Back from vacation for 2 weeks where the pool was unattended

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ctakim

ctakim

0
May 27, 2012
12
Phildelphia, PA
Left several trichor pucks in a floater and shocked the pool before I left on a family vacation (to Hawaii!) but came back to this:
FC 1.0
CC 0
pH 7.4
TA 80
CH 220
CYA 35
Borate 15-30

I plan on shocking with 2 lbs of calcium hypochlorite 73% (Leslies Power power plus) that I have on hand and adding a box of borate. There were a moderate amount of leaves in the pool that I cleaned up and some algae starting to become visible on the far end of the pool where it always shows if and when the FC gets unacceptably low (before I found the this website). Now that I'm home I will stop with the pucks and go back to using liquid bleach.

All in all not quite a bad as I expected.
 
Re: Back from vacation for 2 weeks where the pool was unatte

Why 2 lbs? Does that get you to shock level? If you see algae, then you should follow the shock process.

Why add the borax? Your pH seems fine. Focus on the algae then worry about your borates level.

Posted from my Droid with Tapatalk ... sorry if my response is short ;)
 
Re: Back from vacation for 2 weeks where the pool was unatte

Pool Calculator says 2 lbs of 73% Cal-hypo will only raise FC by 6 in a 29000 gallon pool. Shock level is 14. If you have live algae, that 6 ppm will disappear in a hurry.

You need to get FC up higher than that, and keep it there until you pass all 3 tests.
 
Re: Back from vacation for 2 weeks where the pool was unatte

Thanks, a few hours after the powdered shock the FC was 5.8 so I added two jugs of 6% bleach (364 oz.), waited 45 min and rechecked the FC and now I get 18 ppm. According to the CYA/Chlorine chart I should be in a good shocking range. Not sure how long I should keep things at this high chlorine level. Oh and I've brushed the walls down, too. The water continues to look nice and clear, which is good.

Thanks for the helpful feedback. Also, I added the borate because I thought my range was a little low (target 30 to 50) and I thought it might help with the algae, but perhaps I should just focus on the shocking process for now. :)
 

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Re: Back from vacation for 2 weeks where the pool was unatte

Thanks for the helpful advice on the testing. One question is whether it is safe to allow the kids to use pool with the FC at shock levels? I know it will use up the chlorine more quickly but any hazard to people?

TIA
 
Re: Back from vacation for 2 weeks where the pool was unatte

we generally say it is safe to swim when the FC is BELOW shock level. If you are actively in the shock process, then your FC should be at or above shock level.

It is not so much the chlorine that is bad, but potentially whatever you are fighting in the pool ... especially if the water is cloudy reducing visibility.

Posted from my Droid with Tapatalk ... sorry if my response is short ;)
 
Re: Back from vacation for 2 weeks where the pool was unatte

jblizzle said:
we generally say it is safe to swim when the FC is BELOW shock level. If you are actively in the shock process, then your FC should be at or above shock level.
Click to expand...

This is confusing to me. There are two shock levels, regular and mustard and people on here seem to say below shock even mustard is OK. So normal shock is below MA shock - so is that "below shock" or not? I ask because I have had my kids and I in my pool when I was shocking but below MA shock and things seemed OK.
 
Re: Back from vacation for 2 weeks where the pool was unatte

see the second half of my post.

If you are above regular shock level, there is usually a reason ... cloudy water or something in the water. It may not be the chlorine so much as the condition of the water to stay out of it.

Easier and safest to say safe with FC below shock level, low CC, pH in range, and clear water.

Posted from my Droid with Tapatalk ... sorry if my response is short ;)
 
Re: Back from vacation for 2 weeks where the pool was unatte

UnderWaterVanya said:
jblizzle said:
we generally say it is safe to swim when the FC is BELOW shock level. If you are actively in the shock process, then your FC should be at or above shock level.
Click to expand...

This is confusing to me. There are two shock levels, regular and mustard and people on here seem to say below shock even mustard is OK. So normal shock is below MA shock - so is that "below shock" or not? I ask because I have had my kids and I in my pool when I was shocking but below MA shock and things seemed OK.
Click to expand...
Chlorine levels between regular shock and MA are generally harmless to people. I personally would get in the pool to brush above regular shock levels. However I would not let guests in above regular shock levels solely because I don't want any complaints if their swimsuits fade. I haven't had to shock in the last two years except for opening and the water is usually too cold to swim anyway.

I think the general consensus about swimming at or below shock levels presupposes that the water is clear and CCs are .5 or below and the shock process is over. I wouldn't let anyone in except myself during the process. Having a small pool, I rarely have to get in to brush as I can usually hit it from the outside.
 
Re: Back from vacation for 2 weeks where the pool was unatte

Okay it is over a week later and the pool water and walls are sparkling. I stopped the shock process when the OCLT was 1.0 and there after kept the FC in the 3.0-5.0 range. During the week the pH drifted up to 8.2 so I had to add some dry acid. I'm having to add about 60 oz of liquid bleach a day to maintain the FC at or below the current level. The latest TF-100 from today shows:
FC 5.0
CC 0.0
pH 7.8
TA 80
CH 210
CYA 30-40

Also the Borate (strip) showed 30

So I'm pretty happy with how the pool looks and where my numbers are but I would love some feedback. Am I good to hold the status quo?

TIA!
 
Re: Back from vacation for 2 weeks where the pool was unatte

Yes indeed, although it seems a bit strange to be a called a Philly boy although it is where we now live. Having grown up in southern California, lived in south Texas and with many relatives in Hawaii the first pool I've owned is on the east coast. Owning a pool in those other climates means you can use it nearly year round. Here it is just April to September and then it is all covered up!
 
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