Sick for a week and now I have algae

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Glock

Glock

0
Jun 3, 2012
866
Mesquite, Texas
Well, I knew it couldn't last forever. I got sick and was down for the count for about a week with something bad and nobody else in my house seems to give a Dang about this 10k dollar investment but me. Ok, rant off.

My pool got neglected and the pump did not run for two days. This resulted on 0 FC and a fine film of green and some darker patches on the floor of the pool. I ran my FC up to about 10 and vacuumed it all up. It came up very easily. I then scrubbed the walls. Water was cloudy for two days and now its coming back. So, I came here and read Jason's stickied thread and found what I did wrong. I just took new readings.

FC 3
CC 0
pH 7.6
TA 120
CH 140
CYA 50

FC was 5.5 day before yesterday and I added 128oz of bleach then and now its back down to 3 so I am losing alot overnight at the moment.

So, according to pool calculator and Jason's thread I need to do this:

Add 620oz of Bleach to get to 16ppm (for CYA of 50ppm). Maintain that (Test morning and evening) until the OCLT is less than a .5ppm loss overnight and brush daily. Water should end up milky/cloudy but blueish white, not green. Run the pump 24/7 throughout the process. Water will clear over time after the OCLT is passed. Edit: Backwash filter when the pressure gets to 15psi which is 25% higher than 12psi which is normal.

Is that it? Any other advice?
 
One last question kinda off the beaten path. I seem to have attracted these little bugs with little flippers that scoot through the water. They don't drown. I call them flipflip bugs and have been tossing them out when I catch them. No bigger than a black eyed pea and as small as a grin of rice. Brownish/gray/tan in color and shaped kinda like a oval. They sometimes perch on the stairs and floor of the pool. Will shock level kill these bugs that seem to live in the water?
 
It is ok to be in the pool up to shock level for your CYA. If the shock level bleach doesn't kill the bugs it will probably drive them out. Your plan for the shock process sounds good.
 
Excellent to hear! My wife called from work and said she was stopping by Wally World and asked if I needed anything. I was like, uh yeah.. now that you mention it I need 14 x 182 oz bottles of bleach. She asked why and I told her to get all the blood out of the carpet. Oddly enough, she was not amused. I thought it was funny. lol
 
Glock said:
Excellent to hear! My wife called from work and said she was stopping by Wally World and asked if I needed anything. I was like, uh yeah.. now that you mention it I need 14 x 182 oz bottles of bleach. She asked why and I told her to get all the blood out of the carpet. Oddly enough, she was not amused. I thought it was funny. lol
Click to expand...
:lol: :lol: :lol: :mrgreen:
 
Glock said:
Well, I knew it couldn't last forever. I got sick and was down for the count for about a week with something bad and nobody else in my house seems to give a **** about this 10k dollar investment but me. Ok, rant off.

My pool got neglected and the pump did not run for two days. This resulted on 0 FC and a fine film of green and some darker patches on the floor of the pool. I ran my FC up to about 10 and vacuumed it all up. It came up very easily. I then scrubbed the walls. Water was cloudy for two days and now its coming back. So, I came here and read Jason's stickied thread and found what I did wrong. I just took new readings.

FC 3
CC 0
pH 7.6
TA 120
CH 140
CYA 50

FC was 5.5 day before yesterday and I added 128oz of bleach then and now its back down to 3 so I am losing alot overnight at the moment.

So, according to pool calculator and Jason's thread I need to do this:

Add 620oz of Bleach to get to 16ppm (for CYA of 50ppm). Maintain that (Test morning and evening) until the OCLT is less than a .5ppm loss overnight and brush daily. Water should end up milky/cloudy but blueish white, not green. Run the pump 24/7 throughout the process. Water will clear over time after the OCLT is passed. Edit: Backwash filter when the pressure gets to 15psi which is 25% higher than 12psi which is normal.

Is that it? Any other advice?
Click to expand...

You need to shock until

1) water is clear
2) pass OCLT
3) CC <.5

so it isnt just the OCLT.
 
Agreed. My CC is already 0. Just tested the FC and its 11.5ppm. Adding 220oz bleach to bring it back to 16ppm. Water is much more clear today than last night. Pump still running and pressure is rising. Will brush again this afternoon and backwash the filter. Will have to add water too. How long do you backwash a filter to make sure its clean?
 

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Usually 30 minutes is long enough but we've had reports of it taking an hour in some pools. It's individual to your pool but I'd say test it in 30 minutes and again at +1 hour and see if it's greater at an hour than it was at 30 minutes and you'll know how long you should wait.
 
Got in and brushed it down. Pulling the steps out was a hassle but worth it as I found algae on the bottom part where it doesn't touch the wall or floor. Now hoping the bleach will do its thing. I have green cloudy water now. I can see the bottom still, even the deep end so I don't think its as bad as it could be.
 
Tested again. Its cloudy blue now and clean on bottom. After the brushing my FC plummeted 9ppm to 7ppm. I just ran it up to 18ppm (had extra 85oz of bleach lingering so I dumped it in.) I get to make another bleach run tomorrow. I have gone through 8 182oz bottles already. lol.

After all this is done, I will mind my water chemicals alot closer. Even if I have to crawl out to the darn thing to test it.
 
No doubt about the cross training. Going to train my daughter since she is the most reliable. So, I tested today exactly 12 hours later at 14.5ppm. Down 3.5ppm from last night. Much better results. Still cloudy a bit but not too bad. Going to run it back up to 16 and brush it again in a couple of hours although the bottom appears to be bright blue with no hint of green. Better to be safe than sorry. Results to come at 8pm tonight and hoping for a passed OCLT tomorrow!

1. CC is less than 0.5 ppm = 0 ppm
2. An OCLT shows a loss of 1.0 ppm or less = 3.5 ppm
3. The water is crystal clear = Light Cloudiness, no green
 
You are doing fine and are making progress. The FC/CYA guide in Pool School is a little more aggressive than the calculator for shock levels and it suggest to raise your FC to 20 for your CYA. This level might help speed up the process a little if you wish to target a little higher FC level. When the FC level gets below the shock value the time to clear your pool up will increase, but too high of a level will risk damage to the pool and equipment.
 
Should be fine, I've read lately they have been increasing the strength of some brands lately. Just put 8.25% in the calculator for how much to dose. Make sure it is unscented and that it isn't thicker than the bleach you have been using.
 

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