My pool looks like a swamp! New owner, 1st time opening, Help!

[Teerump]

In pool math enter 0 in the first box for FC and enter 2 for goal. Then add how much chlorine it says.

In the future don't add chlorine and MA at the same time. It probably p did not hurt anything, but space them 30 mins apart.

Thats what I did.. I added 50oz of 10% Chlorine. Got ya on the adding chlorine and MA apart.

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Scoop, scoop and scoop. If there is stuff down there it will consume your Chlorine in no time. Get as much out as you can.

For the acid, what did Pool Math tell you to add? Don't go dumping the whole thing when you add stuff, you need more precise amounts, especially with acid and CYA.

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What strength is the acid?

I'm scooping and scooping.. just cant see the bottom.. but still getting worms.. mostly all by the main drain.
Pool math said to add 66oz. of MA. Strength is 31.45%

When you say don't dump the whole amount.. do you mean measure out the whole amount and dump little bits at a time, or dump some and retest?

 

[Azgirl71]

Yes, add half re test then add the other half.

 

[rick6668]

Thats what I did.. I added 50oz of 10% Chlorine. Got ya on the adding chlorine and MA apart.

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I'm scooping and scooping.. just cant see the bottom.. but still getting worms.. mostly all by the main drain.
Pool math said to add 66oz. of MA. Strength is 31.45%

When you say don't dump the whole amount.. do you mean measure out the whole amount and dump little bits at a time, or dump some and retest?

No, I mean don't dump the whole bottle. Looks like you are OK.

Also, when adding acid, it's better to add less than you think you need (like half) and then retest. It's always easy to add more, but you can't take it out.
Sometimes we don't have the volume correct on the pool or might make some kind of other mistake.

With Chlorine it's usually OK to add what is needed all at once as this will go down quick enough especially when SLAMMING. (Not to say some here have added way too much chlorine)

Time enough has passed, run the pH test and see where you are.

 

[DontFillitin]

This one is going to be fun to watch! You are already so far ahead of others like dontfillitin. Poor thing did not find us until well into trying to turn his pool around. BUT he did find us and cleared his pool! Now he is helping others! What a wonderful world it is here at TFP!

-Keep scooping up as much stuff as you can. The more you can scoop up the more the FC can work on the algae instead of the worms. I can only imagine what kind of silt/gunk/yuck you will find down there!

-Let us know how far down you got the PH. Add a little at a time so you do not over do it.

Kim

Hey, I'm just here for moral support!

sent from the device my boss pays the bill for, so I should be working instead of posting here

 

[Teerump]

No, I mean don't dump the whole bottle. Looks like you are OK.

Also, when adding acid, it's better to add less than you think you need (like half) and then retest. It's always easy to add more, but you can't take it out.
Sometimes we don't have the volume correct on the pool or might make some kind of other mistake.

With Chlorine it's usually OK to add what is needed all at once as this will go down quick enough especially when SLAMMING. (Not to say some here have added way too much chlorine)

Time enough has passed, run the pH test and see where you are.

Just tested the PH... it's 7.4 Do I still want to lower it a little more to 7.2 then retest everything?

Going to bed, I'll check back in the morning. Thanks for everybody's help!

 

[rick6668]

put 107oz, of stabilizer in socks hanging over both jets and in skimmer, and 51oz. of Chlorine 10%.

Just tested the PH... it's 7.4 Do I still want to lower it a little more to 7.2 then retest everything?

Going to bed, I'll check back in the morning. Thanks for everybody's help!

Your pH of 7.4 is fine.

Based on your pool size, 107 oz of stabilizer should get you to CYA = 40, now that it's being added, just assume it is 40 and don't retest for that. It won't show up for about a week.

Now for your chlorine,you need to SLAM. Check Chlorine / CYA Chart for CYA of 40, you'll see that you have a shock level of 16.
I assume the chlorine you added yesterday has been consumed by now, but you can run a test to check.

Now using Pool Math, make sure you set your CYA Now and Target to 40, pH Now and Target to 7.4 and then your Now Chlorine to 0 (or whatever came back on your most recent test) and a target of 16.
Be sure to set your chlorine strength to 10% as this is what you bought.

