HALP! Poolsitting and Husband is a doofus!

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sparklepants

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Aug 6, 2012
53
Ok my husband and I are currently poolsitting for his Grandparents. Last night he turned on the hose to fill the pool for an hour. It was supposedly on a timer. WEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL fast forward to this morning the timer never went off and the hose ran all night and now the pool looks like this :( .

Nek5d.jpg


Thinking it was copper due to the color we went to the pool store and got some "Metal Free". That was at 10:00 am today. It hasn't cleared up at all and it's 6:00 pm. Wondering if you all think it's copper or that it's something else. We tested both the pH and the alkalinity as of this morning and they were both normal.
Any and all help would be most appreciated. We know next to nothing about pools >_____________<
 
Although, in the picture the water is not clear (as is usually the case for metals) ... although the sudden color change is suspect.

Was the water clear to start with?
What do you have in your arsenal to test the pool levels? Can you provide: FC, CC, pH, TA, CH and CYA?

Wondering if the pool was on the verge of an algae outbreak and the new water lowered the FC enough to allow it to happen.
 
Thank you! Im sorry, I always feel bad coming into a new forum and asking one question and then never showing my face again. Pool ownership is not my forte, if you get my drift. To add insult to injury, the pool pump is broken and a new one isn't coming until Thursday. Should we even bother treating it until then?

Also I realized I forgot to add the things in the sticky. Yes it was nice and clear before all this happened >_>

Live in Hingham Massachussetts

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Please put the following information in your signature.

1) 21K give or take
2) Not sure what kind of filter we have, going to take it apart tomorrow
3) clearly in ground
4) vinyl
5) dont know >_<

It's also becoming murkier as the day goes on . Total chlorine was nill 0 ppm Initial was 2 Br was 4 ph was in the normal range
 
It sounding more like algae as you now describe it (and the low FC level). If it is, it may take awhile to clear and you will need a functioning pump/filter. How much longer until the gparents are back?
 
Ahhh...I see, and I think I understand :wink:

What do you have available for test kits? Do you happen to have a drop based kit that can measure FC (free chlorine). Unfortunately the TC (total chlorine) test you mentioned is not going to be real helpful...and by the way, ignore the Bromine scale on that test, unless this is a Bromine pool.
 
It is going to very difficult to do much until the the pump is replaced.

You need to go through the Shocking Your Pool process. Here are a few other links to read:
Defeating Algae
Turning Your Green Swamp Back into a Sparkling Oasis

The best you can do now is add some bleach every day and brush the pool really well to mix it in.

You are going to need to know what the stabilizer (CYA) level is in order to know how much chlorine you need to add and then have a way to measure high FC levels. This process is not going to be easy as it sounds like you are stuck without a good test kit.
 

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That sounds like the DPD test. Check the instructions here: (extended-test-kit-directions-t25081.html#p206392)

You should also be able to test for TC (and thus get an idea for the CC). Although at this point, it is obvious you need to start the shock process. The problem is you need to know the CYA level.

Read some of the articles in Pool School, if nothing I am saying makes sense ... kind of throwing you in with the sharks :shark:
These would be a good start:
ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry
Recommended Pool Chemicals
 
jblizzle said:
That sounds like the DPD test. Check the instructions here: (extended-test-kit-directions-t25081.html#p206392)

You should also be able to test for TC (and thus get an idea for the CC). Although at this point, it is obvious you need to start the shock process. The problem is you need to know the CYA level.

Read some of the articles in Pool School, if nothing I am saying makes sense ... kind of throwing you in with the sharks :shark:
These would be a good start:
ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry
Recommended Pool Chemicals
Click to expand...

Ok, yes I'm sorry it's the DPD test I have it now here before me.


Ok ready?
FC= .5
TC= 1

CC= .5

As far as I know I can't test the CYA level though
 
Hard to say how much bleach.

Do you have a pool store that will test your water for you? As much as we generally do not trust the pool store testing (especially CYA), we have to get some clue as to the CYA level. If you go, just do not buy anything they suggest.

For example:
If your CYA is 20ppm or less, shock FC level is 10ppm, and you need 3.5 gallons of 6% bleach to get to shock level ... and then you have to keep testing and adding bleach to keep it at 10ppm (problem is your test only goes to 5ppm).

If the CYA is 50ppm, shock FC level is 20ppm, and you need 7 gallons of 6% bleach to get to shock level ... and again need more to keep it there.
 
I lived in Higham until I retired a few years ago (I was the Fire Chief there). As I recall, There is a Leslies Pool store in Weymouth on Main St. There is also another pool store along Wasington St. before you get there. Sorry but I don't remember the name. If you are in The north end of Hingham there is also South Shore Pool Supply on 3A in Cohasset.

Not a very long pool season there. I found my pool of limited use when I lived there. But it seemed that almost every house on Wanders Drive, where I lived had a pool....go figure.
 
Hello again! Just got back from South Shore Pool Supply :wink: where I had my water tested.

Results:

FC = 8.6 ppm (we dumped in three gallons last night)
TC = 9.34
CC = 0.74
pH=7.1
Hardness = 57ppm
Alkalinity = 75.1
Cyanuric Acid = 43 ppm
Cu = 0 ppm
Fe = 0.1 ppm

Based on that they think it is algae. They didn't think the iron content was enough constitute a problem. I am glad I added the metal free though, as the water was much yellower before I added it. Now it is most certainly GREEN. I bought "ClearView Algaecide" which I was told not to add until we got the pump fixed on Thursday. I took pictures of the filter, maybe you can help discern what type it is. I think it might be diatomaceous earth. I don't know how this effects the filtration process

ZoKyS.jpg

Zla2R.jpg


Whats you guyses take on the situation, if you would be so kind...
 
Assuming that CYA is accurate the CYA/CHlorine chart says between 16 and 20ppm of FC is needed to shock. The whole process is detailed here - and while the pump is dead you can brush the pool to try to mix the chlorine in. Brushing is already part of the process anyway so just do extra brushing to keep the chemicals mixed up.

Don't bother with their algaecide. Bleach or other types of liquid chlorine will work on algae just fine.
 

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