Pool Rehab RECOVERY......strategy questions

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Johnmarkpainter

Johnmarkpainter

0
Apr 19, 2016
69
Hendersonville, TN
I did a good job with the info here for a few years...then....
I slacked and was just buying packets of treatment (couldn't get bleach during Covid for instance) and eventually wasn't testing much or at all and just dumping in stuff and sweeping...oops. I'm BACK

So it went bad end of season last year.
Became a bit of a frog pond with dragonfly babies and tadpoles swimming around.

I cleaned out a lot of solids...leaves, pollen (pear trees!) lots of sludge.
I added a bunch of dry chlorine and the water went light but super cloudy.
Kept sweeping/baskets/backwashing.
Then I added Salt. My SWG is old and probably not working but I also wanted to get rid of the frogs ;)
More sweeping
Then added Borax. Then a little more chlorine.

CH Level was normal as was TA but I'll be checking again soon
WHICH IS MY QUESTION

CYA was extremely low unless my Test Kit is 'exoired'.
Filling up the tube all the way (to make the black dot vanish) didn't do it so it is much lower than 15.
I added CYA today plus more fresh water.
There is still too much solid stuff in the pool that I can't see for me to vacuum so I am blindly using a skimmer net and sweeping and skimming the top (though that is staying clear now).
Still LOTS of cloudy sludge in the pool.

I just backwashed, added a good bit of Chlorine packs and swept it again.

SO TOMOROW....
I'll be testing everything again in the morning.
I won't rush to add any more CYA until things balance out a bit more.
My instinct is to get as much of the solids out before wasting more chlorine.

Is there a 'ratio' for this?
I am hoping the water clears up more now that I have done two shocks and added CYA.
 
Johnmarkpainter said:
I did a good job with the info here for a few years...then....
I slacked and was just buying packets of treatment (couldn't get bleach during Covid for instance) and eventually wasn't testing much or at all and just dumping in stuff and sweeping...oops. I'm BACK

So it went bad end of season last year.
Became a bit of a frog pond with dragonfly babies and tadpoles swimming around.

I cleaned out a lot of solids...leaves, pollen (pear trees!) lots of sludge.
I added a bunch of dry chlorine and the water went light but super cloudy.
Kept sweeping/baskets/backwashing.
Then I added Salt. My SWG is old and probably not working but I also wanted to get rid of the frogs ;)
More sweeping
Then added Borax. Then a little more chlorine.

CH Level was normal as was TA but I'll be checking again soon
WHICH IS MY QUESTION

CYA was extremely low unless my Test Kit is 'exoired'.
Filling up the tube all the way (to make the black dot vanish) didn't do it so it is much lower than 15.
I added CYA today plus more fresh water.
There is still too much solid stuff in the pool that I can't see for me to vacuum so I am blindly using a skimmer net and sweeping and skimming the top (though that is staying clear now).
Still LOTS of cloudy sludge in the pool.

I just backwashed, added a good bit of Chlorine packs and swept it again.

SO TOMOROW....
I'll be testing everything again in the morning.
I won't rush to add any more CYA until things balance out a bit more.
My instinct is to get as much of the solids out before wasting more chlorine.

Is there a 'ratio' for this?
I am hoping the water clears up more now that I have done two shocks and added CYA.
Click to expand...
You need to follow the SLAM process with liquid chlorine, not dichlor. And keep scooping as much junk out as possible. Dont add any more CYA until you test for FC and make sure itll hold at least 5ppm for a few hours.
 
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OK…I ordered a refill kit for my big testing stuff…so I’m spitballing the SLAMM at the moment.
BUT

Any tips on getting the stuck residue off?

Water is still cloudy but testing fine.
I was able to see the deep end. Progress.
Water is fairly blue. Just still has a haze from all the dirt I’m still getting out.

But what I am getting out of the pool by brushing and backwashing is a chalky powder.
It is also stuck to the sides. I can see blank spots where I have brushed through it but there is a lot left.
My GUESS is that I just keep brushing and backwashing and learn not to let it get this bad again :)

I suppose it is just dead algae crud. But it feels chalky.
There was definitely a bunch of pollen goop in the pool from nearby pear trees and a few others.

Anything tips other than brush backwash and bleach?
 
Johnmarkpainter said:
OK…I ordered a refill kit for my big testing stuff…so I’m spitballing the SLAMM at the moment.
BUT

Any tips on getting the stuck residue off?

Water is still cloudy but testing fine.
I was able to see the deep end. Progress.
Water is fairly blue. Just still has a haze from all the dirt I’m still getting out.

But what I am getting out of the pool by brushing and backwashing is a chalky powder.
It is also stuck to the sides. I can see blank spots where I have brushed through it but there is a lot left.
My GUESS is that I just keep brushing and backwashing and learn not to let it get this bad again :)

I suppose it is just dead algae crud. But it feels chalky.
There was definitely a bunch of pollen goop in the pool from nearby pear trees and a few others.

Anything tips other than brush backwash and bleach?
Click to expand...
White powder makes it sound like calcium scale or precipitation. If you can collect a sample of it outside of the water and put a drop of muriatic acid on it, calcium will fizz pretty seriously, and that would confirm it. If it doesn’t fizz or react with acid, then it could be some kind of pollen or other debris.
 
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