So close but how close?!!

[Azghoul]

Okay, so we inherited a 25,000gal swamp. After reading through everything I could find here I was confident to tackle the issue. I purchased 32 gallons of bleach 8.25% from Wal-Mart prepared to do battle. I got the CYA up to 30 and pre-shocking the PH was 7.8 and the alkalinity was within range as well. I have to confess I wasnt able to purchase the test kit before I started but did have test strips that went to 20ppm chlorine, I figured I would sacrifice some extra chlorine and keep the pool at this lvl until I saw no loss overnight. Fast forward 7 days of keeping the pool at 20 I was no longer losing chlorine that i could tell. Again without the test kit i couldnt be sure so i decided to keep the water at 10ppm chlorine until it became clear again. So here is where im at, after 7 days at 20 and another 4 days at 10 my water is still cloudy blue. No green, no "dead" algae at the bootom, just a cloudy blue pool that you can see about a foot down. (If I put my arm in it goes to my elbow before i lose sight of my hand) I am going to have the water tested tomorrow at the pool store for a more exact reading but as of now from my test strips its within tolerance for everything (ph, alk, cya) with the chlorine still at 10.

I know I will get fussed at about the test kit but I just didnt have the funds yet, will be getting it next week so be gentle on me!

Do I need to just keep the lvl up and be patient or should I do something more? I have a sand filter which normally operates at 6psi and is dirty around 11psi

Is this a normal pressure? It kicks water out the jet pretty heftily but 5 just seems so low? I did take the pump apart before this project to check all seals, the impeller, and the hoses from any obstruction and did not observe any. The pump is noisy and has sat for a year. I plan on replacing it next season or possibly sooner if it turns out to be my issue....

Lastly the sand in the filter is new, I did replace that before starting this project. 150lbs of sand per the manf. specifications.

 

[linen]

Welcome to tfp, Azghoul

As I think you already know, an appropriate test kit will save you money and headaches. The strips are often outright misleading. Definitely do not trust them for cya. Are you certain your cya should have been low? Have you used trichlor pucks or dichlor in the past?

With that said, the shocking process criteria (also in my sig) are important and you have no good way of judging the <1 ppm overnight loss of chlorine, or know your cc<0.5 ppm. Most likely, you are still fighting something.

Sand filters do take time to clear a pool after an algae outbreak. If you knew you were done killing algae I would suggest: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/add_de_to_a_sand_filter to help speed things up.

 

[Azghoul]

The CYA as well as the PH and ALK was confirmed before I started by a pool store that does use "drop" tests. I do know the strips are misleading and I plan on keeping the pool at at least 10 chlorine until I get the kit just to make sure nothing sneaks up or past me.

So no I can not tell you 100% im losing less that .5 over night but I can tell you that according to the strips ive been using that from 8pm when its dark until 7am at first light the color is exactly the same (yes I realize fat lot of good) but it has been this way for at least 4 days.

As stated prior I kept the shock lvl at 20 for nearly 7 days and then 10 since.

Sorry no, no dyclor or tryclor. Just bleach.

 

[Azghoul]

I also forgot to say yes, I have also been sweeping daily and pulling everything i can off the bottom.

 

[Richard320]

10 may not be high enough for your CYA level.

I'd recheck that with your own test. Read, pour back and shake, read again. Repeat until you get a consistent number. Then decide if you've been at shock level or not.

 

[Azghoul]

Sorry, CYA is currently >10 thanks to three days of rain and backwashing. So Ive been adding some bleach in the am and testing at sundown each day to keep it at 10. I think that was enough for cya of 10. I did not want to add more until the last tropical storm had passed. I have enough bleach on reserve to battle sun loss for at least another week. I planned on bringing it back up as soon as the water started to clear and I didnt have to back wash as often or add water (or have a lot of water added thanks rain!).

 

[Richard320]

Sorry, CYA is currently >10 thanks to three days of rain and backwashing. So Ive been adding some bleach in the am and testing at sundown each day to keep it at 10. I think that was enough for cya of 10. I did not want to add more until the last tropical storm had passed. I have enough bleach on reserve to battle sun loss for at least another week. I planned on bringing it back up as soon as the water started to clear and I didnt have to back wash as often or add water (or have a lot of water added thanks rain!).

The tester doesn't even read below 20. Where'd you get 10 for CYA? We are talking about the same parameter, right? Mix the solution, it gets cloudy, pour it in until the black dot disappears.

Without CYA above about 30, you'll lose half the FC just to the sun before it can work on organics. Your FC might drop too low during the day.

 

[scott.MI]

Where'd you get 10 for CYA? We are talking about the same parameter, right? Mix the solution, it gets cloudy, pour it in until the black dot disappears.

Without CYA above about 30, you'll lose half the FC just to the sun before it can work on organics. Your FC might drop too low during the day.

He doesn't have a test kit yet, waiting for funds. He started with test strips and, then "confirmed" with a pool store that does "drop testing" Though its not clear where the latest reading of cya was from pool store or strips

I know I will get fussed at about the test kit but I just didnt have the funds yet, will be getting it next week so be gentle on me!

 

[Azghoul]

Ok, little update. I had noticed my filter not raising in pressure after 24-36 hours yet the water still being cloudy as it was knew this was an issue. So I decided to man up and get in the pool with my brush and net. Seems as if my brushing had brushed a big pile of shi..... right into the middle of the pool that i wasnt able to reach from the outside. So I got all that i could with not being able to see the bottom, kicked up a few clumps of algae and got a trees worth of leaves out. I know more leaves are in there.... Needless to say chlorine dropped to about 3 and the filter was again gaining pressure. So we will see what happens over the weekend. I'll keep it shocked and keep getting in and sweeping and brushing.

 

[linen]

So I decided to man up and get in the pool with my brush and net.