check my procedure please!

[i_hate_pools]

Hello. I am a newb to the forum and pools. Have a vinyl above ground with about 16600 gallons and accidently contaminated it when i tried to shortcut it and removed winter cover. This has a supposedly crappy nature2 provision chlorinator. I removed the minerals inside the canister and removed the tri tablets for now since its too expensive fr my taste and agree with tfp that chlorine should be enough. I realize i need to buy a decent test kit but all i have now is the aqua check strip.

The water is now green and i cleaned much of the leaves as i could and its running through filter now. The water was reasonably clear before i decided to dump winters leftovers in it. I tried vacuuming floor but some reason its discharging brown wherever i picked up gunk. Seems like filter should catch it. I feel like i need to slam it to get ahead of the issue i created. My strip tells me (hard to tell exactly)

Cya: 30-50
Ta: 180
Ph: i think 8ish
Fc: 0ish
Total chlorine/bromine (cc??):0ish
Hardness: 500

Im thinking after i clean my filter ill add 698oz of 6pct bleach to raise fc to 20 due to high cya of 50. Should i add muriatic acid as well to drop ta at same time? I am trying to study pool school but i feel like i need to take immediate action!

 

[Patrick_B]

Welcome to TFP! Good to have you aboard..

You do need to take some action it sounds like, but you really need good numbers to do that. One cornerstone of our philosophy is Testing your own water. To do that, you'll need to acquire a proper kit, because you can't rely on strips, nor do a SLAM without one. Great to see you checking out Pool School already because really, knowledge is the most important tool. There are a couple of links in my sig line where you can read about, and compare different kits we recommend. If you have questions about them, be sure to post back. We are glad to help. Enjoy your time on the forum.

 

[i_hate_pools]

Yes i will buy a kit because i cant read these dang strips. Should i just leave this alone until i get a good test in then? I am worried this issue could be worse waiting a few days when kit comes in Surely i can do something or its a waste of time and let algea grow lol

 

[duraleigh]

I tried vacuuming floor but some reason its discharging brown wherever i picked up gunk. Seems like filter should catch it.

Probably because you have loaded up your filter and it can't take anymore. I suggest you clean it.

I would wait for the kit. Meanwhile, you are safe to put a jug of Clorox in your pool each evening until your kit gets in and you can post meaningful numbers.

Why do you hate pools? Most everybody on here loves theirs.

 

[Patrick_B]

Yea, they are a problem because they are trying to make something TOO easy. Testing really isn't but you just can't get good numbers on something THAT easy. It's one of those too good to be true scenarios. I hate telling you to do nothing, but more I hate telling you to do something that may damage your pool/equipment. Pool Math at the top of the forum pages can help you with adding chemicals for your pool. The doses are very precise provided you have all the proper data entered. At minimum, I would tell you to add no more than 5PPM Free Chlorine based on pool math until you can test, and get some good numbers to work with.

 

[i_hate_pools]

Thanks for chiming in all. My username is just a bit of humour/satire because i really didnt want a pool as it came with the house i recently bought and it will rarely get used i am thinking. Just seems like a lot of trouble but same time its an unknown to me right now. I am cleaning the filter and it got loaded up bad it looks. I tried to scoop the floor best i could but still alot of fine small debris. Ill add some chlorine later after i try to sweep some more.

 

[i_hate_pools]

 

[i_hate_pools]

making progress just by cleaning and filtering the last 2 days. Added a couple jugs of clorox last night

 

[Azgirl71]

Making great progress!

 

[i_hate_pools]

this cheap $5 nozzle i got at menards made a big difference with cleaning the cartridge filter. It has small holes under the teeth which sprays high velocity deep in between the filter pleats. Still takes some time but is thorough.

 

[kris77]

Looks like you're on the right track. I've never seen somebody SLAM without a kit before.....This should be interesting. I'd keep dumping bleach in every night till you get your kit. You might actually clear it up alot without a kit...lol

 

[XprtCombatNinja]

this cheap $5 nozzle i got at menards made a big difference with cleaning the cartridge filter. It has small holes under the teeth which sprays high velocity deep in between the filter pleats. Still takes some time but is thorough.

Can you reply with a link to where you found this? This looks like something I could use!

 

[i_hate_pools]

http://www.menards.com/main/mobile/health-wellness/pools-spas-saunas-tanning-beds/pools-accessories/hand-held-cartridge-filter-cleaner/p-2310624-c-10137.htm i bought it at menards...

 

[i_hate_pools]

My freakin tf100 is supposed to be here tomorrow....hopefully i can speed up this cleanup. Im still making progress as i can see the bottom now.

 

[i_hate_pools]

Still making progress slowly but surely. I can officially see the bottom and tell i missed some debris off from a distance. Cant wait to sweep that **** outta there some more. Just goes to show i spent hours sweeping blindly theres still stuff lingering down there.