Oh, don't get me wrong, I don't expect a clear blue pool by the end of the weekend...just hopefully a pool where I can at least make out where the bottom is! :lol:
Where do we go from here?
- Thread starter JulieS1007
- Start date
I've been running the filter as much as possible when I can watch it closely since I'm still having to backwash about every 45min. Though unlike when we first started out, I'm not letting the pressure go over 18psi. But it's still only taking 30-45min to go from 10/12 up to 16/18. That's still normal, right? While still clearing out all the algae? Ideally, how many hours a day should the filter run? I won't be home from 8:45am-3:45pm tomorrow so I'll only be able to run it for a little while in the late afternoon tomorrow. Should I turn on the recirculate tonight/tomorrow or is it okay for it to sit idle overnight through the day tomorrow until I get home?
Absolutely. You are filtering out the nasties. That interval will begin to increase in length.....just stay with your plan of backwasing @ 16-18 or so.
Your thinking on the pump is correct. Ideally, you would want it running 24/7 but, since it is filling up so quickly, you can't do that. I would simply shut it off when it is unattended. Later, you will be able to run 24/7 attended or not.
First TF100 test results!
Got my TF100 in today and have my first set of results! And I think I'm going to need some help again on where to go from here!
Ph: 7.2
FC: 3
CC: .5
TA: 100
CH: 270 (I couldn't tell exactly...could be anywhere from 260-290...I wasn't sure if turning purple was the same as blue so I added a few more drops, but it never seemed to get much more blue...)
CYA: 20 or less (I about emptied the whole mixture bottle and seemed I could still kind of make out the black dot)
We ran out of granular shock on Monday. I was able to get bleach yesterday, but since my test wasn't in, I didn't know what to add yet. So the pool still has a greenish tint and is still cloudy, though you can now see individual leafs at the bottom in the shallow end and can just barely make out where the bottom is in the deep end. I'm still having to check the filter pressure every 30min or so. I was backwashing roughly once an hour yesterday. I was just able to turn it on for the first time today about 4:10pm. At 5:15pm, the pressure has only gone up about 1-2psi. So that's a big improvement already. I should have the majority of the next two days to focus on it and hopefully my husband can work on it Saturday as well since I'll be out of town. I've been reading the "Turning Your Green Swamp Back into a Sparkling Oasis" article and now that I have my kit and my numbers I should be able to follow it correctly now. Anything else I should be doing based on my first set of test results?
Today's water picture:
Got my TF100 in today and have my first set of results! And I think I'm going to need some help again on where to go from here!
Ph: 7.2
FC: 3
CC: .5
TA: 100
CH: 270 (I couldn't tell exactly...could be anywhere from 260-290...I wasn't sure if turning purple was the same as blue so I added a few more drops, but it never seemed to get much more blue...)
CYA: 20 or less (I about emptied the whole mixture bottle and seemed I could still kind of make out the black dot)
We ran out of granular shock on Monday. I was able to get bleach yesterday, but since my test wasn't in, I didn't know what to add yet. So the pool still has a greenish tint and is still cloudy, though you can now see individual leafs at the bottom in the shallow end and can just barely make out where the bottom is in the deep end. I'm still having to check the filter pressure every 30min or so. I was backwashing roughly once an hour yesterday. I was just able to turn it on for the first time today about 4:10pm. At 5:15pm, the pressure has only gone up about 1-2psi. So that's a big improvement already. I should have the majority of the next two days to focus on it and hopefully my husband can work on it Saturday as well since I'll be out of town. I've been reading the "Turning Your Green Swamp Back into a Sparkling Oasis" article and now that I have my kit and my numbers I should be able to follow it correctly now. Anything else I should be doing based on my first set of test results?
Today's water picture:
Just keep the pump on recirculate if you can not watch the filter pressure 24/7 and maintain the FC at shock level which is 10ppm based on your CYA of ~20ppm
You may want to increase the CYA up closer to 30ppm so you are sure of the reading and then your shock FC level will be 12ppm.
Your pH is fine. You TA is a little high and your CH is pretty good ... ignore all of those until the pool is clear.
Just want to confirm that you are adding DE after every time you backwash correct?
You may want to increase the CYA up closer to 30ppm so you are sure of the reading and then your shock FC level will be 12ppm.
Your pH is fine. You TA is a little high and your CH is pretty good ... ignore all of those until the pool is clear.
Just want to confirm that you are adding DE after every time you backwash correct?
jblizzle said:
I am. Going through a lot of DE and the yard is soaked! Guess I should have bought more than just 2 cases of bleach at Sam's yesterday!
Get out the leaf rake and push it around to scoop up any debris in the pool. Yes, it may stir up the gunk but you MUST get that junk out of the pool. It takes a LOT of chlorine to turn sticks leaves into liquid. Any sticks or leaves allow the green algae to grow by using up the chlorine you add.
Ran the filter from 11am-6:15pm. Only had to backwash 3 times today! Still following that green swamp article so kept the FC up at 10 all day, checking in increments of 30min-1hr. I had been scoop netting the pool floor several times over the last few days, so it wasn't terrible, but did another round today since I could finally see what I was doing in the deep end. I've brushed the walls twice in the past few days also. I still need to brush the whole floor, but I stirred up so much today with the netting that the filter started to clog up pretty fast. So I'll brush tomorrow. I didn't run a full test panel today, just FC and CC. I guess I should do that again in the morning? Ended the day with FC: 11 and CC: .5. I think the pool looks a little better today. Definitely not as cloudy as it was yesterday. Though a little hard to tell in the picture with the reflection of all the clouds!
