Help! Brand New SW Pool Just turned green

Jump to latest Follow Reply
You can add what the poolmath calculator says... give it an hour to mix while your pump/filter is running, then test again to confirm whether or not it was accurate... it is what I did at first.
 
I can only get 6 oz and 4 tps if I enter "0" (NOW) and "1" (TARGET) FC values for a 4500 gallon sized pool which is too low. You actually want the FC between 3-5 ppm. 20 ounces (2 cups 4 oz) will increase your FC by "3". 33 ounces (just over 1 quart) will increase FC by 5 ppm. It's very important at this stage to never let FC drop below 3 to avoid algae. So with the FC drop tester you have, do your best. I know we don't want to "make the iron mad", but it's better to be a little strong right now and avoid algae than to have a SLAM on our hands.

Increase your FC to between 3-5 for this evening. Tomorrow I would add 1.5 cups in the morning, 1.5 cups in the afternoon, and 1.5 cups in the evening. If you find yoru FC test to be very low between any of those tests, increase bleach slightly by about 1/2 cup. Just try to keep it over 3 at all times.
 
Oh Dear! I never got a notification on this post and we added salt today as soon as we got the pump going. I hope that will be OK? The advice about the pressure is such good advice! I had not thought of that but it make so much sense! Thank you.


elhsrh93 said:
Just a couple of more thoughts:

1. When you start your pump/sand filter, keep an eye on the PSI and water flow. The iron will clog up the filter quicker than expected and you will need to backwash and rinse (possibly multiple times until the water clears).
2. Give the filter at least 48 hours to see if it will clear the iron before adding salt. Then add salt and let it dissolve 24 hours, with the pump running, before starting the SWG (continue using bleach until the SWG is producing chlorine).

The experts can correct me if this doesn't sound right for your situation, but this is what I have experienced.
Click to expand...
 
Can you please tell me what I am doing wrong in the Pool math calculator then. Here is a photo of the results I got for FC back when someone here told me to keep FC at 3 for now so that the iron would not get angry.


Texas Splash said:
I can only get 6 oz and 4 tps if I enter "0" (NOW) and "1" (TARGET) FC values for a 4500 gallon sized pool which is too low. You actually want the FC between 3-5 ppm. 20 ounces (2 cups 4 oz) will increase your FC by "3". 33 ounces (just over 1 quart) will increase FC by 5 ppm. It's very important at this stage to never let FC drop below 3 to avoid algae. So with the FC drop tester you have, do your best. I know we don't want to "make the iron mad", but it's better to be a little strong right now and avoid algae than to have a SLAM on our hands.

Increase your FC to between 3-5 for this evening. Tomorrow I would add 1.5 cups in the morning, 1.5 cups in the afternoon, and 1.5 cups in the evening. If you find yoru FC test to be very low between any of those tests, increase bleach slightly by about 1/2 cup. Just try to keep it over 3 at all times.
Click to expand...
 
It's because your NOW (starting number) is already "2". So in effect you're only increasing FC by 1 ppm. Do you see?

My example before was from going from "zero" to 3.

- - - Updated - - -

Many of my examples above were to help either illustrate how the calculator works, or to give you an "idea" how much bleach will increase your FC. So tomorrow for example, when you wake-up ... if the FC is already still a "2", then your example above is fine (going from 2 to 3), and you would only need to add a little bleach (little over 6 ounces) to increase FC to 3.

I think you have it. We'll just let you enter the Poolmath numbers you need based on what you test and go from there.
 
I entered 2 because that is what the test says! Don't I enter the number the test comes up with????? I have rerun it a bunch of times and it always comes out the same??? I am baffled. Do you still want me to add all that extra bleach tonight or are the numbers I came up with right? We added the amount based on that screen shot but after reading your other post I was just about to head out and put more in.

Texas Splash said:
It's because your NOW (starting number) is already "2". So in effect you're only increasing FC by 1 ppm. Do you see?

My example before was from going from "zero" to 3.

- - - Updated - - -

Many of my examples above were to help either illustrate how the calculator works, or to give you an "idea" how much bleach will increase your FC. So tomorrow for example, when you wake-up ... if the FC is already still a "2", then your example above is fine (going from 2 to 3), and you would only need to add a little bleach (little over 6 ounces) to increase FC to 3.

I think you have it. We'll just let you enter the Poolmath numbers you need based on what you test and go from there.
Click to expand...
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
I know, I am really hoping it will come today because I cant figure out what my chlorine or CYA level is. The drops say FC is between 2 and 3 still and that doesn't seem possible after all the chlorine I added. The sticks say it is between 5 and 10. Thanks for the paper towel tip. I am actually using fabric over the skimmer right now, I am a fiber artist and the iron is making a lovely decorative print on the fabric. That's the bonus to all this hassle I guess.
 
Silkartisan said:
I know, I am really hoping it will come today because I cant figure out what my chlorine or CYA level is. The drops say FC is between 2 and 3 still and that doesn't seem possible after all the chlorine I added. The sticks say it is between 5 and 10. Thanks for the paper towel tip. I am actually using fabric over the skimmer right now, I am a fiber artist and the iron is making a lovely decorative print on the fabric. That's the bonus to all this hassle I guess.
Click to expand...

