Howdy from Phoenix, AZ

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Re: Low pressure even though pump appears primed - suggestions?

Hi Proavia and Jblizzle - went with both your advice. I went ahead and started by clearing out the impeller and that brought me way up to 30PSI, so that was definitely a huge issue. I didn't see much debris come out, but I guess it doesn't take more than a few little strings of palm leaves to do it. Nasty stuff.

I then backwashed really thoroughly and that brought me back down to 20PSI, right where it normally sits.

So, I let the filter run an hour and then ran the drop chlorine tests (which didn't turn pink = zero chlorine), and then the K1000 which again confirmed zero chlorine, zero bromine, and a ph of 8.2.

Proavia - i have zero liquid bleach on hand. i'll hit up walmart tomorrow - how much should i buy?

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sorry mate. had no idea a pump with low PSI would have anything to do with green water. how would i? total novice.
 
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No worries, just helps to keep nearly everything together.

Make sure you lower the pH before raising the FC above 10ppm.

Remember to backwash when the pressure goes up 25%, so by 25psi.
 
How much bleach? That's a difficult question to answer. Post a complete set of test results from your TF-100 and we can help from there. List it as follows...

FC
CC
PH
TA
CH
CYA

Knowing the CYA will be important to your SLAM, as your target chlorine level is a function of the CYA level.

Have a look at Pool Math to calculate the needed amount of chemicals. Be sure to enter your pool volume and bleach/chlorine percentage to get the correct values. Also set up Suggested Goal Levels in the lower section of the calculator.

With a 25k pool, I'd buy a minimum of maybe 10 gallons to start. With having to SLAM you will go through quite a bit initially.

Be sure to ask any additional questions too. Better to ask first than need to go back and correct something later. Keep us updated on your progress.
 
JBL and Proavia - thanks both.

I'll go out and buy 15 gal of bleach just to have on hand for a while. I anticipate going through much of it for the SLAM process. I'm home this afternoon and will test then.

Do I understand correctly that just standard liquid bleach that I could get at Walmart is OK? I know not to get the stuff that's "non-splash" or really any other sort of modification, but what concentration should I look for?

At present, I have a huge bucket of powdered chlorine from Leslie's, as well as the pucks. I know the pucks aren't ideal, but how about the loose powder? I've got a ton of that - could that be used to SLAM, or better just to stick with liquid bleach? I want to get this done correctly, but I'd like to use what I've already purchased if at all possible. That said, if it's going to harm my pool, I won't use it. I know the pucks raise CYA. We'll see what the tests say about those levels this afternoon.
 
The powder adds either CYA or CH in addition to the chlorine. I am sure you do not want to add CH living in PHX. What is your CYA?

If either get too high, you have to replace water.
 
Just use liquid bleach. The generic stuff at Walmart is fine. It's usually 8.25%. Their bleach turnover rate is pretty good, but check the date codes anyway - something like "16 091" means it was made the 91st day of 2016. Higher number means fresher and closer to listed concentration.

Save the pucks and powder for vacations or when you're away from home for several days.

And provide a full set of test results when you get home to help us point you in the correct direction.
 
um, wow, like three topics going on here, but back to the original question....so you want a pool cleaning and tubing in your pool all the time? I have two rotating heads, some wall returns, and I brush once a week, and for me that is preferable to having our precious water space taken up with hoses and cleaning devices. If you have a larger pool, maybe you'll sacrifice the space, and the look, so you don't have to brush as much.
 
proavia said:
Just use liquid bleach. The generic stuff at Walmart is fine. It's usually 8.25%.

Found the 10% "chlorinating liquid" stuff from the pool care aisle for $2.50/gallon and grabbed 15 gallons of it.

Here are the test results:

Chlorine: no chlorine
Bromine: 0
pH: 8.2
CDT: no chlorine
CH: over 625ppm (basically after 25 drops i stopped testing b/c it never turned blue)
TA: 210ppm
CYA: 80
Click to expand...
 

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jblizzle said:
What is cdt? What is the FC and CC from the FAS-DPD test?
Click to expand...
chlorine drop test
after adding the R-0870, the water never turned pink. according to the guide that came with the TF10, "If it does not turn pink, you have no chlorine." step 3 was adding drops to the pink liquid until it turned back to clear - as it never turned pink in the first place, i did not do this step.

so i guess according to the FAS-DPD test i have no FC or CC.
 
pooldv - the lack of chlorine is not intentional.

jblizzle - roger that, thanks for the explanation. just to make sure I understand, tell me if i'm missing anything below? here's what i'm getting:

as the R-0870 yielded no pink, according to the sheet, i have no chlorine.

since it'll already be clear, i'm just adding the first drops of R-0871 to set up the solution to test for CC)? should i just add like 12 drops of R-0871 to have a decent amount in there? also, since it'll already be clear, it appears there'll be no way for me to know my FC, since the only way i can determine FC is by knowing how many drops are needed to return to clear.

now that i'm at this point, i can test CC by adding 5 drops R-0003 to the already clear solution. if it remains clear, i have no CC. if it turns pink, then once again go through the process of adding R-0871 until it turns clear, which will then give me my CC (which would be amount of drops R-0871 second round x 0.5).

And then my TC will be my CC (if there is any) plus my FC(0).

all correct?

thanks
 
passthebandaids said:
as the R-0870 yielded no pink, according to the sheet, i have no chlorine.

since it'll already be clear, i'm just adding the first drops of R-0871 to set up the solution to test for CC)? should i just add like 12 drops of R-0871 to have a decent amount in there? also, since it'll already be clear, it appears there'll be no way for me to know my FC, since the only way i can determine FC is by knowing how many drops are needed to return to clear.

now that i'm at this point, i can test CC by adding 5 drops R-0003 to the already clear solution. if it remains clear, i have no CC. if it turns pink, then once again go through the process of adding R-0871 until it turns clear, which will then give me my CC (which would be amount of drops R-0871 second round x 0.5).

And then my TC will be my CC (if there is any) plus my FC(0).

all correct?

thanks
Click to expand...

You are very close! If adding R-0870 yields no pink you are correct that there is no FC. Since your water is clear you can skip adding the R-0871 because you have already established that there is no chlorine. You can now test for CC and add 5 drops of R-0003. If it is still clear you are done as there is no CC. If it turns pink go through the process of adding R-0871 until it's clear and multiply the number of drops by 0.5 to get your CC.

Yes, TC=FC+CC
 
As said above, if adding the powder the water stays clear, your FC = 0, then just add the R-0003 for the CC test. Again, if stays clear, CC = 0.

No need to report the TC. We just care about FC and CC ... and most of us can add :mrgreen:
 
@ Jason
With PTB being a relative novice to pool care - and given his CH is so high - would it be in his best interests to just drain (or RO) instead of attempting to deal with the high CH?

@ PTB
Look at your city water bill to get an estimate on how much it will cost to use an additional 20-25k gallons of water. If the Phoenix water rates are anything like Chandler, it will be much cheaper to replace water than pay for an RO treatment of the existing pool water.
 

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