No need to test anything more than FC and CC for now
Posted from my Droid with Tapatalk ... sorry if my response is short
Posted from my Droid with Tapatalk ... sorry if my response is short
Julie, you're doing great. These threads are the best: a new member with a disaster of a swamp, but you're doing it absolutely correctly. Keep at it and keep taking pictures!
Sent from my Exhibit II using Tapatalk.
Sent from my Exhibit II using Tapatalk.
So it's been several days since I checked in. We were barely home Friday-Monday! But we were at least able to keep the chlorine up at shock level that whole time and run the filter as much as possible. Yesterday I ran it from about 11am-7pm and only had to backwash twice! Started yesterday with the chlorine at 11, but completely forgot to check it at the end of the day so I never added any bleach yesterday. This morning FC was 6.5 and CC was .5 so I still didn't add any bleach. This afternoon FC is 3.5 and CC is 0. I've brushed the floors and walls a few times already and the pool is really looking pretty great! So do I need to shock anymore or is it maintenance time now? And at what level should I keep the chlorine? I guess it's time to run the full range of tests again.
Since I still haven't had enough consecutive days to run the filter, I still can't leave it running without checking it at least every hour. I checked yesterday and my CYA is still really low. I filled up the entire test tube and could still make out the black dot. I've got stabilized chlorine tabs in floaters, but I'm sure I still need to add stabilizer. What's the best way to do that when I'm still having to backwash the filter a couple times a day?
Today's picture. You can now see how the plaster is really pretty bad in some areas (the grey mottled areas). Does it look bad enough that we need a replaster ASAP or can it still wait another year or two? Got a quote yesterday for roughly $2500 to replaster with plain white plaster. Though since we still have the patio to redo and our master bathroom to finish out, that's still a stretch for right now.
Since I still haven't had enough consecutive days to run the filter, I still can't leave it running without checking it at least every hour. I checked yesterday and my CYA is still really low. I filled up the entire test tube and could still make out the black dot. I've got stabilized chlorine tabs in floaters, but I'm sure I still need to add stabilizer. What's the best way to do that when I'm still having to backwash the filter a couple times a day?
Today's picture. You can now see how the plaster is really pretty bad in some areas (the grey mottled areas). Does it look bad enough that we need a replaster ASAP or can it still wait another year or two? Got a quote yesterday for roughly $2500 to replaster with plain white plaster. Though since we still have the patio to redo and our master bathroom to finish out, that's still a stretch for right now.
Wait, why did you let the FC drop to 3.5ppm? Have you passed the 3 tests to stop the shock process?
Add the CYA in a sock hanging in front of the pool return ... that way it goes into the pool and you do not have to worry about losing too much when cleaning the filter.
Add the CYA in a sock hanging in front of the pool return ... that way it goes into the pool and you do not have to worry about losing too much when cleaning the filter.
jblizzle said:
Shocking:
1. Measure the FC level
2. Add enough chlorine to bring FC up to shock level (or a little higher)
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 as frequently as practical, but not more than once per hour, and not less than twice a day, until:
a. CC is 0.5 or lower; CHECK - hasn't been more than .5 since I got my TF-100 last Wednesday
b. An overnight FC loss test shows a loss of 1.0 ppm or less; CHECK - as of Saturday I have been getting overnight losses of less than 1
c. And the water is clear. CHECK - finally!
4. Brush the entire pool once a day
5. Backwash or clean the filter as needed
What he said. Don't let the FC drop below shock until you have passed the 3 tests, which from your post I do not know that you have. From the shocking article,jblizzle said:
Ok, since you say you passed the tests, here are the recommended levels: pool-school/recommended_levels. I will look for the chlorine/CYA chart, and post that when I find it. Here is the Chlorine/CYA chart: pool-school/chlorine_cya_chart_shock
Keep using bleach, too. Don't be tempted to add more Power Powder Plus, it has CH in it, and your CH is already fine. Do you know how much of that PPP you used? I am thinking your CH was really low before you started shocking, and that this may have contributed to why your plaster appears the way it does. Mine has spots like that too, my CH was almost zero when I bought this house.
JohnN said:
Thank you! I knew I had seen this somewhere in all I've read so far!
Another question, since I failed miserably at properly maintaining the pool last year. Is there some kind of "standard" when it comes to how often to shock for maintenance?
Short answer: (almost) never. Long answer: The only reason you would need to shock is if you let the FC get below minimum for your CYA. Provided you test and dose your FC daily to recommended levels, you should never need to shock.
RobbieH said:Keep using bleach, too. Don't be tempted to add more Power Powder Plus, it has CH in it, and your CH is already fine. Do you know how much of that PPP you used? I am thinking your CH was really low before you started shocking, and that this may have contributed to why your plaster appears the way it does. Mine has spots like that too, my CH was almost zero when I bought this house.
Oh no, I have become a true bleach convert, let me tell you!! We went through an entire 25lb bucket when we started this "pond to pool" transformation 2 weeks ago! Yeah, I'm pretty sure the CH was quite low since we pretty much didn't touch the pool or run the pump for a good month and all the water added was from rain. And we have no idea when or if this pool has ever had a replaster job. Though our well water (I tested) has a CH of around 160, I believe. I forgot to write it down.