I have a swamp

[bigelowc]

We purchased a house with a pool that had not been opened in several years. I removed the cover and it was black.

I removed several hundred pounds of debris but there is more that I can not see at this time.

I started shocking with Dichlor and got the pool to green. I hit it hard with Algae 60 and filter cleaner.

I decided the bag shock just wasnt going to cut it and could be more expensive in the long run.

Pool is around 20,000 gallons, 2 days ago I hit it with 8 gallons of pool store liquid chlorine and the pool has changed to light green tint to cloudy white. Still can not see bottom but can see down 2 steps of pool.

Backwash is not yeilding any green tint like it did during day 1 and it appears algae is gone


Hit is again yesterday with 5 gallons of chlorine at 5pm.

Today just tested the water and here are my readings

TH 100
TC .5
FC .5
PH 7.6
TA 120
CYA 0


I am keeping a log of my readings now starting today to compare them

What should I do to be the most effective in getting to clear water?

Pump is on day 3 of 24 hours.

Looks like my chlorine level dropped since last night, what target numbers do I need to maintain during shock until water is clear?

 

[JohnT]

Welcome!

With no CYA, you want to hold at 10ppm, and never let it drop below that. Blasting it with chlorine and letting it drop before blasting again won't clean it up as fast as constant shock-level chlorination.

 

[RobbieH]

pool-school/shocking_your_pool

You'll need a good test kit, I recommend the TF-100 from tftestkits.net

 

[jblizzle]

I would recommend bumping the CYA up to about 20-30ppm and then following the process outlined in the links below ... you have to maintain the FC level and not allow it to drop:
Defeating Algae
Turning Your Green Swamp Back into a Sparkling Oasis
Shocking Your Pool

Oh yeah ... and get one of the recommended test kits.

 

[bigelowc]

How many gallons of chlorine should I get to keep it going? Once I clean it up I am going back to my dichlor.

Should I not add any dichlor while doing the liquid shock and should I remove the floater?

 

[RobbieH]

You can use dichlor for now to shock with, since your CYA is zero. Keep in mind it's going to come up FAST. Once CYA gets too high, you have no choice but to drain some of the water and refill, so use it sparingly and not as a constant way of keeping your FC up. Danger, Will Robinson!

 

[bigelowc]

Leave the floating chlorinator in or out?

 

[RobbieH]

During shocking, and since your CYA level is low, it's OK and can help to keep your FC up during shocking. Once your CYA comes up to about 40 though, it and the pucks have to go.

 

[bigelowc]

Thank you very much, at least I know I am headed in the right direction, my error was to shock and wait, then shock some more, I just need to keep hitting it.

 

[RobbieH]

Yep, keep it over the minimum shock level at all times.

 

[jblizzle]

Thank you very much, at least I know I am headed in the right direction, my error was to shock and wait, then shock some more, I just need to keep hitting it.

Yes ... but you need to hit is with the appropriate amount to reach the required FC level. That requires accurate testing and dosing using the poolcalculator

 

[bigelowc]

I shocked 2 times today with dichlor and put the chlorine tablets back in the water. Will test it again in the morning and use dichlor to bring up CYA and then begin the liquid shock regiment testing each hour and maintaining shock level as long as possible.

I have 25 gallons of liquid chlorine. I hope thats enough to get me to clear water. It ran all day today and cleared up some.

I do what I call the pool light test after dark and measure how far the light travels through the water to determine how much progress I am making.

Wish me luck.

 

[bigelowc]

I want to thank you guys for pointing me in the correct direction.

I checked my readings this morning and the dichlor raised my Cya as expected from 11pm shocking with Dichlor.

I checked the required shock level for that Cya on the chart and used the pool calculator and added the recommended chlorine to get me to that reading.

Will check hourly to see how I am progressing and add more chlorine as needed to maintain shock level.

Thank you all very much for your assistance.

 

[bigelowc]

Keep in mind I am currently using test strips until the new kit comes in the mail.

I have been going at it for 3 hours now.

10:30am readings

TH 100
TC 5
FC 3
PH 6.8
TA 80
CA 30-50

11:30am readings

TH 100
TC 10
FC 10
Ph 6.8
CA around 25

According to the chart due to lowered Cya target shock value is 10, do I leave it alone for another hour and add more shock when it drops below the 10?

 

[RobbieH]

Yep, keep the FC level above shock level!

 

[bigelowc]

Will my Cya keep dropping? should I adjust it if it gets unmeasurable?

 

[RobbieH]

That just looks like variation in the test results. CYA won't drop unless you drain the pool and refill with fresh water. Those strips are notoriously inaccurate also.

 

[bigelowc]

Thank you, I am going to keep going til bedtime and pick it up again in the morning if not clear. Right now it is a cloudy light green color, much better than the black I started with.

Also, I do have a test kit that was here when we bought the house 3 months ago but it is probally many years old. Are the drops any good?

 

[bigelowc]

I am into hour 5 and all is going well. readings seem to be maintaining pretty good, only have to add chlorine probally every other hour so far.

 

[Qwaxalot]

Dumb question, have you vacuumed the pool? If so, how sure are you that you got all the debris out? It doesn't take much crud in the pool to rapidly eat up chlorine.