 - 96oz jugs of bleach....does this sound right?

I'm going to try to attach some pictures.

Thanks....
 

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