HALP! Poolsitting and Husband is a doofus!

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Yeah I just read about the algaecide on that link posted. So I should get it up to that high then? Ok. I have 3 more gallons of bleach I can dump in. Is it safe to go swimming in that? Cause I can do cannonballs all day long to try to get it mixed up too.
 
sparklepants said:
Yeah I just read about the algaecide on that link posted. So I should get it up to that high then? Ok. I have 3 more gallons of bleach I can dump in. Is it safe to go swimming in that? Cause I can do cannonballs all day long to try to get it mixed up too.
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Most people advise against swimming in algae - not sure how much risk there is.
 
LOL surprisingly it's pretty clear right now, except at the deeper end it gets a little murky, which is why initially i thought it was Cu (because it was surprisingly clear). I can't even tell you, I had nightmares about this pool last night. Meanwhile husband is herping and derping like it ain't no thang.
 
I realize that, but it's a given risk in a lake. I grew up with my back door facing just a few yards from our dock on the lake. In my experience people tend to take lake risks a little more seriously than pool risks.
 
Two reasons to consider...but it is up to you:

1. At the beginning of the shock process, having low levels of chlorine (before the shocking process) means there could be bacteria and viruses, etc. in the pool. These should go away fairly soon after raising the FC level to the shock level.

2. If the water is not clear, swimmers can not be observed properly.

Our recommendation for swimming: up to your FC shock level, able to see the pool bottom.
 
Ah yes, thank you. It would only be me in the pool, we dont have children running around. Im the only one i'd be putting at risk. I just added the rest of the bleach. Gonna stir it up for a while and then I guess I have to find a test kit that will read FC at higher levels, mine only goes up to 6. Do you have a suggestion for a test kit i can buy?
 
see the link in my signature for the kits we recommend. Very rare to find them locally, but there is a chance. Make sure you ask fire the FAS-DPD test ... NOT the same as the DPD test.

Posted from my Droid with Tapatalk ... sorry if my response is short ;)
 

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sparklepants said:
Ah yes, thank you. It would only be me in the pool, we dont have children running around. Im the only one i'd be putting at risk. I just added the rest of the bleach. Gonna stir it up for a while and then I guess I have to find a test kit that will read FC at higher levels, mine only goes up to 6. Do you have a suggestion for a test kit i can buy?
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Is someone else going to watch over you? I personally will not swim without another adult or at least a compentent kid who can be counted on to call for help.

As for testing. You need the FAS-DPD test. The basic kits recommended are here: pool-school/pool_test_kit_comparison

The FAS-DPD test can be purchased by itself: http://tftestkits.net/FAS-DPD-Chlorine- ... t-p47.html This can be combined with the Walmart 6 way kit to make a reasonable kit if desired.
 
You can dilute the sample water with distilled water at 2:1 or 3:1 to get a basic idea of CL levels. This isn't great but you can get started while waiting for something more accurate.
 
sparklepants said:
Conclusion: Local pool supply stores know next to nothing about anything. Oh my god. They are acting like im the idiot.
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:hammer: Yes they do.

You should try to get the FAS-DPD mail order (web) it's $26 plus shipping. The other tests are things you can ignore for right now since you are not the owner maintainer of the pool.

You can use the OTO test block for now with dilution or by color to see when you are above 10ppm and below 20ppm. The more accurate test helps keep things going more quickly... but you can get close without it for now.
 
That's a DE filter. It should have a bump handle on top. I can't tell what size it is from the pic but it looks like a EC 40 or 50.

You'll need to backwash and add some DE back to it once you get the pump going. You need to know what size it is in order to know how much DE to add.
 
Ok. It does have a handle on the top. I'll have to read up on exactly how to deal with it, backwash and everything. I can't wait till Thursday. Ugh, I was really looking forward to having a pool to swim in for two weeks and now it's just a big green mess :(

P.s-- he did that on the first day we were here
 
Just for some peace of mind ... it is highly unlikely that the extra water was the entire reason the pool turned green. Likely the chemistry was off before you got there and leaving the water on was enough to trigger the outbreak, but not the root cause. {I have left my water running for hours longer than I should have just like he did and my pool did not turn green} After all, the pump is not even working ... so that certainly contributed.

What kind of instruction did they give you for maintaining the chemical levels?

Sorry you are going to have to fight this pool instead of enjoying it.
 
I certainly hope thats the case, but given how meticulous they are about things I don't know >_<

Here are the exact instructions:

Primary Challenges:
1.) Keep water level up to prevent sucking air into outflow at the skimmer (and burning out the pump motor) [Risk = $8,000]
2.) Keep chlorine measurement above 2.0 (or algae will grow) and below 6.0 (or swimming will burn your eyes)
3.) Keep pH above 7.2 and below 7.5 (so chlorine will prevent algae growth and eyes will be more comfortable swimming)
4.) Keep leaves from accumulating on the bottom (fostors algae growth and stains pool vinyl)

Related Challenges:
Maintaining Water Level
- During normal 8 hour pump ron (on timer 8:20 am - 8 pm) the pool will lose 160 to 200 gallons of water through pump driven leakage. This loss needs to be replaced by running in softened and filtered water from our domestic supply. This requires running water from the garden hose for between 20and 30 minutes at a stint (adding 160 to 220 gallons respectively). THIS ALSO REQUIRES A CAREFUL EYE ON THE RESIDUAL CAPACITY OF THE DOMESTIC SUPPLY. (monitored on the dial on top of the water softener in the laundry). The cycle for regenerating is set to recycle overnight when the capacity is below 300 . If the supply of softened water is depleted (Capacity = 0) then the entire system will be filled with high iron content water which will taste bad, clog the faucets, stain the toilet bowls and any laundry and glassware washed during that condition. Therefore: if Soft water capacity reading is as low as 200 at the end of the day -- limit water inflow to the pool to 15 mins.

-On the other hand if the capacity reading is in the 300 to 400 range and you anticipate you will need to add water on the next day -- you will need the system to recycle that night -- so add 20 mins of flow to ensure that the system will cycle and renew the supply. After a night of recycling the capacity will read 750 gallons.

Remember the recycling occurs automatically between 2 am and 5 am. During the recycle any water used will be un-softened and will stain everything as noted above. This is why we never flush the toilets between 2 am and 5 am unless we know the recycle will not be active that night.

Maintaing Chlorine level:
Chlorination is run by water flow through the chlorinator. Fully loaded with pucks it should be stable at the setting currently on the dial (on the wall side of the unit).
If the measurement falls to 2.0 turn the dial up by 1/2 unit. If it rises to 5.0 turn it down by 1/2 unit.

pH tends to fall when domestic or rain water is added. The remedy is adding 1/2 cup to 2 cups of Soda ash depending on the instructions in the pool testing kit.
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I tested the water when we got here at around 330 pm on Sunday. I don't remember exactly what the readings were but everything fell in the normal range. Then the hose running, then this. There were a bit of leaves on the bottom of the pool due to the pump being broken. I'm pretty sure they had left that previous Thursday
 

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