I hate my pool...

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J

joby

0
May 27, 2014
17
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Moved to a house with a pool last Sept. Became skeptical of pool store when they sold me chemicals for murky pool and got NOWHERE. Hired another pool company to help service murky pool. Partial drain, shock and phos lo took care of problem and they also closed pool. After reviewing this website, now realize pool probably not in good shape at pool closing.
Opened pool 5/14 weeks ago, rain and work, did not treat right away. Took sample to pool store that sells BioGuard products.
5/22
FC 0.3
Total C 2
pH 7.4
TA 195
Total hardness 265
CYA 0
Green Algae yes

Sold ($177) 2 qt scale inhibitor, 12 1lb bags of burnout 35, 32oz Banish
Brushed pool x3. Backwashed filter x 2 but pressure gauge has never moved, tried to vacuum to waste but unable to see bottom of pool. I did initially overfill pool to top of skimmer prior to opening (person who opened pool did not mention this mistake)
1st day after above product noticed no change, ? filter working
2nd day no change, pool store closed for 2 day r/t holiday
3rd day n change, found this web site and started to learn concepts
Have added about 3 gallons 8-10% bleach x 4 nights

TF 100 test kit on way, should be here by Jun 3 at latest

Haven't added bleach in am r/t pool cover needing to be off (no fence at our house) and CYA 0 although I ? this..

Took sample to pool store tonight 5/28
FC 0.6
Total C 5.8
pH 7.0
TA 188
Total hardness 235
CYA 0
Green Algae no

She ran a chlorine demand test and called later and told me the pool had was in high chlorine demand. I asked for a number or ratio (haven't read about this) and she said there wasn't one. When asked how much 10% chlorine I would need she said around 90-95 gallons. She would not recommend all liquid chlroine and would do a mixture etc....


Will have sand in filter changed tomorrow. Last done in 2009. Hopefully will check pump.

Questions:
Do I need to keep auto pool cover open for 8 hours after slamming or adding bleach to pool?
Should I partial drain and refill, if so how much?
How much to maintain with bleach until I get my test kit?

Thanks,
I hate my pool....
 
Welcomed to TFP!

Don't do anything that the pool store recommended. Wait for your test kit and get some real numbers. Spend the next few days reading Pool School and learning.

And there is hardly ever a reason to change the sand. I would cancel that if you can and spend the money on bleach.
 
Hi, welcome to TFP! I doubt that you need to change your sand. Very seldom will we recommend that. Sand is millions of years old, it does not "wear out". It needs to be deep cleaned to flush out any trapped debris that backwashing missed, and to break up any clumps and prevent channeling.

Currently you have no CYA in your pool. CYA when kept in the 30-50ppm range protects the chlorine from the sun's UV rays. UV will break down unprotected chlorine very quickly, thus there is insufficient chlorine left to sanitize the pool. You can use PoolMath to determine how much CYA you will need to reach 30ppm.

Keep your cover open so the UV can work on the combined chloramines that are produced when the chlorine is oxidizing debris. You do not need to drain and refill at this time. Add 1 jug of bleach each day until you have your test kit.

Also while you are waiting for your test kits read through Pool School , especially ABCs of pool water chemistry .

Be sure and ask any questions that may pop up. We want you to love your pool!
 
It made me sad to read the title of this thread! :-( It seems that following pool store advice almost always leads to people hating their pools!

Welcome to TFP! When your test kit arrives you're going to find out how simple this all can be and soon you will be loving your pool! (you may really hate the pool store as a side effect of this!)

It may seem unlikely that you could ever love your pool with all the trouble it is making for you now but it really can be done and we can help and...best of all...no crazy expensive chemicals being sold to you by someone who's making a living off what you buy... :)

I'm glad you found us!
 
Thanks to everyone who replied! I'm just waiting for my TF 100. Until then, could someone please inform me about the pool cover? The pool store said to keep the cover off after shocking the pool for 8 hours? Why is this? I had the sand changed (too late, and I know there are two schools of thought on this) and the pump checked and those are good to go. My heater isn't because of mice and I will cross that bridge later. Until then just waiting. I've only added a gallon of bleach. Again not sure adding anything at this point will make a difference and will keep the pool brushed. If the CYA is zero and your pool is cloudy, is it best to keep the cover off or on (until you get your numbers right)?
Thanks again, everyone!
 
Common green algae likes sunlight. It's the chlorophyll that makes it green. So if you're murky but not green, keeping it covered would make sense. But the way you describe it... I think it's more a matter of preference at this point. If you don't feel like wrestling with it, leave it off.

