Topics Merged. Please don't double post questions. Bama


Okay I am a newbie...this is my girlfriend's pool and she always has problems in the past 2 summers with algae. I told her I was going to handle the pool chemicals this year and I am trying to learn. I am ordering the K-2006 kit after reading a lot in your forums, but all I have right now is aquachem test strips 6 way.

The pool 20 x 40 vinyl - approx. 36000 gal. was uncovered and it is green. Algae everywhere. Sand Filter Hayward S244T

Total Hardness, Total Chlorine, Free Chlorine, PH, total Alkalinity and Stabilizer all read the lowest readings on the Aquachem test strip.

I have the following chemicals now...Bleach (also have Chlorine 3" tabs) Baking Soda, Borax and the Shock from Aqua-Chem X-tra blue.

I have vaccuum the pool on waste...not sure if right to do that on waste??? and I have added no chemicals and the water is totally green. I guess I need to go ahead and add bleach, but how about shock?

Looking for help on what steps to take to try and get started or do I need to wait for the test kit to come in. Thanks for any help...trying to impress my girlfriend...Thank You.

NM o

What's the pH. You need to adjust that before you start shocking. Then hit it hard and regular!

It would be a huge help if you had better test results. Any chance you can stop by a pool store tomorrow and get a water test?

Before you start shocking you should adjust the TA and PH so they are both basically in range. If your test strips are correct both need to be raised significantly. I'm a little concerned that the test strips aren't reliable. If you can get the water tested tomorrow, that would be best. If that is out of the question, I would start by adding 50 ppm of baking soda, about 24 lbs of baking soda.

Well, that certainly deserves all the help we can muster!

Based on your report, I don't think I would trust ANY results from your strips.

We really need for you to supply us with a full set of test results to give really good help and get your pool crystal clear but here's what you can do while you're waiting for that kit.

Each evening, after the sun is off the water, pour a large jug of Clorox into the pool. That'll start killing some of that green algae and either get you a head start or keep you from falling further behind.

Secondly, clean up ANY solid matter you can. Any dirt, leaves, etc. you can get out of the pool now will make it much easier to get it crystal clear. Scoop up what you can, vacuum if you can, and brush the sides.

Once your kit gets in, post you test results up ASAP. We'll probably get you to add some borax to the pool to adjust pH but I wouldn't start that just now 'til you can confirm your pH is low.

A second path would be to take a sample to a pool store for analysis but, alas, sometimes their testing is no better than the strips you have. You could give that a try if you like, we can usually tell if the results are really bogus.

Hi, welcome to TFP! Vacuuming to waste when to pool is full of algae is just what you should do. Just keep an eye on the water level and keep it at least half way up the skimmer. Add more water if it starts to get too low. Since you do not have a test kit yet, go ahead and have a pool store run a complete set of tests for you and post them here. Don't buy anything from them! After you post results we can give you a starting point for clearing the pool. Do not add the Aqua chem xtra blue at this time. Read the label and post the ingredients here first.

She does have a T-1000 test kit that she purchased last year...the Chlorine is below .5 and the PH looks to be 6.8 or below. Not much help but all I have right now. Hopefully will have the new test kit on Thursday. Thanks for helping me stay out of the Dog House.

The Aqua Chem Shock Xtra Blue Ingredient are:
Sodium Dichloro-s-triazinetrione 63.05%
Copper (Metallic) 0.26%
Other Ingred. 36.69%
Total Ingred. 100%
Avail. Chlorine 39%

Box reada does not increase PH and is in 1 lb bags and use 1 lb. for each 12000 gallons.

Hey,

That kit she has is probably the Taylor K-1000 in a blue plastic box. please confirm that.

If so, we can get you started by raising your pH. Go to the grocery store and get some 20 Mule team Borax.....probably 3 boxes that are around 4.5 lbs each. It's in with the laundry detergent.

Next, learn how to use The Pool Clculator down in my signature. It may seem a little daunting at first but, remember, there's a girlfriend at stake here. Seriously, it may be a little intimidating so post back if you need help.

You want to put your pools gallons into the pool calc and then go down to pH and put 6.8 as your current reading and then put 7.4 as your target. It'll tell you how much of that borax to put in the pool.

Put the Borax into the pool slowly thru the skimmer (pump running) and then retest in an hour or so and post that result. We would like to see your pH about 7.2 or a little more.

While you're at the store, buy about 10 large jugs of unscented Clorox. You will need them all. Put one jug in the pool each evening until you get your kit.

