Hey guys, this is my first thread here and after reading sooooo many stories of others on this site over the last few days, im really looking forward to the advice you all can give me.
So my parents own an in ground pool, the one listed in my sig, and for years they have used trichlor pucks and "shock" bags to try to keep the pool clear. They also used algecide and clairifier when trying to clean a green pool. I cant remember a single year really, when i was growing up that the water was completely clear from more than just a few weeks out of the season. It didn't always get an algae bloom and go green but it was almost always slightly cloudy. Well they went on a trip to Alaska and few weeks ago and asked me to watch the pool in that time. I had never maintained it before so they gave me the run down on their method, keep 2 pucks in the skimmer and if it starts turn green, use 1 or 2 bags of "shock" and a bottle of algecide. Long story short, that didn't work. After the pool turned cloudy green, i began doing research and luckily found this site. I read everything in pool school in just a few hours and went through thread after thread absorbing useful information. I've been enjoying every bit of reading I've done here as well.
*Takes Breath*
So now to the point. I began slamming the pool according to what I've read in pool school. I didnt have a proper test so I got a test done from our pool store in town, they used a test strip. I was skeptical to use those numbers but didnt have much of a choice at the time. So i talked my parents into ordering a TF50, they didnt want to spend the extra money on the TF100 and they already had an OTO test kit for chlorine and ph. But while waiting for that kit to arive, i began raising the FC to between 12 and 13ppm because i was told my CYA was at 30 by the pool store. I stayed on top of the chlorine, by using 10% liquid chlorine, and kept the FC level, at what was only my best guess of 12 or 13. I measured using an OTO test and test strips, and used 50% diluted pool water and just multiplied those results by two. And i used both test just to double check the accuracy. In about 24 hours, and about 10 gallons of bleach, the pool had gone from green to light blue (still extremely cloudy though, couldnt see more than a foot into the water) over night. And over the next two days Ive only had to use about 6 more gallons to maintain shock level. But now that the pool is blue, the cloudyness seems like it might be going away, but if is has changed any, its been very little the last two days.
Now today, which is day 4 of this, my TF50 came in, felt like christmas in July. Tested my water and here are the results.
FC 19
CC 1
TC 20
PH 7.2 (i think. Im not ever good at judging the color of the ph test.)
TA 120
CH 120
CYA 21
What would you say the Ph is?
Needless to say, im in the process of letting my FC come down to the shock level for cya of 21. Also, yesterday i took another sample of water to a pool store the next town over and had them test it. They use a drop test that analyzes it with a computer and here were their results from yesterday.
FC 7.88
TC 7.88
CC 0
PH 7.8
TA 89
CH 122
CYA 21
A few things are different in my test and the pool stores, But there was about 24 hours between their test and mine. So i guess in a pinch I can feel a little better about going to them for a test since the only difference we really had was in TA.
But do you all have any advice for me to use? Any idea, based on what ive said, about how long it might take to start seeing a clearer pool? Im brushing it once a day and backwashing as needed. I backwashed before i started slamming and the water really didnt look too bad. I did it again about 2 days later and the water that time looked so dark and cruddy. So i guess im actually doing something right.
Thanks in advance for the advice that anyone is willing to give me!!!!
So my parents own an in ground pool, the one listed in my sig, and for years they have used trichlor pucks and "shock" bags to try to keep the pool clear. They also used algecide and clairifier when trying to clean a green pool. I cant remember a single year really, when i was growing up that the water was completely clear from more than just a few weeks out of the season. It didn't always get an algae bloom and go green but it was almost always slightly cloudy. Well they went on a trip to Alaska and few weeks ago and asked me to watch the pool in that time. I had never maintained it before so they gave me the run down on their method, keep 2 pucks in the skimmer and if it starts turn green, use 1 or 2 bags of "shock" and a bottle of algecide. Long story short, that didn't work. After the pool turned cloudy green, i began doing research and luckily found this site. I read everything in pool school in just a few hours and went through thread after thread absorbing useful information. I've been enjoying every bit of reading I've done here as well.
*Takes Breath*
So now to the point. I began slamming the pool according to what I've read in pool school. I didnt have a proper test so I got a test done from our pool store in town, they used a test strip. I was skeptical to use those numbers but didnt have much of a choice at the time. So i talked my parents into ordering a TF50, they didnt want to spend the extra money on the TF100 and they already had an OTO test kit for chlorine and ph. But while waiting for that kit to arive, i began raising the FC to between 12 and 13ppm because i was told my CYA was at 30 by the pool store. I stayed on top of the chlorine, by using 10% liquid chlorine, and kept the FC level, at what was only my best guess of 12 or 13. I measured using an OTO test and test strips, and used 50% diluted pool water and just multiplied those results by two. And i used both test just to double check the accuracy. In about 24 hours, and about 10 gallons of bleach, the pool had gone from green to light blue (still extremely cloudy though, couldnt see more than a foot into the water) over night. And over the next two days Ive only had to use about 6 more gallons to maintain shock level. But now that the pool is blue, the cloudyness seems like it might be going away, but if is has changed any, its been very little the last two days.
Now today, which is day 4 of this, my TF50 came in, felt like christmas in July. Tested my water and here are the results.
FC 19
CC 1
TC 20
PH 7.2 (i think. Im not ever good at judging the color of the ph test.)
TA 120
CH 120
CYA 21
What would you say the Ph is?
Needless to say, im in the process of letting my FC come down to the shock level for cya of 21. Also, yesterday i took another sample of water to a pool store the next town over and had them test it. They use a drop test that analyzes it with a computer and here were their results from yesterday.
FC 7.88
TC 7.88
CC 0
PH 7.8
TA 89
CH 122
CYA 21
A few things are different in my test and the pool stores, But there was about 24 hours between their test and mine. So i guess in a pinch I can feel a little better about going to them for a test since the only difference we really had was in TA.
But do you all have any advice for me to use? Any idea, based on what ive said, about how long it might take to start seeing a clearer pool? Im brushing it once a day and backwashing as needed. I backwashed before i started slamming and the water really didnt look too bad. I did it again about 2 days later and the water that time looked so dark and cruddy. So i guess im actually doing something right.
Thanks in advance for the advice that anyone is willing to give me!!!!
)