Is this normal?

[LS1M]

Good idea. I just measured FC 9 PPM so I added enough bleach to bring it up to 20. I guess there's a lot of stuff for the chlorine to eat up... Can't see if the water's clearing up, it's too dark.

Thanks
-Mark

 

[LS1M]

Yesterday morning I brought FC up to 20 and it was down to 14 by 5pm. Brought it up to 20 again and this morning it was down to 15. Moving in the right direction, I suppose ... I also did a back-flush and a lot of dirty water came out. Pressure was still good, but improved after the backflush.

I measured the CYA with the test kit. I say it's at 40 because I kept adding drops until I couldn't see that black dot at all. Hopefully that was correct. At 45 or 50, the black dot was still visible, but really fuzzy.

So am I on the right track? Any adjustments I need to make?

I bought out the local Walmart bleach shelf. Their large generic bleach bottles (6%) are 182 oz and $2.98 each

 

[Butterfly]

Yep, you're on the right track. Keep shocking and brushing and watching the pressure on the filter

Can we see a pic of your pool?

 

[RobbieH]

I want to second the opinion that you should pour your chemicals in front of your returns, not into the skimmer. And when you go to the store to get your brush, don't talk to them about your process.

 

[LS1M]

That's one reason why I got the test kit. They always try to sell me something after they do the free water test at the pool store.

I won't pour any chemicals down the skimmer. It's temptingly easy, but I shall resist...

I'll post a pic of my pool when I get off work. Thanks for all the advice!

-Mark

 

[Ohm_Boy]

...don't talk to them about your process.

+1 for this. Seriously. They will likely be all over you about how bleach is bad, and all the problems you'll have if you don't use the chems that they sell, etc. and how THEY are obviously pool professionals and why you shouldn't listen to trolls on the internet, blah, blah, etc.

Truthfully, this forum has more professional pool experience than every pool store in your metro area, and is not trying to take your money. Just get what you need, smile, and don't offer them any information.

 

[LS1M]

I just took a reading and the FC went from 20 down to 18, that's from 5am this morning to 5pm. Getting closer - still very cloudy, though.

 

[LS1M]

Status update

3/19 5am FC 9.0
3/19 5pm FC 14
3/20 5am FC 15
3/20 5pm FC 18
3/21 5am FC 13.5
3/21 5pm FC 13.0

Each time I add enough bleach to bring it up to 20 (CYA 40).
Every afternoon I use the brush (broom/mop/PVC pipe) to stir up the leaves/sediment on the bottom.
I know it's been only 3 or 4 days, but I still can't see more than 12 inches below the surface.
Very, very cloudy. I know you're going to say, keep shocking, but I need to hear it.
I just feel like it's never going to be clear again......... :?

-Mark

 

[Ohm_Boy]

Yep. Stay the course. As long as you're losing FC overnight, you have to keep supplying the war.
These pools do not always have the best circulation either, so there can be accumulation on the bottom. If so, you will want to try to scoop/brush out all you can.

Oh, and you _DO_ have sand in that filter, right?

 

[LS1M]

Yes, I have sand in the filter.
I measured the FC. Twice. Once about 30 minutes after I put in the bleach (FC 27.5) and then again an hour or more afterwards (FC 29.5). I think I might have mis-counted the bleach... That won't hurt anything, will it?

 

[Ohm_Boy]

I'm sure it will be fine.

 

[Smykowski]

Very, very cloudy. I know you're going to say, keep shocking, but I need to hear it.
I just feel like it's never going to be clear again......... :?

-Mark

When those doubts start creeping in, just look at any of the long threads with pictures in algae-prevention-and-treatment-f11.html

Here's a good one: desperately-need-advice-day-9-we-have-a-clear-pool-now-t36379.html

It seems as though everyone who goes through the process "appears" to stall out, but then they turn a corner and it clears up very quickly.

 

[LS1M]

Holy shamoly! One guy had a pool that looked just like mine (same color water) and it was almost a month before he got it cleared up! Sheesh...

