Most of my readings are zero for new pool

[mjrocks]

have a 5,100 gallon above ground pool that has been up for 2 weeks. I have not done anything to the pool or added chemicals. My readings are

Free chlorine 0.0
Comined chlorine 0.0
Bromine test 0.0
PH test 8.2
Acid demand: 1/2 cup muriatic acid
Alkalinity: no reading?


So my chorine should be 0.0 I assume since I have not added any. The PH is way high. The kit is not designed to give values for he last 2 results (acid demand and alkaline) and I was not aware of this before I purchased. This is a cheaper kit and will be getting the one recommend in the sticky. For now, it was this or nothing. The alkalinity instructions state to add drops until color change is stabilized. Using the chart, find how much sodium bicarbonate to add based on the drops. The color never changes so that puts me a zero drops, so no sodium bicarbonate is needed?

I looked at chemical kits and starter kits but decided to wait for the test kit to determine what I needed. I also decided on bleach instead of shock. How much bleach do I add at this point? I am thinking around 2 1/2 to 3 cups? I need help to bring my PH down and any other chemicals I need to add to bring my values in order. I know there is also something I need to add to help stabilize the bleach but not sure what that was.

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!!!

Wow, 2 weeks and you have done nothing? That is not good and likely will have made your life more difficult.

You need to add 2ppm of FC to the pool ASAP and then keep it there daily.
You need to add 30ppm of stabilizer to the pool and get that dissolving in a sock.
You need to start raising your FC level as the CYA dissolves (see the FC/CYA Chart)
You need to lower the pH into the 7s
Your TA test is not working right as it could not be 0 with a high pH.

Use PoolMath to calculation the additions.

Likely you will have to follow the ShockLevelAndMAINTAIN Process since you ignored the pool for so long.

Have you discovered Pool School yet? Start with these:
ABCs of Water Chemistry
Recommended Pool Chemicals
How to Chlorinate Your Pool

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome mjrocks! Here are some starters:
- The links below in my sig will be great references for you; refer to them frequently
- Until your recommended kit gets here, start adding some stabilizer to you pool via the sock method.
- Until you get adequate CYA readings from your stabilizer (may take a week or so), just add enough bleach per Poolmath calculator to get you up to about 2ppm
- Speaking of the Poolmath calculator, you can use that to help show you how much of each product is required to adjust PH/TA, etc.

If someone hasn't already replied, you'll receive much more advice and support. Welcome!

 

[mjrocks]

2 weeks is fast for they way I move. LOL

What is CYA?
Is muriatic acid the best way to lower PH?
Should I do all steps and retest or should retest after changing PH or FC or does it matter?
I have acid and bleach but would have order the stabilizer. We don't have a pool store in our area.
I will check out the SLAMP link you gave. Thanks for the information.

- - - Updated - - -

Yes thank you . I knew this was the place to come. I have been checking out your site now for a week and looking around. still trying to adjust to the learning curve.

 

[jblizzle]

The 1st two questions are answered in the links provided.

You can test the FC and pH 30 minutes after you have made the adjustment.
The CYA may take up to a week to show up on the test after it is dissolved.

You are going to lose all your FC in a couple hours of sun until you get some stabilizer in the water. So you need to bump up to 2ppm every few hours.

BTW, what does the water look like?

Please add your location (City, State or City, Country) to your profile and pool details to your signature as described HERE as it will help us help you.

 

[BoDarville]

What is CYA

CYA stands for cyanuric acid and is sometimes referred to as stabilizer or conditioner. It protects FC from sunlight and lowers the effective strength of the FC (by holding some of the FC in reserve). The higher your CYA level, the more FC you need to use to get the same effect. See [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]

Is muriatic acid the best way to lower PH?

Yes.

 

[mjrocks]

I will try to get the stabilizer here by Monday. I have prime.

The water looks clear. There is debris floating in the pool from a storm that had wind.

I forgot to add that it was filled with water from a well. I suspect that we have hard water.

I will update my location to Dover NH.

 

[pooldv]

Please add your pool info to your signature as shown here, Pool School - Read This BEFORE You Post

I buy my CYA at Lowes near the garden section if you have one around.

 

[mjrocks]

Thank for everyone's help.

I check Lowes and they don't carry any pool supplies. They do on line but not available at my local store. I did find a pool contractor that gave me some shock, PH down and stabilizer. Figured it was free so why not try it and then move over to something different for maintenance.