See how much chlorine you need to add and then post it here before adding to check. We can then see that you are figuring our Pool Math and can help you if you get stuck.

You are doing great. Don't get overwhelmed. Nice job so far.

 

[Azgirl71]

Rick got you started this morning.

The only thing I am going to add is once you start SLAMming you want to test as often as you can. You will see in my SLAm process I tested every 2 hours in the beginning then started spacing it out a little once FC was holding better. You need to keep FC at or slightly above 16 at all times and run the filter 24/7.

You only have to test FC and CC during the SLAM

 

[Teerump]

Pool math says 409 oz. of chlorine. Do I pour it all in at once in front of the jets?

Also wanted to note... I'm adding water to the pool, it's low.

 

[Patrick_B]

Ok, just catching back up. So, if your doses have been coming out pretty good from pool math, go ahead and get the FC level back up with that dose. The most important thing during a SLAM is keeping up the FC. Don't let it fall below shock level any more than you can help. Very important...

 

[Teerump]

Ok, just catching back up. So, if your doses have been coming out pretty good from pool math, go ahead and get the FC level back up with that dose. The most important thing during a SLAM is keeping up the FC. Don't let it fall below shock level any more than you can help. Very important...

Ok, I've got all day to babysit this thing! From your experience, I've got a total 512oz. Of chlorine on hand, can you give me an idea roughly how much more I should go pick up?

 

[Patrick_B]

Yep, start by picking up another 10-15 jugs. Yes, I'm serious.

 

[rick6668]

Yep, start by picking up another 10-15 jugs. Yes, I'm serious.

If you can get stronger strength (10%, 12.5% even better) you will need less jugs.

There's no telling yet exactly how much, the more muck you can get out by hand, the less you will need.

Nice job on the Pool Math, 409oz was exactly what I calculated using the numbers you provided.

Patrick's post above :

The most important thing during a SLAM is keeping up the FC. Don't let it fall below shock level any more than you can help. Very important...

This is KEY. If you can dose and test every hour, you will make quicker progress.

Keep us posted.

 

[Teerump]

I'll see if I can find stronger strength, but I thought the 10% 4 Gals. for $6.99 was a pretty good deal. I'm heading out to pick up more Chlorine, a new pressure gauge. I'm gonna grab 16 jugs.

 

[rick6668]

I'll see if I can find stronger strength, but I thought the 10% 4 Gals. for $6.99 was a pretty good deal. I'm heading out to pick up more Chlorine, a new pressure gauge. I'm gonna grab 16 jugs.

Yes, if you can get 4 gallons of that for $6.99 that is a crazy good deal. That's strong enough.

 

[Patrick_B]

There are some farm supply chain stores in IN that carry jugs or Pails of 12.5%, but I'm sorry, I can't remember the names. That would be ideal if near you.

 

[Teerump]

There are some farm supply chain stores in IN that carry jugs or Pails of 12.5%, but I'm sorry, I can't remember the names. That would be ideal if near you.

I stopped by the pool store, picked up a new gauge and 4 Gals. of 12.5% chlorine. He said the stuff from Rural King at 10% is no good, probably more like 5-6%. I guess we'll see.

 

[Texas Splash]

Don't get discouraged. You're doing great and getting great advice from your TFP family. While it may seem inconvenient to rush-out and get jugs of bleach, that will all settle down once you're done SLAMming. Your diligent efforts WILL pay-off for you.

 

[rick6668]

Ok, great. Let's see your next test results, then you'll know how much chlorine you'll need to add.

 

[Teerump]

Ok, great. Let's see your next test results, then you'll know how much chlorine you'll need to add.

Just tested.. FC 2.6
CC 4

Pool math says 274oz. of 12.5

 

[rick6668]

Just tested.. FC 2.6
CC 4

Pool math says 274oz. of 12.5

Yup.

Go ahead and add it.

BTW, the High CC level might mean you have ammonia in your pool (it can be converted from CYA)
You may need more chlorine than we originally thought as will consume your chlorine very fast.

Add and let's test in an hour and see what we have. You are running your pump during all this correct?

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Also, it looks like for your FC/CC test you are using a 25ml sample. I'd go with 10ml and each drop will be .5, this will save you a lot of reagent and is plenty accurate.