Swamp to Swimming Pool

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S

swayne

0
Apr 8, 2015
35
north west, tennessee
Hi all & nice to meet you!

So I bought a home this past November with a neglected pool. The pool is black and was left uncovered until i moved in. The neighbors think the pool was not used in a year. The house we did have had a 24' 52" OG round that i never had any trouble with. I always used the little test kit from Walmart and it suited me fine and i always had crystal clear water. I'm guessing I was luck those 4 years.

I uncover this pool on 4/5/15 and it is covered with Green foliage floating on the top. The water is black. The water line is just above the first step, and i can barely make out the 2nd step. I started with a leaf rake and got 3 wheel barrels of "gunk" our Sunday, 2 Tuesday, and 1 yesterday. I am only peeling the cover back about half way and scooping from there. I have not touched the deep end. I still have a way to go. My plans are to get it dipped and fired up this weekend to begin the SLAM process.

Is my test kit okay for this? I bought the kit before I found the forums or i would have bought a recommended one.
I checked the PH and it seemed very low. It was yellowish and did not compare to any of the shades of red on my kit. Could water color affect this?

I will try to upload pics of progress.

Any and all advice is appreciated!

Best Regards,
Stephen
 
Welcome to TFP!

You will need one of the Recommended Test Kits. These kits contain the important FAS-DPD chlorine test that will be needed to measure your chlorine levels for the SLAM Process. Virtually all store-bought kits will not be able to measure the higher chlorine levels needed for the SLAM Process. Ordering one of these kits today is by far the best way to get a good start towards a sparkling pool. Without a good test kit, you will waste time and $ on chemicals. You can view and purchase one of these kits here: http://tftestkits.net/splash-page.html. When you get the kit, run the full suite of tests and post the results here.

In the meantime, continue what you have been doing by clearing out as much of the debris as you can. This will make the SLAM Process process go more quickly.
 
:wave: Welcome to TFP!!!

Unfortunately, the test kit you bought only has 3 of the 6 parameters you need to test for ... and one of them, chlorine, is also just not good enough. I recommend the TF-100 as the best value.
 
It is best to take samples from 8" to 14" below the surface. You also want the pump running for at least half an hour before taking a sample for testing.

The tint in the water won't be an issue.

If there is any solid debris in the pool, you want to get as much of it out as possible before starting the SLAM process. That often means working blind with a leaf rake and just doing the best you can.
 
I never would have let the pump run. Thanks!

I got another two wheel barrels out today. Won't get anymore tomorrow but I plan to hit it hard Saturday. That is when I will install the alarm and remove the cover completely. I also plan on changing the sand out.


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Just a thought, but you can get one of those cheap vacuum brush heads that attach to a hose. They have a bag to catch debris. This would allow you to work getting the sludge out (once your done with the bulk using a rake/shovel) without sending through your plumbing system. It also begins infusing fresh clean water. I did this last summer after my install and concrete pour around the pool. It had a ton of fine rocks, grit, concrete, etc. it actually worked great for getting the debris out then the pump and filter cleared the water. I got mine at Walmart for not much. The pros here can weigh in on whether hose vac is a good idea or not, but it worked great for me (but it was before I found this site and just cared about getting it clean).
 
Thanks AC! I did think about doing this, but all the reviews on Amazon were pretty mixed on them. My original plan was just to cut off the bottom drain and filter that way for awhile. Since the leaf vacs are only around $30 I might go ahead and pick one up.


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Yeah they are not a top quality piece of equipment and it stirs up the water, but strictly for actual debris/material to suck up you don't want in the lines it did really well. I haven't use it since, but worth the nominal fee for the time savings of swimming/diving after all that fine debris.
 

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Holy ****......the duck weed is nice lol.

Would just replacing the liner be a better option at this point, or will all the staining come off? If you replace the liner then that gunk is the PB's problem lol!!
 

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