Having issues getting pool clear

[Josh_Leatha]

Ok so by this evening my water level should be back up to turn the pump and filter back on..... I dragged the bottom around and as far as I could reach towards the middle and now hardly getting any chunky debris but the water def gets darker from the dirt that gets stirred up. I then took the brush and brushed along the edges and as far out to the middle as I could reach to try and loosing up anything that is still on the bottom.
I've added all 10 gal of bleach now, last was added around 530 am. I thought I'd try and learn this whole water testing thing and not sure if I did it right.....
FC=was really orange, not any type of yellow
PH= was pinkish and looked to be about 7.5
TA= took 30 drops to change from green to red (300?)
CH= took 35 drops to change form red to blue (350?)
CYA= said to look down into tube and add the mixture until I couldnt see the black dot, but it was filled and never got cloudy......

I did pick up a few more gal of bleach in case it needs more and also pick up some borax and baking soda cause from what I've read that members have suggested that would be the BBB way......... but the color has def changed from the nasty green with chunks of algae floating to a cloudy blueish/clear...... can almost see the bottom if I place the net now there you can see the blue net but it's still really cloudy but once the water level is up to start circulating

L

 

[Josh_Leatha]

this is how it started out yesterday




what it's looking like now..... not sure what the white clumpy stuff is that appeared... the are some small particles of algae starting to surface also.....

 

[jblizzle]

That is quite a transformation in one day. Keep it up.

Sounds like your CYA level is very low, I would suggest adding about 20-30ppm of CYA and that will better protect our FC from the sun.

Which test kit do you have? I am guessing not one of the recommended ones since you used the OTO chlorine test and not the FAS-DPD chlorine test.

 

[Richard320]

You'll see all kinds of weirdness bubbling to the surface. Keep going

 

[Josh_Leatha]

I ordered the TF-100 test kit but that was just Thursday evening so last night I went and picked up one from walmart, HTC brand until the other one gets here

the adding 20-30ppm.... what am I adding?

L

 

[Richard320]

I ordered the TF-100 test kit but that was just Thursday evening so last night I went and picked up one from walmart, HTC brand until the other one gets here

the adding 20-30ppm.... what am I adding?

L

Stabilizer aka CYA. It's like sunscreen for the chlorine. http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/139-recommended-pool-chemicals

 

[Josh_Leatha]

So cyanuric acid?

 

[duraleigh]

So cyanuric acid?

That's correct.

 

[Josh_Leatha]

That's correct.

and how do I know how much to add?

water level has reached where it needs to be so just started the pump to get movement going again. tomorrow I'll go buy more cyanuric acid

 

[JVTrain]

Click the PoolMath link up top on the page. Put in your pool volume at the top and familiarize yourself with it. It's your best friend for managing pool chemistry (besides the wonderful folks here).

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[Josh_Leatha]

Ok so I got a new water pressure gauge and the water level is up so started the pump..... should the gauge be reading something or still be sitting at zero?

 

[Divin Dave]

Hi Josh,
Man, you have your work cut out for ya. It will take some time to clean teh swamp but can be done. Lots of success stories here a TFP of pools just like yours, or worse.

You have already proven you are serious about taking control of your pool by ordering an awesome test kit.
The next step is that you read pool school and get an understanding of how the water balance thing works. It will sure save you a lot of grief and confusion if you do that.
http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/

We are all here to help you whenever you have questions and need help.
I cant wait to see yet another Green to Clean success story and some cool pics of your clear, sparkly and troublefree pool!

 

[Richard320]

Ok so I got a new water pressure gauge and the water level is up so started the pump..... should the gauge be reading something or still be sitting at zero?

If you see water moving in the skimmers and the returns, the gauge should move some. Low speed could be really low pressure, but on high speed you should see something noticeable.

 

[Josh_Leatha]

If you see water moving in the skimmers and the returns, the gauge should move some. Low speed could be really low pressure, but on high speed you should see something noticeable.

There is good flow into the skimmer and the jet blowing out seems to have good pressure too..... I have the speed on high...... but the gauge is doing nothing

maybe I didnt need a new one or I bought one that doesnt work.......

I'm going to let it circulate tonight and in the morning I'll add more water and vacuum to waste seeing what I can get off the floor and hope it starts to clear up so I can see the bottom

Thank you all for your help on showing/telling me what my next step is.....

L

 

[Josh_Leatha]

ok so this morning I started the water again to get it little high so that I can vacuum

I used the cheaper test kit again this morning so not sure how accurate it is but here is what I got from yesterday

FC= 5-10 { bright yellow, not orange today }
PH= 7.5 { no change }
TA= 300 no change
CH= 350 no change
CYA= no change

Do I continue to keep adding bleach?
And vacuum to waste......empty baskets.......
Then backwash.......
Then rinse.......
and back to filter

OK another thing..... when I empty the basket in the skimmer no big deal..... but when I empty the basket in the pump I turn the filter to close, but there isnt a way to close off the water from the skimmer to the pump so when I open it up water just flows out while I'm clean out that basket...... is there something I need or what should I be doing?

 

[duraleigh]

but there isnt a way to close off the water from the skimmer to the pump so when I open it up water just flows out while I'm clean out that basket...... is there something I need or what should I be doing?

Unless you install a check valve in that line, there is little you can do. I would not worry much about it if your pump re-primes within a minute or so of starting it back up.

 

[jblizzle]

So have you added CYA? Also why not just vacuum to filter and then backwash? Lose less water that way.

 

[Josh_Leatha]

Unless you install a check valve in that line, there is little you can do. I would not worry much about it if your pump re-primes within a minute or so of starting it back up.

Yes it starts up right away, no issues...... L

 

[Josh_Leatha]

So have you added CYA? Also why not just vacuum to filter and then backwash? Lose less water that way.

I did not know I could vacuum to filter then backwash..... I thought that would just blow fine stuff back into the pool.......

so vacuum as if the pump and pool are running normal and empty pump basket when it gets full.... when done is that when I would then backwash and rinse then back to filter?

added half gal of acid

 

[jblizzle]

Well you should really have a leaf canister and not rely on the pump basket to catch stuff.