Taking over care of our pool!
- Thread starter moljourn
- Start date
I think I would bring the pool back up to shock level then do another OCLT. It maybe that you did not pass the last criteria (pool clear) when you allowed the FC to drop. Even if you do pass the OCLT, I would remain at shock level for a little while to see if the brown stuff goes away and the pool continues to clear.
Yeah, I am guessing it was premature to come out of shock. I thought since I had passed the OCLT consistently I was in the clear, but I guess not...
Well at least it caused you to get your filter squared away. It is a common mistake to rely to much on the OCLT and CC and forget about the "water crystal clear" part, since that often times takes the longest.
I am a little skeptical on my CYA results. I have done it three times now and gotten 50, 50 and 60, but when is "can't see" "can't see"? Am I trying too hard to make it disappear, or does the test really want me to make the dot impossible to see?
Well the CYA test is only go to +/-10 or 15 ... so if you are consistently around 50-60 ... I would call it good.
There is a link in This Post with pictures of the CYA test from Taylor.
There is a link in This Post with pictures of the CYA test from Taylor.
moljourn, you've made great progress so keep up the good work. do you still have dead algea laying on the bottom of the pool in areas that you are relying on your cleaner to pick up?
just a thought to speed that process up is to by a good vacuum (if you do not already have one) and vacuum the bottom of the pool to "waste" so that it does not pass through your filter. i'm assuming with a sand filter and pics posted that you can turn the valve over to waste to get this accomplished.
just a thought and was wondering if your pool cleaner might be kicking up the dead stuff at the bottom and that's why the water hasn't cleared up much.
also in regards to your cleaner, i know it's connected to the side wall, have you removed the hose to be sure that the wall fitting is not clogged with anything?
Again, good luck and you've made such excellent progress already!
just a thought to speed that process up is to by a good vacuum (if you do not already have one) and vacuum the bottom of the pool to "waste" so that it does not pass through your filter. i'm assuming with a sand filter and pics posted that you can turn the valve over to waste to get this accomplished.
just a thought and was wondering if your pool cleaner might be kicking up the dead stuff at the bottom and that's why the water hasn't cleared up much.
also in regards to your cleaner, i know it's connected to the side wall, have you removed the hose to be sure that the wall fitting is not clogged with anything?
Again, good luck and you've made such excellent progress already!
I do have a vacuum that goes to the skimmer with a skimmer plate. I have vacuumed through the filter a couple times. I have not vacuumed to waste yet. I do have brown powdery spots on the shallow end. Last night I shut the filter off entirely over night to see what happened, and this morning I could see detail on the MD. I have been running my cleaner about 8 hours a day, but there is nothing significant in the pool to pick up, so should I stop this practice? I have disconnected the cleaner from the wall to look at the hose etc. It was missing the screen so I purchased one. I have not looked into the hose fitting in the pool wall, but water comes out of there with pretty good force so I don't think anything is blocking it.
Thanks for the encouragement! I'll keep plodding away, and post some pictures when all is said and done! I will be asking for advice on running a permanent waste line soon. The blue hose along the side of my house flooding my (and my neighbor's) side yard is not a good situation.
Thanks for the encouragement! I'll keep plodding away, and post some pictures when all is said and done! I will be asking for advice on running a permanent waste line soon. The blue hose along the side of my house flooding my (and my neighbor's) side yard is not a good situation.
What should my water level be in regard to my skimmer? I think I may have my level a litle high.
As long as there is still an air gap at the skimmer opening, it should still be able to do it's job. I would leave at least an inch of air gap at mouth of skimmer.
Alright short progress report to start. Pool is super clean! I have raised the salt level to around 1100ppm and plan to raise it to around 2000ppm. Last night FC was 25.5 with 0 CC. Added 182oz of 6% bleach to raise FC to 29.6 (where I have held it for about a week). This morning the pool finally looks finished. Little over three weeks of work to get here. Now I plan on letting the FC fall into place, balancing out the other chemicals and getting the salt in line.
