Want to make sure I am doing my shock right.

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In addition to what Jason said, Vacuuming is important if you can't see the bottom but aren't sure it's clean.
You should vacuum till you're absolutely sure there's nothing down there.
If you're clogging your filter when you vacuum, there's a lot down there and you need to keep at it till you can vacuum and get nothing out of it.
Yes it takes a lot of time and patience to vacuum when you can't see the bottom, but that's when you really need it the most.

As for your R-0871 lasting a season or more. That's correct unless you have to shock, then you use it up pretty fast.
Getting more isn't a problem. Go to http://www.tftestkits.net/ and they'll ship it to you quickly.
 
Update. For the past week the pool has been eating about 3 gallons a day to hold shock level. I did do a bit of vacuuming early in the week but to be honest none in the past few days as I could not see what I was doing at all. I was starting to lose hope in the BBB method. But for some reason today it used less than a gallon to hold shock level. I went out to do my last FC test just before sundown and noticed, I can see the bottom!!!. It's not exactly clear but something different really happened today for no reason that I can see as I didn't change anything. Used way less bleach and major visability improvement. So much I can see I have some serious vacuuming to do. My pool took a long time to respond but it seems if you stay the course you WILL get results! Thank you!
 
This is why we suggest physical removal of as much material as possible before shocking (as Poolschoolgrad wrote) and then lots of filtration with cleaning/backwashing the filter. Chlorine can oxidize a lot, but if there's a lot to get rid of it can take a long time and a lot of chlorine. Eventually, you'll get to a point where there is less for chlorine to react with and the chlorine demand will drop and the pool will start to clear up. It could go all the way to getting clear or you could get stuck with some cloudy water that are remnants that don't react with chlorine, but are too small to get caught in a sand filter (as JasonLion wrote), for example. At that point, one can use DE in the sand filter or if all else fails, use a clarifier (even PolyQuat 60 is a clarifier, though not as powerful as the more modern specific ones).

So hopefully chlorine alone will finish this off for you, but you've got other options if things seem to get stuck.
 
chem geek said:
This is why we suggest physical removal of as much material as possible before shocking (as Poolschoolgrad wrote) and then lots of filtration with cleaning/backwashing the filter. Chlorine can oxidize a lot, but if there's a lot to get rid of it can take a long time and a lot of chlorine. Eventually, you'll get to a point where there is less for chlorine to react with and the chlorine demand will drop and the pool will start to clear up. It could go all the way to getting clear or you could get stuck with some cloudy water that are remnants that don't react with chlorine, but are too small to get caught in a sand filter (as JasonLion wrote), for example. At that point, one can use DE in the sand filter or if all else fails, use a clarifier (even PolyQuat 60 is a clarifier, though not as powerful as the more modern specific ones).
Click to expand...


I have a cart filter, hoping it will get all of the small stuff so I don't have to use clarifier.
 
Burnsy said:
Not much change today, pool is still mostly blue, still small hint of green but not much. Visability has extened to about 8 inches I would guess. Still holding shock level of 13. How long does this usually take? Not asking due to chem cost (wife is a couponer and got 48 96oz bottles for $8.00), asking because I am impatient :)
Click to expand...
Can you send me that coupon?
I'm paying about $2 for 1.5 gallons...
 
Ok further update, this has been SLOW process for me due to the amount of stuff on the bottom, I can only work on it on the weekends and everything I disturb the bottom to vacuum, It clouds up in minutes and I am back to vacing blind. The Good news is the water is crytal clear. The bad news is there is still a little (in relation to what I started with) debris on the bottom.

Question 1: does the bottom need to be completely clear before I can do my overnight test and end my now three week long shock or since the water is clear, can I try the over night test and end the shock with the debris I still have to save on bleach and electricity bills? I have attached current state pics for reference.

Question 2: Some of spots you see don't move when I pass the vac over them. I got my brush out and slowly stuck the corner by one and felt it drop a little, so I worked the corner of the brush around and found that I could stir it up. Some of these spots don't react to the vac because the debris is in a divit in the liner. I figure when I am down to just the spots that are in little valleys I can get in the pool and manually remove the debris with my hand or something. I know that little valleys and divets are not normal in a liner. What causes this? Is it a major problem?
 

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madwil said:
Burnsy said:
Not much change today, pool is still mostly blue, still small hint of green but not much. Visability has extened to about 8 inches I would guess. Still holding shock level of 13. How long does this usually take? Not asking due to chem cost (wife is a couponer and got 48 96oz bottles for $8.00), asking because I am impatient :)
Click to expand...
Can you send me that coupon?
I'm paying about $2 for 1.5 gallons...
Click to expand...

She bought 40 of the coupons from ebay and combined them with a 2 for 1 sale with an additional rebate that we going on at a local hardware store.
 
I think I answered my own question, bit a research says that the debris will turn FC into CC over night correct? Also perhaps my question on the pits and valleys in my line is better suited in one of the other sections so I will ask there.
 

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Assuming there is both chlorine and organic debris in the pool, CC is being both created and destroyed continuously. It is the relative rate of those two processes that determines if you see a measurable CC level or not. CC is destroyed more quickly when there is sunlight and more quickly when the FC level is higher. It is created more quickly when there is ammonia in the water or the CYA level is near zero.

The bottom does not need to be completely clear to do the overnight FC loss test. It should be at least mostly clear however.

Divots in the bottom can come from several things. They are most common when you have an older sand bottom and the sand has shifted over the years or just slightly washed out in places. Pool crete under the liner can sometimes be dented by a really hard hit, a sharp kick for example. Small leaks can cause either sand or pool crete to wash out, creating a divot.
 
Got everything out I could cept for what's in the pitted areas that the vac won't clean and I need to get in and manually remove the debris. There is more of them than I would like, roughtly 30-40 pitted areas :( The rest of the bottom is prefectly clean though. Was way to cold to get in today and clean them but since my water is crystal clear I am attempting the over night test. Just did the sun down test at 12.5 FC and .5 CC. Heres to hoping!
 
That is correct BUT, possible problem. The ladder that came with the pool/house has spent three years behind a shed exposed to the elements. Being plastic, I figured no problem. It was pretty dirty so I cleaned it as best I could with a clorox bleach spray and a green pad. Those things have a LOT of nooks where dirt can collect. I did the best I could and then hosed it off. Looked pretty clean but I must have missed some thing somewhere. I put it in yesterday and today, I checked my FC about an hour ago and found it at .5!! I added enough to get it back to maintenence level but I am guessing my ladder is the problem. Does this mean I need to shock all over again?
 
What does the OCLT say? That's what's going to tell you if you need to shock.

Did you clean every where water could get in the ladder? Even the small holes on and under the steps? You could manually add bleach to those holes to get rid of anything hiding in there.
 

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