So I shocked the pool, added stabilizer and PH down. Pool turned green in 30 mins. The ph is now 7.2, pool temp is 70, and the Chlorine was 1.5-2.0 the next day. I shocked the pool again and Chlorine is 2.5 after 2 hours. I was ready to treat with metal out after suspecting that my well water has a high concentration of metal and that is why I was seeing a green pool. however, I noticed that when I took a sample for pool water the sample was clear and not green. I suspect that something is on the sides and bottom of the pool? I did not think I had agley since the pool water was crystal clear before I started. As a reminder, the 5,100 gallon pool was filled and sat for 2 weeks before adding anything. I am almost considering emptying the pool and starting again since it is only 5k gallons and it looks like the well water is not causing the green? Any ideas? I have more shock, stabilizer, bleach, mettle out, and clarifier.

 

[jblizzle]

What kind of "shock" are you adding? How much? Are you tracking the effects with PoolMath?
How much stabilizer did you add? What level were you targeting?

We do not "shock" pools like this ... we have no idea what you are doing when you say that you "shocked the pool".

 

[mjrocks]

I know you don't shock pools like this. I put the disclaimer that this is commercial stuff provided free and I would convert my process after getting things in line.

the line is from proteam. Multi magic shock. added 1/2 pound as per directions. did it again the day after. I don't think the dosing is going to help you guys that is why I posted what happened to my chlorine and PH since that is what I was changing. The level I am targeting? a pool that is not green. If I knew any more then that I would not be asking what to do.

do I seem frustrated? well I am. I look on this forum for 4 hours before my first post. It has been many days and many $ spent on this pool for my daughter when we already live on the lake. Not to mention the 11k pounds of fill shoveled by hand. This is just a time consuming process for someone that takes care of 2 kids by them self, works full time and goes to school full time. IF anyone has any ideas on if this will clear up or the next steps let me know. sure my daughter will be happy. I am not willing to put much more work into this. Simply don't have the time.

 

[jblizzle]

Did you read the link about the SLAM process? That explains the level of FC you should be targeting and maintaining. Blindly adding a 1/2 pound here and 1/2 pound there is just going to result in more frustration.

Now that I know the "shock" product and how much you have added, I can look up that it is Dichlor and thus adding CYA to your pool. Using PoolMath, I know that 1 pound into a 5100 gallon pool added 13ppm of FC and 12ppm of CYA.

Did you also add stabilizer separately?

What test kit are you using?

Honestly, the quickest path forward would be to drain, clean and then follow the Temporary/Seasonal Pool Guide

Sorry, but pools take time ... especially when you do not maintain them properly and ignore them for 2 weeks. Once you learn how to do it properly, and have a clean pool, it take only a few minutes a day.

 

[Scuba_Steve]

I don't mean this as insulting so don't take offense.

If I gave you a bucket of nails to add to your pool for free, would you add them? Same goes for the shock.

CYA can also be bought at walmart, but you already have some on the way. Just for future reference.

We really need to know how much you added already though. Worst comes to worst, you don't know and can just test it to figure out where your at.

Unfortunately, you do have some work ahead of you. It shouldn't be that tough though as long as you stick to it. You will need to SLAM your pool to get it into line after you get your test kit. 2 weeks without chemicals allowed your pool to become a breeding ground for all kinds of bad stuff.

 

[mjrocks]

I am not home now but wanted to thank both for your input. I will go over the the links when you get home and get back to your questions. I might just drain it and go from there since I slacked off, but I will figure that our after I do some reading.

 

[Scuba_Steve]

When you say you will do some reading, I urge you to start with the links provided in the second post of this thread. If you start over and have those articles fully understood you will be golden and have very little work in the future.

 

[mjrocks]

Yep, I will do some reading tomorrow on the links everyone gave. Got home a decided to backwash the filter. Well, I really cant back wash it but rinse it off. Filter is all brown after 4 days of running. so not sure if that is algae or the mettles in the water that are coming out.

 

[mjrocks]

So I decided to drain the pool and refill it. This time I ran it through a whole house 5 micron filter to get the mettles and minerals out of the well water. I wanted to eliminate the impurities of the water to make life easier. It ends up being easier, cheaper and less hassle. 2 filters cost $11 and the housing, if you don't have one, cost $20.