Now for today’s questions:
I have noticed that over time while the return is 100% going to the cleaner I get air built up in the filter system, decreasing the cleaners ability to do it’s job. Suggestions?
Also, my cleaner hose was too long so I shortened it about three feet. If I shorten it any more it will not be able to reach all areas of the pool, but it still wraps itself up in a knot especially in the middle of the pool where it has the most slack. Suggestions?
Now for today’s questions:
I have noticed that over time while the return is 100% going to the cleaner I get air built up in the filter system, decreasing the cleaners ability to do it’s job. Suggestions?
Also, my cleaner hose was too long so I shortened it about three feet. If I shorten it any more it will not be able to reach all areas of the pool, but it still wraps itself up in a knot especially in the middle of the pool where it has the most slack. Suggestions?
Not sure I have a good answer for you, but I will throw my 2 cents in...I wonder if you have a potential leak somewhere in the line that when the higher vacuum caused by the cleaner being more restrictive to flow, causes the leak to leak or to leak faster.
linen said:
That would be my guess as well ... do you see air in the pump when only on cleaner?
As far as the tangling of the hose ... my electric wire for the robot does the same thing ... I think it is just something we have to deal with and untangle.
Done! 
Tested my pool last night and I have completed the shock cycle. Pool looks amazing and feels great, though I haven’t been in yet, I just know by touching the water! Here are my test results:
FC 12.5 (letting this fall to the 4 – 8 range)
CC 0
PH 7.5
TA 110 (This is a little high so going to add acid)
CH 70
CYA 50
Salt 1520 (going to add another 40lbs or so to get up closer to 2000)
The air entering my pump while all return flow is routed to my pool cleaner is being caused by the valve attachment at the side of the pool. I left the cleaner disconnected last night and turned it all on. My girlfriend and I went for a walk and when we got back… No air in the system. So looks like I need to replace that. $4 or so isn’t too bad…
As for the tangled up cleaner hose, it still gets caught up every once in a while but it is doing far better since I shortened it.
Here are before and after pics of the pool. These pictures are exactly four weeks apart. Thank you everyone for your help! Now it’s on to teaching my brother how to do all of this as he is buying a home with what will be his first pool this month! Happy swimming!!!
BEFORE
AFTER
Tested my pool last night and I have completed the shock cycle. Pool looks amazing and feels great, though I haven’t been in yet, I just know by touching the water! Here are my test results:FC 12.5 (letting this fall to the 4 – 8 range)
CC 0
PH 7.5
TA 110 (This is a little high so going to add acid)
CH 70
CYA 50
Salt 1520 (going to add another 40lbs or so to get up closer to 2000)
The air entering my pump while all return flow is routed to my pool cleaner is being caused by the valve attachment at the side of the pool. I left the cleaner disconnected last night and turned it all on. My girlfriend and I went for a walk and when we got back… No air in the system. So looks like I need to replace that. $4 or so isn’t too bad…
As for the tangled up cleaner hose, it still gets caught up every once in a while but it is doing far better since I shortened it.
Here are before and after pics of the pool. These pictures are exactly four weeks apart. Thank you everyone for your help! Now it’s on to teaching my brother how to do all of this as he is buying a home with what will be his first pool this month! Happy swimming!!!
BEFORE
AFTER
Nice Work!!! 
Looks like a new pool that you can enjoy all summer!!!
If you find you want to lower TA, follow the Lowering Total Alkalinity article in Pool School. You really only need to worry about this is you feel that the pH is continually rising resulting in you having to add acid.
Looks like a new pool that you can enjoy all summer!!!
If you find you want to lower TA, follow the Lowering Total Alkalinity article in Pool School. You really only need to worry about this is you feel that the pH is continually rising resulting in you having to add acid.
Thanks Jason. I remember reading that now. I should probably go back and revisit pool school articles just as a refresher, (though I have read it three complete times) there is so much in there I am sure I have forgotten a lot.