That'll give you a head start. Post up all your tests as soon as your kit gets in.

Yes it is the K-1000... I have the Borax and the Bleach and I will put them in tonight...do I need to run the filter the entire time.
I have tried to vacuum the algae but I cannot even see the bottom in the deep end. I have the shallow end bottom and sides clean.

Yes. Do you know how to backwash the filter? When was the last time you did it? What was the starting pressure AFTER you backwashed?

Yes I backwashed and I had to replace the pressure gauge today because it was stuck and not working. Today before Backwashing for like 3 minutes and then rinsing the pressure was 20...it only went down to 15 after the backwash.

The pool is much clearer today but still bad. So far I have added 2 gallons of bleach and 2 boxes of the Borax.

I checked the Chlorine and PH today with the K-1000 kit and looks like Chlorine is about 2 or a little darker.
PH is still like 6.8 or less.

I do have some chemicals...Baking Soda, 2 more Boxes of Borax, 2 bottles of CYA and 6 more gallons of Bleach and the Aqua Chem Shock Xtra blue that I mention earlier and listed the Ingredients.

Thanks for helping me.

Thought my test kit might be here todaybut didnt make it...should be arriving in the mail tomorrow, so I will post my test results tomorrow around 4pm.
Got the T-100.
My Chlorine is disappearing out of the pool daily so I guess the CYA is low???
I have added 1.42 gallons Bleach every other day and usually the reading is 2 after a few hours.
The ph is still down. Looks to be maybe 7.0 PH with the K-1000 test. I have put in 3 boxes of Borax and 12 .lb of baking soda, to try and get the PH up.

What do I need to get to raise the CYA if Needed? I guess CYA (stabilizer) but where is the best place to buy...Thanks

Also the pool is clear and algae is mostly gone...for now.

If nobody's mentioned it yet, shock is a process, not a product. Your Cl is low because you've got algae. You've got to get your Cl level up to shock level and keep it there until it holds overnight. That's gonna take a lot more than 1.5 gallons of bleach per day, especially in that 36K gallon pool.

The Pool School (pool-school/) and the Pool Calculator (http://www.poolcalculator.com/) are your friends!

Good luck!

I have the same size pool and just to give you an idea of how much chlorine it took to clear my green swamp in the past week here is what I used.

15lbs granular shock
16 gallons 12% chlorine liquid shock.

I added the liquid starting with 2 gallons at a time and wasnt making much progress so just added in 5 on day 3. That got it up to 20ppm where I wanted it. Tested morning and night and just kept adding to keep it there. It took 5 days of constant filtering with my DE filter and adding chlorine. Now it is crystal clear and sparkling blue!!!

Also tested ph and adjusted as needed during this process. I think if I had just started with 5 gallons I would have gotten out a head of it and saved myself a few gallons and some time.

As for vacuuming to waste keep in mind that is a big pool and every inch you lose of water you will need to replace some how!! I never vacuum to waste and have never needed to. Its very hard and expensive to replace that much water.

Got the T-100 today an just tested...

FC .5
PH 6.8
T/A 50
CYA - 60
Temp 82

I am going to the pool calculator and see what it says...any advice is appreciated. Thanks

Can you post a TC or CC number? You don't need more CYA at this point.

In fact...I would say if you wanted to do more vacuuming to waste and lower the water level and add more water. You are going to have to shock the pool very high...close to 25 ppm on the FC or higher. so if you wanted to do that it would bring the CYA down a little each time you did that, and you would not have so far to go to shock the pool. What does everyone else think??? pH needs to get adjusted up to 7.2 to 7.8 You could use the super washing soda from arm and hammer since your TA is low also...It raises both the pH and the TA pretty sharply...but that is what I had to do this year at opening.

Just a thought!

Also the pool is crystal clear now if that makes any difference in what I need to do. It looks great.

Well than...you did it all without a test kit...Kudos...I would do an over night FC test...just to make sure you are holding at an appropriate level and that there isn't anything left over that could start another algae bloom. You want to make sure you have enough FC in the pool at all times to kill anything that might start. And besides...Now that you have hero status with the Girl Friend...you don't want to mess up and have the algae come back in a week. Test regularly at lest once per day and add chlorine as needed. I know it seems silly, but if you test every day you know where you stand and you know if you need to add chlorine or not...At this point it is all about maintenance.

You may even develop sparklypoolitis! Congrats...