Green Yucky Mess Tadpole Paradise

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Renee C

Renee C

0
Jun 11, 2013
15
This will be my first year attempting the BBB method. I had an intex SWG last year and it would not stay running. I cleaned it and cleaned it and each time it would run for about three days then give me an error. I think my pool may be too big for this generator. So this year, I am giving up on the SWG and attempting the BBB method. At the end of last summer, I was so frustrated that I just closed up the pool and started reading on what to do this year. I have read and read on the start up and am trying to understand all of this lingo, but I am a little confused. First, I purchased a brand new Hayward 1 1/2hp pump and took the cover off yesterday which proved to be tougher than I had thought and most of the leaves and branches ended back in the pool as the liner went sliding under..... :) I have a green yucky mess with plenty of tadpoles and who knows what lurking under that green water. I added two 121 oz bottles of bleach yesterday and this morning I still have a reading of zero on the test strips for FC. I have the Taylor test kit but wasn't sure if I needed to start that this soon as I am just trying to get a FC reading. I read on here that I need to have a reading for CYA and that is showing up as zero as well. Should I be using the Taylor Kit now and not relying on those little test strips? I know that it will take alot of time to get the pool clean and I am prepared to do it, I just need a little guidance on how to get started without spinning my wheels! :roll:
 
Welcome to TFP.

Throw those strips away and use the Taylor kit. :) The strips are not reliable enough to count on.

You need to scoop as much solids out as you can and then start the shocking process correctly. read the proper way to shock your pool in Pool School. Once you have the solids out you need to add about 4 lbs of stabilizer (CYA) (if your sure it's zero now) and then raise the FC to about 16 ppm (3½ large jugs of bleach).
2 - 121 oz bottles of 8.25% bleach didn't bring your pool to shock level even with a CYA level of zero.

Be prepared to add lots of bleach in the begining. You need to test and add as often as you can. Every couple hours in the begining isn't too much.
 
Did you have CYA in it last year? If you had some last year or used any powdered Chlorine (like dichlor or trichlor) or pucks, don't assume it's zero. If that's the case, assume it's 20 and shock according to that which would be 12 ppm Chlorine. The CYA test is tricky to read, especially at low levels. Don't ask me how I know. :oops: Let's just say that my high end of daily Chlorine maintenance this year is not much below your shock level.
 
I don't know what the cya was lay year. I didn't test it. I found shock at SAMs club that has dichlor and says it has stabilizer. Would this be better than using straight bleach. I will try toget the leaves out I'm assuming there are a lot in there that I can not see because the water is so dark. Thanks for all he help!
 
Renee C said:
I don't know what the cya was lay year. I didn't test it. I found shock at SAMs club that has dichlor and says it has stabilizer. Would this be better than using straight bleach. I will try toget the leaves out I'm assuming there are a lot in there that I can not see because the water is so dark. Thanks for all he help!
Click to expand...
No. Use liquid Chlorine. But first things first. Give us some numbers from a proper test kit. I'm assuming that your Taylor kit is the K-2006? Here's what we need.

CYA=?
FC=?
CC=?
PH=?

Once we have those numbers we can put the war paint on and get crackin.
 
I am using the Taylor K-2005 test kit. My readings are:
Chlorine 0 (I got no reading at all) I will be honest that scares me :cry:
PH 7.4
CYA is either at 30 or above or it isn't reading properly because the little black dot never went away :lol:
Alkalinity is 140PPM
Calcium is 160PPM

What should I use for stabilizer? When do I use the Borax or Baking Soda? I appreciate all the help you all are giving me. I will upload a pic so that you can see what I'm seeing! Thanks in advance!
 
Back to Pool School: You only use chemicals when you need to adjust something: pool-school/recommended_pool_chemicals

You CYA is low if the dot never disappears. You should add about 20ppm ... it is called stabilizer/conditioner/cyanuric acid at the stores.

You had the pink DPD chlorine test right? That is not good. The problem is it will show 0ppm of FC when it is 0 ... OR when it is very high (it gets bleached out). You should add the FAS-DPD test (http://tftestkits.net/FAS-DPD-Chlorine- ... t-p47.html) to your kit to give you the equivalent of the K-2006 (one of the kits we recommend).

You can not properly follow the Shocking Your Pool PROCESS without the FAS-DPD.
 
Okay, so I need to order that kit for the FC and adjust the CYA. From what I read in the pool school, I need to wait one week for my CYA to adjust. Does this mean that I should not add any more bleach to my pool until one week has passed or until I get the extra kit in the mail?
 

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Once the CYA is dissolved, assume it is at your target level even though it may not show up on a test for a week. You still should be adding bleach during the week after your add the CYA, but hard to say how much given your current testing ability.
 
This morning I'm getting a chlorine reading of 1.5 with my k-2005 kit I put 182 oz of chlorine in last night and the stabilizer. Surprisingly the pool looks darker this morning though. Why would that be?
 
Have you added enough bleach to bring the FC back up to shock level for the CYA you added? If you haven't, do that now!

It's common for the water to get darker when you start the shock process. It will start getting better.

182 oz of 8.25% would only have added about 7 ppm FC to the pool. That's not shock level even for zero CYA. Even that much 10% bleach wouldn't have gotten you to shock level. You really need to get serious about the shock process in order to make progress.
 
OK, I really think that I need pool school for dummies! How much bleach should I be adding each day or hour? I am afraid to ruin my liner with too much bleach, that is why I have been cautious.
 
Use the Pool Calculator to determine how much to add. It will also suggest the proper shock level if you enter your test results into the now column and fill out the pool section.

You want to test and add as often as you can. Every couple hours if that's possible.

The suggested levels, even during the shock process are designed to be safe for the liner. They're even conservative, so if you go a little over it's not going to hurt anything.
 
OK so I was wrong about what I added last night, I actually added 3- 182 oz bottles of bleach. They were 121 oz bottles of concentrated bleach the equivalent of 3 182 oz bottles of regular. I used the pool calculator and it says that if my reading is at a 1.5 then I need to shock it to a 10 so I would need to add 317 oz of bleach. Does this sound right? I was not kidding about the pool school for dummies! The good thing is that my pool smells like chlorine instead of a swamp :) That is progress in my eyes. Thanks a bunch for all the help, it is GREATLY appreciated! :)
 
Always test the FC and CC levels. Put the FC in the calculator in the now column. And with the shock level in the target column, it will tell you how much bleach to add. Do this each time.
 
Good Morning,
I have been shocking the mess out of this pool! I can vaguely see the little airplane on the bottom that my little guy threw in the other day. :) I'm leaving it there as a reference point :) I have not gotten my additional chlorine test kit in the mail yet so I am still using my K-2005 the reading this morning is very high it is reading higher than a 5 on the chlorine. So I am not adding bleach this morning. What should I do about this? I stabilized the pool on Tuesday so can I backwash today or is it still too soon. Thanks in advance. :)
 

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