New to me Pool and brand new to pool ownership

[jcorkins]

Do NOT worry about your TA for right now. We will work on that AFTER everything else is done. TA is important but it is the last one we work on.

Ok thanks. Started filling the pool back up about am hour ago so I'll probably be able to test tomorrow and will post results. I did just add about a half gallon of chlorine just to help keep the FC from dropping to 0 and I removed the pucks yesterday before draining.

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[kimkats]

You are on the right track! I will see you in the morning!

 

[jcorkins]

So after draining about 18" and refilling here is where I stand:

CYA - 80 (better but I believe I'm supposed to get this down around 50? so I've started draining the water again to get it lowered.)
TA - 100
PH - 8.0 (of course that's as high as my test goes so who knows may be higher. one drop of R-0005 did take it to 7.6 though)
FC - 7
CC - 0.5 (both using the 10ml sample so CC may be lower it wasn't real pink when I put the first drop in and it turned clear again.)
CH - 200

My Watergram says that my SI is 0.26

Any suggestions for how much water to drain to get me to the right mark? Should I drain 18" again which might drop me too low if my calculations are right and then I can just increase the CYA if needed or should I stop at about 14"?

Thanks so much for everyone's help and getting me on track to having my own trouble free pool.

 

[kimkats]

To me it is easier to add than to take away. I would drop it to 18" as that seemed to work well last time.

 

[jcorkins]

OK Here we go. Help me turn this pool clear now. Here are my current test results:

CYA between 30 and 40 (at 40 the black dot is still visible at about midway to 30 though it becomes hard to see and by 30 it's gone.)
CH - 150
FC - 4.5
CC - <0.5 (the test barely turned pink when I added the 5 drops of r-0003 and turned perfectly clear after 1 drop of r-0871 on a 10ml sample)
PH - 8.0 (1 drop of r-0005 took it to 7.6 and 2 drops to 7.4)
TA - 125
temp is surprisingly at 86 after doing the second water change I expected much lower but it has been pretty hot the last couple of days. The water is a clear green color. If I need to slam it I probably can't start that process until tomorrow night without wasting efforts.

 

[jcorkins]

Maybe I don't need to slam it? I did an OCLT. At 9:30 last night pool tested at 4ppm FC and at 5:30 this morning it tested at 3.5ppm FC.
So if I understand the slam correctly I don't have active live algea. The green water then is just from some old dead algea that I just need to work out of the pool. Correct anyone?

 

[kimkats]

I think we need to see a current picture of the pool. I will tell you that some people have passed the OCLT while being able to see green algae on the side of their pool

Three parts to passing or not needing to SLAM:

-OCLT of 1 ppm or less

-CC of .5 ppm

-CLEAR water-NO green or algae dirt on bottom or in water

As you can see you still need to SLAM to get rid of the green in the water.

BUT lets see that pic so we can see how it looks.

 

[jcorkins]

I think we need to see a current picture of the pool. I will tell you that some people have passed the OCLT while being able to see green algae on the side of their pool

Three parts to passing or not needing to SLAM:

-OCLT of 1 ppm or less

-CC of .5 ppm

-CLEAR water-NO green or algae dirt on bottom or in water

As you can see you still need to SLAM to get rid of the green in the water.

BUT lets see that pic so we can see how it looks.

Thanks Kim for all your advice. I'll get a pic posted this evening after work.

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[jcorkins]

Thanks Kim for all your advice. I'll get a pic posted this evening after work.

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I can see the bottom. Definitely something on the bottom that I'll be brushing off in a little bit. The kids want to swim though so I'll probably let them do that tonight. Should I slam it? I'll post new numbers in a while after dinner.

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[jcorkins]

Current test results:

FC - 3
CC - 0.5
PH - 7.8
TA - 125
CH - 175
CYA - 30

 

[kimkats]

Yeah you do need to SLAM it I am sorry to say Clear is where you can see the heads/tails on a coin at the bottom!

Let the kids swim and get good and tired so they go to bed without a fuss :slidehalo:

Work on getting the PH down to 7.2 before you start the SLAM. Know that PH does not test true when the FC is over 10 so we need it down before you start the SLAM.

Here is the link to the SLAM:

Pool School - SLAM - Shock Level And Maintain

Know the most important part of the SLAM is the M=maintain as in maintain the FC at SLAM level for your CYA.

Now if the kids want to swim it is safe for them to swim when the FC is just a tiny bit under the SLAM level.

Try for at least testing and dose 4 times a day if at all possible. It can be done less times but it will take longer.

Brush your pool at least once a day. It may cloud up some but that will get the stuff into the water for the filter to catch and remove.

 

[jcorkins]

Ok. Quick question about the slam. Is it safe to raise the FC way above slam? I'm thinking that with my work schedule the next few days that if I take the FC to around 20 or 22 then I should be back in time with the current burn rate of FC to add more chlorine before it drops below the slam level of 12.

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[kimkats]

It is wasteful to push it that high as it will burn off and not do as much good as you would think. The reason we have the chart like we do is there has been MANY "experiments" done to find what works and what does not work. Pushing it that high could cause problems.

I hear what you are saying about wanting it to last but I don't want you to cause any harm to your equipment.

 

[jcorkins]

I lost less then 0.5 ppm overnight. How does one tell if the water is clear? This is just under 24 hours after starting the slam.

The second pic is from the deep end after turning the pump off for a minute.
One more question. Does the pump stay on 24/7 during the slam or can I shut it off at anytime?

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[kimkats]

That is not TFP clear yet. TFP clear is when you can read the heads/tails on a coin!

Keep the pump going 24/7 during the SLAM that will help keep the filter working on the cloudy water.

You are VERY close to being done! Keep it up!

 

[jcorkins]

So this is TFP clear right? I think my next question is going to be is it possible to get those stains out. I knew there were some in there before but wow I don't know if they've gotten worse or if I just couldn't see them all before.
Brushing this morning resulted in very little if anything coming up off the floor or walls.

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[jcorkins]

I flipped a quarter in the deep end and was surprised to find that yes I could tell it was on heads. Only bad thing was getting the darn quarter back out. This is definitely the clearest I have seen this pool since I started looking at the house back in early May.

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[kimkats]

I think it could get even clearer! My pool is so clear you cannot even tell there is water in it when it is still.

Stains---get some cheap vit. C tablets. Crush them up and put them in a sock. Put the sock on one of the stains. Let is sit for about 30 mins or so.

IF the vit. C does not work rub a chlorine tablet on the stain and see what happens.

How do the stains feel?

 

[jcorkins]

They don't feel any different then the rest of the concrete. I think I might have some vitamin c at the house I'll give that a try.

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[MarianParoo]

I agree with Kim about the clarity. I was going to say so earlier, but was waiting for her to chime in as she has handled your issues beautifully and didn't want to interfere. You are very close!