The gist seems to be to keep shocking until the FC doesn't drop, because there's still stuff in there for the chlorine to eat. After that, if it's still cloudy, then I'll have to start looking at something else. For now, though ... FC yesterday afternoon was 29.5 (oops - overshot my target) and dropped down to 22 this morning, so I guess I'm not done yet.

Thanks for the support. This site is awesome!
-Mark

 

[Bama Rambler]

Mark, Once you get to the stalled out point (if you do) be sure to check the ladder or any small holes that algae can hide in and fill them with bleach.

 

[chem geek]

The bottom line is that if you are using enough chlorine relative to CYA, then after that clearing the cloudiness has more to do with filtration than with the chlorine. That's why those with sand filters typically take the longest to clear, those with cartridge filters are faster, and those with DE the fastest. It's also why adding some DE to a sand filter can often help. Worst case, an additional product can be used (e.g. OMNI Liquid Floc Plus), but that's usually a last resort.

 

[supertune]

Stay the course Captain Mark!
You'll be at your destination soon!
Make sure you stay up on the chlorine, don't let it ever fall below your shock value!
Keep posting you progress here as chem geek has more ideas for filtering once you have all of the algae completely dead.

Chuck

 

[LS1M]

I noticed that with the FC at 22, it fell to 15.5 during the day. My shock target is 15 (pool calculator) or 16 (cya chart). So, yesterday I tried to crank it up to 23 to make sure it wouldn't fall below shock level any more. Measured it an hour or two later (7pm?) and it was 24. Guess I didn't measure the bleach right. This morning it was 23, so I may be getting close. I left it at 23. It was dark, so I couldn't see much, but I think it's still cloudy. Weather turned chilly (that means 50's in Texas) overnight and there was smoke coming off of the water. I suppose that's OK, not anything wrong.

I have a bag of diatomaceous earth that I got from the feed store. We used it to control fleas. Would adding some to the sand filter help it to clear the water better? I can always back-flush it out later, can't I?

Still have the pump running 24/7 and I brush daily. I can never tell by the pressure gauge when it needs a backflush. It's always just sitting there on about 10 PSI. I feel the water stream and if it's weak, I backflush. I have a 2" inlet but the outlet is the stock little sprayer that came with the pool. I wonder if that's restricting my flow too much? When I backflush, a TON of water comes out. With no back pressure on the waste port, it makes a lake out of the side lawn.

-Mark

 

[Bama Rambler]

The DE you got for insect control won't work in your filter. It's processed differently than filter DE. Don't put that in your filter.

If you have a 0-60 psi gauge you can replace it with a 0-30 psi gauge and it'll be more readable. You could also get a 30"-0-30 psi gauge and use it to check the suction pressure if you were interested in that sort of stuff.

 

[LS1M]

At 9 last night, I measured FC at 18.5. This morning at 8 it was at 18. That's good, right?

For the first time in weeks, I can see the bottom of my pool. Wow - I didn't know there was so much junk on the bottom! I was able to vacuum a lot of it up:

That's a lot of leaves! I cleaned out that leaf trap & did a back-flush, added more bleach, and hopefully I can call this a success soon. It's still very, very cloudy.

It's been about 9 days at shock level. I'm getting close, I can feel it....

I'm also going to double-check my CYA after I let the filter work for a couple of hours. Someone told me when the water's cloudy, I'm supposed to run it thru a coffee filter & let it get to room temp before measuring, so I'm going to try that.

-Mark

 

[duraleigh]

Hi, Mark,

That's good, right?

Yep, that's VERY good!

Sounds like you are headed down the home stretch....nice work. :lol:

I am posting to discuss the coffee filter idea and hope you will do a little experiment. My thinking is the coffee filter is irrelevant based on some experience I have had with murky water.

Would you please take your pool sample large enough so you can run 1/2 of it through the coffee filter and the other half unfiltered and do two tests? I think you will find there will be no difference at all but I would like an objective opinion.

If you will do that and post the results, that would be helpful. PM me your name and address and I'll send you a bottle of R-0013 to make up for the extra you use.