You want sunlight to burn off the CCs, which is probably why the pool store said to leave it off. Otherwise, you'll get a lungful of that overused public pool chlorine smell when you open it.

When you're in the final phase of the SLAM, you might want to see if you can shove the cover underwater to soak a bit and kill any residual algae spores off it. Or lay it out somewhere and scrub it with bleach water. Something to be sure you don't reintroduce any.

And a final comment regarding the thread title... 20,000 gallons is about 100 cubic yards. Filling the hole in will cost you about four grand in topsoil. It's cheaper to keep it.
 
If you do the required reading here in Pool School, YOU my friend, will love your pool! You'll start by loving that new test kit of yours! :cool:
 

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TF 100 arrived !!! Not near as complicated to do the testing as I thought it would be. I completed most of the tests at least 2x and would recommend this to newbies like me..I did get significantly different results. Important to note for the chlorine drop test - not to count the water turning BACK to pink, once cleared after adding the R-0871. You really need to watch this. Mine turned clear after one drop and quickly turned pink again..found this out repeating test several times.

FC 0.5
CC 2.5
pH 7.2
TA 230
CH 300
CYA <20 (could see the black dot easily x 2 tests)

These are the chemicals I have on hand. Do not have to use but if I can use them up great...
Bioguard Maintain 3" silk tabs, trichlor 94%
Bioguard Maintain Smart Shock 25 lbs, Sodium dichloro 63%
Ca hypochloro 50%, 4 -1lb bags
Bioguard Lo'N slo, 5 - 8lb containers, (93% sodium bisulfate)

I will use either 8 or 10 % bleach

The pressure gauge on my sand filter was replaced when the sand was replaced and hasn't budged. I have not back-washed yet.
I hope I don't have to drain but please let me know asap if needed. Will do this if will correct my numbers faster.
Does SLAMMING usually start when your pool is in shade t/o the night? I'm not off of work until Saturday, but will get up through the night if needed. Could start slamming at 5pm, or do I need to get TA down 1st?
THANK YOU!
Love this web site and the TRUSTED support!
 
And once you've put that CYA into the sock (don't forget if you squoosh it every day a few times it does seem to speed up the dissolving faster) you can get started on the SLAM process. You're going to add enough chlorine required of your presumed CYA level (even though it won't register on your tester for about a week, you just have to go on faith that "its in there!"). Then after that first dose, the more frequently you can re-test and re-dose with chlorine to bring it back up to that SLAM level, the faster the process will go. The important part is to keep it at the desired dose, never wanting it to drop below. This keeps the algae-killing going on. If you go too long between re-tests and re-dosing it back up to your desired level, you're giving the algae a chance to multiply and grow back. NOT what you want, capisce? So start your SLAM process and re-test absolutely as often as you can at first. Use PoolMath to dictate how much additional bleach is needed to return your level to the SLAM level you want. The drop in chlorine will show you its working against the algae, and the speed at which it drops will slow down as more and more algae die. Brush often and backwash if needed.
Everyone here wants you to love your pool as much as we love ours!!
 
Left pool open with fountain on t/o day yesterday. Seemed to clear up a little for the first time, no chems added during the day.
Last eve I started to shock pool with dichlor 64% to help increase my CYA and use the rest of the product I have on hand
I used pool math to adjust the dose of dichlor (pool math assumes 99% dichlor) and calculated that I needed to shock with 64 oz. to get to FC10
Shocked hourly with dichlor 64% x 3: 96oz (I don't know why I did extra), then 64oz , then 64 oz. , could not get FC above 1.5
prior to shocking:
FC 0.5
pH 7.2
TA 230
CH 300
CYA <20


This am
FC 1
CC 2
pH 6.8
TA 180
CH 300
CYA <20 (but I can barely see dot at 20)
My filter pressure bumped up 3 psi so I backwashed this am
I have to go to work and have 24 gallons of 10% bleach available. My husband is home. He will not test and he is colorblind.
We have the fountain running (left pool open last noc)which is a four spouted stream into the pool. I did ask husband to make an aerator
Pool math calculates I should add about 2 gallons of 10% bleach to get FC to 10.
Should I consider drain (I think I am in a chlrorine demand state as the pool store said) or should I have him start shocking with 2 gallons every hour for 8 hours till I can get home to test? Should I try to get my PH back up 1st? Ugh! cloudy and may rain!!
 

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