ellisongirls said:
Okay, for those of you that suggested that I have an algae problem, I place more shock, however I don't think by the look of the water there is an algae problem becasue it's crystal clear until I go to vacuum or stir up the bottom of the pool which leads me to think there is too much shock~ just my thoughts. It's pouring rain here so maybe that will help.......or not.
Here are my new numbers from the pool store today.
Temp- 70
sat idx- 0.4
TDS 3400
CYA 99
tot chlor 10 or higher she said
free chol 10
ph 8.5
tot alk 198
adj total alk 198
tot hardness 37
salt 3500
So, now what's next? The lady at the pool store asked me if I could backwash with my filter pump? I honestly don't know so if someone does that would help too? I guess it' stoo much shock??????
No, it's not too much shock, I hope you stopped using the Aquachem "shock plus" ? You may not have had what you considered "algae" but your pool sat for almost a week with no chemicals in it. So shocking was required, because even though you didn't see green, it was on the verge of happening.
No, you can't backwash your filter. Only Sand filters and DE filters can be backwashed, you have an Intex Cartridge Filter system, that uses disposable cartridges that must be replaced when they get dirty. This is a quote from the Intex website:
Question
How often should the filter cartridge be replaced?
Answer
Depending on usage and water conditions, it is recommended that the cartridges be replaced at minimum 2 week intervals. The filter cartridge should be removed and checked at least once a week. It can be partially cleaned by rinsing off with a garden hose and brush. If it still appears to be dirty, it should be replaced immediately.
This is under
normal use. When you have "issues" you need to check the filter more often, spray it off with a garden hose, but if that doesn't get it "clean" you need to replace it.
Replace the cartridge every 2 weeks as their website instructs, clear pool or not. You may be able to order cartridges that are not disposable, the kind that can be cleaned like a "normal" cartridge. But the Intex brand ones are not meant for that use and are cheaply made and meant to be thrown away.
All that stuff at the bottom is the "dead stuff" - what is left AFTER you shocked, and it needs
to be vacumed out of your pool, because the filter is inadequate and can't do it alone.
You need to find your manual for the filter unit and tell us the model number, is it the 2500 gph or the 4000 or whatever? You need to figure out (and we can help you with more info) how to vacume the bottom of the pool so that the stuff on the bottom is vacumed out to your yard, not thru your filter, does that make sense?
While the SWG unit may get good reviews, I trust the reports of the Intex owners on these forums, and they report time and again how difficult it is to work with the Intex filters to clear up a pool once there is a problem. This is irregardless of the SWG part of the unit which by all accounts works fairly well. The filters, however are an entirely different story. They are independed of each other even though they are sold as a unit. Make sense?
You began with a problem, so you have had an uphill battle from the beginning. If you started off clean from day one, it is likely you would have had a better result. But because your pool sat untreated for a week, it developed a problem and here we are today.
Shock is something you do, not something you buy - but the pool stores don't tell you this. You used
too much of the Aquachem shock plus and now your CYA has risen too rapidly from about 40 to about 100. That is because that particular granular "shock" is Dichlor, and it contains CYA. Please stop using it and when and if you ever need to shock your pool, you should
use liquid chlorine or bleach, unless you are
trying to raise your CYA. Right now yours is too high.
With an SWG, you want your CYA to be 70-80...so 99, if accurate is
too high, but that will come down when you vacume, as you will lose water by vacuming to waste, and that has to be replaced. You need to understand what a huge difference a level of 40 vs a level of 99 is. The higher the CYA, the higher the FC and Shock level, please
look at the chart in my signature.
It is often the key to clearing up a cloudy or murky pool. This is another reason why we recommend the test kit, so you can accurately check the CYA yourself. Relying on pool stores is a last result because they often don't do the test right. So right now
your chlorine level is fine, if you can clear up the crud on the bottom it won't even be an issue and you will be able to use the SWG, but first....
Again, your PH has gotten too high. EVERY time the PH rises up past 7.8 you need to add Muratic Acid to lower it to 7.2. Eventually, when you repeat this process over and over (which you will and you should) your TA will come down to the recommended 70-90 and your PH will stabilize. But until then, You need to keep up with the PH level and add the acid as instructed.
So this is a lot to take in and I hope it makes sense to you, I don't want you to feel more overwhelmed.
Just keep reading it and it should all begin to make sense. Use the google search in the bottom left corner to search the various threads about Intex pools on here, and you will find lots of useful advice and hints.
Hope this helps.
Sounds good.