Way to turn lemons into lemonaide. Please post of photo of your artwork. I'm sure I'm not alone in wanting to see something beautiful being created from all of this!
 
Ok I got the test kit and other than the fact that the lid came loose on the R-087 powder and it spilled all over everything during shipping everything else was intact. So now I have a new problem I think. I was repeatedly advised here in the forum to keep chlorine down to about 3 to keep the iron from reacting more. Because I was trusting the drops I had, (not the new kit), instead of the strips I put way too much chlorine in.
My chlorine (FC) is now 10.5 ppm.
My PH is 7.2
My CYA is 40 (Note: When I did the control test from the TF-100 kit the control result was between 30 and 40, not 50 like the paperwork said the control should be. I did go over the label a bit with my measurement on the control so maybe that is why it was off?)

So the question now is; Do I leave the SWG off because chlorine is so high in light of the high iron? How long will it take for the chlorine to go down? Our heatwave is ending tonight and we are headed into a cold spell with strong storms over the next few days to a week so no more strong sun or heat to burn off the elevated chlorine.

Still pulling iron out with the cloth and paper towel pre filtering.
 
Okay, some things for you to do and keep in mind:
- Please call the TFTestkits number. They are excellent at responding to customer issues like your loose R-0870 powder lid.
- pH is good for now
- CYA (Very important right now). Please use the following notes to try that test again:
Proper lighting is critical for the CYA test, so you want to test for CYA outside on a bright sunny day. Taylor recommends standing outside with your back to the sun and the view tube in the shade of your body. Use the mixing bottle to combine/gently mix the required amounts of pool water and R-0013 reagent, let sit for 30 seconds, then gently mix again. Then, while holding the skinny tube with the black dot at waist level, begin squirting the mixed solution into the skinny tube. Watch the black dot until it completely disappears. Once it disappears, record the CYA reading. After the first test, you can pour the mixed solution from the skinny view tube back to the mixing bottle, shake, and do the same test a second, third, or fourth time to instill consistency in your technique, become more comfortable with the testing, and validate the CYA reading.
Click to expand...

Ask the hubby to look for the dot as well. A second set of eyes is good on that test - I do it. I would've thought your CYA would be closer to 70 after all the liquid stabilizer you added, but your next CYA test will confirm. So please check CYA one more time under this bright sky (if you have good sunlight today).

- The FC will continue to drop, probably fairly quickly. Try to keep it in the 4-5 range and never below 3 and you should be fine.
- SWG .. you can start it at any time, just set it to a low setting for now. Ideally in the next day or two, you will convert from the manual bleach adding to the automatic SWG FC production. It will take a little experimenting with settings, but you'll get it. If for some reason the FC drops to 3, add some bleach in a pinch.
- Paper towels ... YES! Keep going. :goodjob: The more you get now while the iron is precipitated out in the water the better.

If you have any questions at all about either the CYA or FC test, please, please ask. This is a critical time to ensure those two numbers are spot-on, and now you are armed with one of the best test kits available. :)
 
Oh, and by the way ... you may think the FC is "really high", but in our TFP world and by referencing the Chlorines/CYA Chart (link below) you CAN swim! :swim: If your FC was over 20 then we may have a concern, but you are good. The CYA helps to make that possible. :)
 
Good morning! it's been a little quiet lately, so I wanted to see how you did with the CYA and FC test, and if you had any other concerns with what I last recommended above in post #95. How is the water looking today? Got any new pics? Are you still catching iron in the skimmer? Hopefully things are settling down better as you begin to transfer from manual bleach feeding to the SWG. Let us know if you have any questions.
 
Thanks for checking in I was just writing this post as you posted yours. Back to the CYA issue. When I did the test using the control "pool water" from the TF-100 kit the control result was between 30 and 40, not 50 like the paperwork said the control should be. When I read our pool both yesterday and today both my husband and I did not see the dot disappear until it was between 30 - 40. Same as the control liquid in the test kit. So I am thinking there is either something wrong with the chemical in the test, which is probably unlikely, or that is just how much of the mixture it takes for us to stop seeing the black dot outside in both sun and shade. We did the tests many times as was suggested using the same liquid today. I hope that all makes sense. Any advise on this situation would be greatly appreciated.

Chlorine is not budging from 10.5.
The SWG is still off because we want the chlorine to go down so it won't react with the iron more. We are having cold rainy weather now that the heatwave is over. Is keeping off for now the right thing to do?
Ph was good
Water is clear after filtering for approx 48 hours
 
Good to hear the updates. Yes, you are doing very well then by leaving the SWG off for now since the weather seems to really be impacting things. The elevated FC is also good for you to reduce the chance of algae while you continue to remove iron and let the pool water get filtered. Clear water? Even with the elevated FC? That's outstanding! :goodjob: Try to show us a pic when you can.

The CYA. Humm. Well, I have heard of some other members who has misleading results using the CYA "standard" solution that is supposed to provide a 50 ppm reading. (Assuming I'm reading your note above correctly) That pre-made "standard 50" solution was designed to help train the eyes for those who are new or struggling with the regular R-0013 solution. I'll back through this thread to make note of the total amount of liquid stabilizer/conditioner you added. Unless the liquid was a bad batch, it should increase CYA that same day to reach the CYA targets you were aiming for. So I'll go back and look a bit and get back with you.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply