New User - Green Pool & Good Attitude

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LizGinNC

Member
Jun 7, 2022
20
Charlotte, NC area
Hi everyone!

I bought my house 8 years ago, and it has a pool. For a few years my husband was really into it and took great care of it, but as time went on, he has grown more and more bored. He doesn't like being in the sun much and isn't big into swimming so his motivation started to seriously wane. For the last few years, every summer we have issues with algae the pool not being swimmable for weeks at a time.

As for me, I am the type of person who is very smart when it comes to data and numbers, but I trip over my own two feet and I can't even assemble an IKEA bookshelf without tears and swearing. So, even though I've been game to try, my husband has insisted that I should stay away from the pool. So, I was in the position of being the nagging wife who desperately wants a beautiful pool but is stuck being an annoyance to my husband and the embarrassment of the neighborhood.

A few months ago my husband finally agreed that we could hire someone to come take care of the pool for us. I think I called, emailed, or Facebook messaged every pool professional within a 25 mile radius and I couldn't get ANYONE to come out. And during this time, our pool just got greener and murkier.

My husband has finally agreed to let me take over the pool maintenance. (Note that I say "let" -- we are a partnership. What I really mean is that we came to an agreement.) Here is my experience so far:

I bought a Taylor K-2005 test and started testing my water daily. My husband had never done these tests before. He just tested the PH with a digital PH reader and brought the water to Leslie's if we really got out of hand. He was a little annoyed with me for the expenditure, insisting it wasn't necessary. The first thing I found was that our CYA was through the roof. So high that I couldn't get a reading on the test -- just well, well over 100. (Later Leslie's tested it at 135.) I did a ton of reading and came to the conclusion that we needed to drain the pool, at least partially. My husband flipped out and said that he was certain I was wrong, this has never been an issue before, this is why we don't do unnecessary tests... So at his insistence I started working on shocking it instead. I backwashed (first time since last September) and added 4 gallons of liquid shock over the course of two nights. We saw no difference whatsoever. So, I took the pool water sample to Leslie's , dragged the husband along with me to witness, and sure enough, they told me that I need to drain the water out. Of course, the husband believed it coming from the person at Leslie's (who is also a woman - my husband is no misogynist.)

Our pool doesn't have a drain so we had to buy a submersible pump. I'm very paranoid about letting the water level get too low, as we've had trouble with the liner before and had to have it replaced. I'm on about the fourth round of pumping water into the street and then refilling with the hose. So far, no real noticeable difference in the CYA levels, but I'm hoping it's just a matter of time.

My nephew is coming again to spend the weekend the weekend of the 18th, so I am desperately hoping that Aunt Liz can save the day and have that pool ready by then.

Mostly this is just a post to say hello, but of course any advice is welcome!
 
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Welcome to TFP!

Please also get the Taylor K-1515 test (suffixed by "A" for small bottles and "C" for larger ones). The K-2005 lacks the important FAS-DPD test which measures free chlorine more accurately and in a wider range. Adding the K-1515 will effectively convert your K-2005 into a K-2006 which is one of the TFP-recommended kits. You will probably have to order this add-on kit as it is not generally available in retail stores.

In your copious spare time, please read through Pool School. You can do this! (Oh, and stop listening to the hubs.)
 
Hello! Sorry to hear about your troubles, but we can help.

The K-2005 test is missing the FAS-DPD chlorine test which is really key if you'd like to use our methods of pool care. Luckily you can purchase that separately to get the rest of the tests you should have for what we do:


Meanwhile, the first thing I would do is see how much CYA you need to drop. Do the diluted test for CYA. Mix 1:1 pool water and tap water, then test that with the CYA dot test. When you get a result multiply by 2.

It will help us to give advice if you fill out your signature - see mine for an example. (If you're on a mobile device, turn it sideways to see signatures.) This will help us to know what you have for equipment, pool surface and size, etc. :)
 
I wonder if Amazon maybe sent me the wrong test, because I clearly ordered a K2005, but there are instructions inside the lid for a FAS-DPD test. I haven't done it yet - I've just been doing the first chlorine test listed - but I will start doing the other right away. I'm not home now, or I would run and check to see if the kit has a code number on it!

I appreciate the advice about the diluted CYA test. I have been doing the CYA test regularly but I'm so far below the 100 line that it's really hard to tell when I am making progress. I did have a noticeable change after this last round, though. I do believe I've made it to 100, or very close. I'm doing one more pump/dump and refill and then hoping to shock. I hate that even after all the water I've replaced, the pool is just as green as it was to begin with. Ugh!

I will update my signature right away. Thanks to you both!
 
LizGinNC said:
Oh and does anyone have any resources for how to truly accurately measure the gallon capacity of my pool? I'm estimating it is 14,500 but it's hard to tell because my deep end is sloped down and it only is truly it's deepest in the very middle.
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If you haven't already download PoolMath and would also recommend paying the $8 for the premium so you can record logs of test results and chemical additions. You can still use the app without paying just will only be able to store the latest result.

You can get closer to what your pool volume is by watching your test results and rechecking chemical additions. Add chlorine to necessary level and then retest after circulating for 15-30 min. Based on whether that second test matched the level you added to you would adjust volume for next test/addition. Probably will take a few times but you should be able to get close. With chlorine age of the chlorine could affect results so try and find the freshest chlorine/bleach possible
 
Welcome - and nice job taking charge! You'll soon find it's not that complicated, even though it seems overwhelming at first.
LizGinNC said:
I hate that even after all the water I've replaced, the pool is just as green as it was to begin with. Ugh!
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Just replacing the water will not take care of the algae unless you truly dump ALL the water. But don't worry - as soon as you can get that CYA under control, you can do a proper SLAM Process and get rid of the green for good. So concentrate on reporting back an accurate CYA number after you complete your latest replacement and we can give some advise as to where to go next!

LizGinNC said:
there are instructions inside the lid for a FAS-DPD test.
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Did your test come with a small container of powder labeled DPD? That's how you'll know you have what you need!
 
LizGinNC said:
Oh and does anyone have any resources for how to truly accurately measure the gallon capacity of my pool? I'm estimating it is 14,500 but it's hard to tell because my deep end is sloped down and it only is truly it's deepest in the very middle.
Click to expand...
There are ways to do it chemically by measuring the increase or decrease in TA after known chemical additions. For now, as mentioned above, just observe the effects of adding the chemicals and adjust the size based on what you observe. Once we've gotten the pool all cleaned up, if you're still curious, we can help with that part too. :)
 

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They probably just save printing costs by having one print run of all of their tests and throwing it on every kit. My kit has instructions for the salt test, that wasn't included (don't have a SWG yet).
 
Thanks to everyone for all the advice. I do have the PoolMath app downloaded, and I am using a log book to track all of my test results, chemical adds, and other maintenance. I've already done so many CYA tests that I had to order a big bottle of replacement reagent. Then I found out that the previous owners left us an unopened test kit when we bought the house 8 years ago - and it's still unopened in a closet! I need to dig it up and see which test kit it is!
 
LizGinNC said:
Thanks to everyone for all the advice. I do have the PoolMath app downloaded, and I am using a log book to track all of my test results, chemical adds, and other maintenance. I've already done so many CYA tests that I had to order a big bottle of replacement reagent. Then I found out that the previous owners left us an unopened test kit when we bought the house 8 years ago - and it's still unopened in a closet! I need to dig it up and see which test kit it is!
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If it's 8 years old, its likely no good. The test chemicals have a shelf life if about 2 years max.
 
Once you get it dialed in, it will be very easy to maintain. Especially if you are a numbers person using the app. Chlorine tabs will constantly be adding more CYA into your pool so that is something that you want to start thinking about. You have a couple ways to go, switching to liquid chlorine, water exchanges, etc. But get the CYA down first, then go from there. As you can see here, everyone loves pools and loves helping others out with all the questions, IMO this the most helpful, friendly forum out there.
 
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I am thrilled to report back that I got the CYA down to about 65-70 (after many days of pumping water out and hosing fresh water in) and I went ahead and shocked the pool last night and woke up this morning to a blue pool. It's still cloudy and I can see some algae that the pool robot fixed, so I'm going to shock again tonight, but I am absolutely thrilled.
 
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LizGinNC said:
so I'm going to shock again tonight, but I am absolutely thrilled.
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Glad to hear you are making progress. But remember, the SLAM Process is not just an occasional "shock". Those shocks will not completely kill and remove algae. "Maintain" the proper elevated FC (SLAM) level as noted on the FC/CYA Levels until you pass all 3 SLAM criteria and you will be much happier in the long run. With a CYA of 70, your FC level should be 28. Good luck!
 
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Good morning!

The testing supplies for the FAS-DPD test are supposed to be delivered today, but I didn't want to wait to shock. Confession, though, but I added in way more chlorine than it said I needed in the app. I put 4 gallons in last night. 3 were 10%, 1 was 12.5%. I had been a 1ppm for TC and FC prior to the shock. I thought CYA was about 70 but truthfully this seemed too good to be true so I wanted to err on the side of caution.

I woke up to a blue pool. It's the first time it's been blue in... probably 8 months. Of course it is still cloudy, and I can't see the bottom in the deep end, but it is insanely huge progress and I am absolutely thrilled.

These are my test results this morning:
FC = 10+ (strips show 20+)
TC = 10+ (strips show 20+)
PH = 7.6
TA = 60
CH = 100
CYA = 60

My husband says now we need to add clarifier and phosphate remover. The clarifier makes sense, but I'm not sure about the phosphate remover. I don't feel like I've heard much about the need for this, and no test results show me that as being necessary. Any advice, pool pros??
 
You don’t need clarifier or phosphate remover. You need to continue the slam with liquid chlorine as prescribed.

LizGinNC said:
was in the position of being the nagging wife who desperately wants a beautiful pool but is stuck being an annoyance to my husband and the embarrassment of the neighborhood.
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Girl! You’re being wayyyy too hard on yourself. Stop that.
 
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Clarifier is typically not needed. Filtering is what is needed. Clarifier can help but we don't recommend it, as it can cause filter issues later, especially if it's used on a regular basis. If you do use it be sure not to use too much per the bottle's recommendations, and it's best to use a quality product. For more info see here:

Clarifier - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

Phosphate remover is also typically not needed. It removes phosphates which are food for algae, but if you were invited to an all-you-can-eat buffet where the room is filled with toxic gas, you wouldn't really have much of a chance to eat. It can act as insurance if FC ever does dip too low, but is certainly not a magic bullet. Also it tends to make clusters of goo on the bottom of the pool that should be vacuumed to waste, and if you can't see the bottom, that becomes somewhat difficult. See here:

Phosphate Removers - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

What you need to do is to keep the FC level up to the right level for your CYA. View this page and video:

SLAM Process



You need to complete the SLAM. When the FAS/DPD powder comes in you can test your FC to much more accurate levels and target the right FC with each addition. This will help with not using too much, and will also mean less potential damage to pool equipment and surfaces from using sky-high FC levels. Then it's patience as you let your filter do the work.
 
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