Pond in my backyard

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BethLynne

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Apr 19, 2014
13
PA
Hello, all
We recently bought a foreclosure that included a lovely in-ground pool, probably 25000 gallons. The trouble is that after we opened it up(the cover had a bunch of holes) we found a horrible mess.
The water was brown/black. The filter and pump were nonfunctioning. The pipes were cracked, all baskets removed from equipment and the pump was seized.
The first day we used a leaf rake and got out as much junk as we could. This made the water even worse.
Now we have a brand new filter, new pump and 10 gallons of shock moving through pool.
The pool is a lovely green now.
I have back washed our de filter 4 times already today. The clean filter pressure says 20, so I have been back washing at 30. Is this too soon?
The returns seemed to be stopped each time it reached 30.
What do I do next? I keep using the leaf rake but this makes the filter pressure increase more quickly. Should I just let the filter run for a day without trying to clean the bottom and sides anymore?
I will purchase a test kit and let you know numbers shortly.
By the way, when cleaning up pond-like water, do you keep adding shock daily, weekly???
Please help.
Beth
 
Welcome to the forum. :lol:

Start with "The ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" up in Pool School. Then read "How to Shock Your Pool" up in Pool School. It'll answer several of your questions.
 
:wave: Welcome to TFP!!!

We recommend backwashing when the pressure rises 20-25% over the clean pressure, for you this sounds like it should be done at 25psi ... and be sure to add more DE everytime. If you can, recirculate function can be helpful to use until the algae is dead and then start to filter it out.

You need to keep scooping out that debris and be following the SLAM Process. We never recommend blindly adding chemicals. You should be testing to find your levels and then using PoolMath to calculate how much more to add to achieve a desired result.

I highly recommend you invest in the TF-100 test kit with XL option and SpeedStir from tftestkits.net ... You will not likely find one of the Recommended Test Kits locally.

Here are a few more articles of interest:
Defeating Algae
Turning Your Green Swamp Back into a Sparkling Oasis

And read Pool School if you have not started already.
 
Okay, here's some numbers. Got my test kit and did a few tests.

PH- 8.0+ The water was so dark pink, there is no reading on the tube for it.
FC- I did a sample of this. The water was dark red. I added 7 drops of the chemical to make it colorless and quit. I'm assuming that the reading is so strong because of the 10 gallons of shock that were added today.
CYA- 30+ Again, this reading was off the charts. I did my 7mL of water, added the chemical up to the 14 mL. Poured it into the test tube and I poured the entire 14 mL of water in the tube and could still see the black dot.

Stopped testing after these results.

For tonight, we are most concerned about letting the filter run and the pressure to get too high. Thoughts?

Here are two pics- the first one was taken the day we opened the pool, April 13th. The second pic is from today- filter and pump turned on, 10 gallons of shock and a bit of leaf-raking and brushing of sides completed.
 

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Yay! Pictures!! :bounce:

You're in the SLAM, so ignore everything but FC and CC for now. The CYA tube actually works backwards, so you're below 30 CYA. Which means a) the SLAM level isn't all that high and b) you'll lose a lot of chlorine to the sun.

The speed with which the FC dropped is not surprising, given the color of the pool. There's also a chance that you have whatever strange bacteria it is that converts CYA into Ammonia over the winter, which will require HUGE amounts of chlorine to eliminate.
 
Did you get the FAS-DPD chlorine test? You added powder and the water turned pink and then stated adding drops? Why stop at 7? That would only be a FC of 3.5 ... it may take 40+ drops to do the test correctly depending on you CYA and FC levels.
 
You really should use your leaf rake and get as much much off the bottom as you can. As disgusting as it is, it has to come outta there and the rake is about the only way to do it.
Friend of mine has good success with having a pool cleaning party each spring and several of us show up. Couple of pizzas, some preferred refreshments, an additional leaf rake....
quite fun actually!
 
jblizzle- I was afraid I would use up the whole bottle of R-0871 before it would go colorless. That's why I stopped.
I do have a FAS-DPD kit.

These tests are an absolute mystery to me. I don't understand them at all. I did just read the Pool Math and some other article on CYA and it's relation to FC. I think I will figure it out eventually.
Thanks for all your help so far everyone.
 

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like the others said, it will click before long. In the meantime, follow the test instructions, and trust these people. I promise you, they absolutely know what they are talking about.

BethLynne said:
jblizzle- I was afraid I would use up the whole bottle of R-0871 before it would go colorless. That's why I stopped.
I do have a FAS-DPD kit.

These tests are an absolute mystery to me. I don't understand them at all. I did just read the Pool Math and some other article on CYA and it's relation to FC. I think I will figure it out eventually.
Thanks for all your help so far everyone.
Click to expand...
 
I did some more tests today.
The PH still seems high- dark pink so there's not even a corresponding color, so I'm calling it 8.0+ still
The FC seems to be 29. Is this possible? I did a 10 mL sample, put in 2 scoops of R-0870, added R-0871 drops until it was colorless. I had to add 58 drops.
Proceeded to do CC and that is 2.
I can see the bottom of the shallow end now. Will post a pic a little later.

It seems as though I have to run an acid demand test to determine how much muriatic acid I need to lower my pH. Is this correct?
 
Don't test pH again until you Finish the SLAM. The test is not valid until your FC drops below 10 ppm.

An FC of 29 is quite possible. It sounds like you are not following the SLAM process.

What is your CYA?
 
Speaking of which, if your cya is lower than 30, you can let your fc drop more because fc 29 is too high for cya 30, even if you're slamming. It will come down pretty quickly with all that algae. If it's been that high since you started testing with your new kit then you haven't accurately known your ph to begin.

Knowing this, I'm wondering if the experts would say to let that fc drop below 10 to make sure ph is correct before continuing to slam or if it's ok to just keep on keepin on.

I'm sure someone with more experience than me will be here soon!
 
I have not done anything with the pool except clean it out. The company that came in and replaced the filter and the pump are the ones who added 10 gallons of shock.

What do I need to do now that they have added the chlorine and the water wasn't ready?
 

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