Stubborn pool

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sks76v

Member
Jun 4, 2024
14
Missouri
Pool Size
14000
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Good evening! I am a first time pool owner and over the winter our pool cover rotted so our pool became extremely contaminated with algae, pine needles, and other gross stuff. I unfortunately did not find this thread until after we had already been trying so many things (and wow, what a learning curve it's been). We've gotten to a really good spot, it seems like must the big junk is out of the pool, but now we are struggling with this hazy green color. We were advised by some people to, and I quote, "shock the Darn out of your pool" and that's what we did, so hopefully our numbers aren't too alarming. Some things that we've been doing other than shocking is, daily vacuuming to waste and refilling up 2-3 inches of fresh water, recircing the chemicals, and then filter the best we can (our poor sand filter has been taking a beating) and before starting the filter we backwash and rinse. We haven't done any shock in a few days due to the high chlorine and cya number, only baking soda and pH down since our pH had been really high. I'm just needing to know if we are on the right path or what more we can do. I'm so so looking forward to swimming and all this hard work being rewarded with pool days. Lol I have attached some photos as well. Thank you!

Using the TF-100:
pH : 7.2
Alkalinity:80-90
Calcium: 250
FC: 75 ppm
CYA: 100? - I will say I don't have the best eyes and don't feel like I could do this test the best so my husband will be trying it in the morning to see if he yields better results.
 

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How have you been chlorinating?
So when you do the test for CYA, the dot disappears with just a little liquid in the tube? If so, the CYA could be much higher than 100 bc 100 is the highest it can test. Here is a description of how to test with the water diluted. Then you double the result to see what your CYA REALLY is.
Please explain how to dilute CYA test if over 100
 
At first we were using bags of shock but then per the guidance of a pool store moved to liquid chlorine to help kill the algae and raise the pH.

I get right below the 100 line before I can't see the dot anymore. I'll check that method out.
 
You need to follow the
SLAM Process
It is impractical to do this at such high cya levels.
Once you know your cya (using the diluted test)
You can then exchange enough water to get cya down to the 40/50 range and proceed with slam as outlined in the article.
The amount to exchange will be directly proportional to the cya reduction needed - example: to reduce cya by 50% you need to replace 50% of your water.

*You shouldn’t lower the water level in the pool lower than 18” remaining or you risk the liner shifting.
*If the pool is buried at all you should not lower the water lower than the surrounding ground or you risk wall collapse.

If you do not have a submersible pump to accomplish the exchange you can use your vac hose to create a siphon.
The no drain water exchange is the safest option especially since your liner looks pretty bleached out.
Read up on it here👇

Draining - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
Mdragger88 said:
You need to follow the
SLAM Process
It is impractical to do this at such high cya levels.
Once you know your cya (using the diluted test)
You can then exchange enough water to get cya down to the 40/50 range and proceed with slam as outlined in the article.
The amount to exchange will be directly proportional to the cya reduction needed - example: to reduce cya by 50% you need to replace 50% of your water.

*You shouldn’t lower the water level in the pool lower than 18” remaining or you risk the liner shifting.
*If the pool is buried at all you should not lower the water lower than the surrounding ground or you risk wall collapse.

If you do not have a submersible pump to accomplish the exchange you can use your vac hose to create a siphon.
The no drain water exchange is the safest option especially since your liner looks pretty bleached out.
Read up on it here👇

Draining - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
Click to expand...
Okay but how did our cya get so high? And how do we avoid doing that again?
 
After removing 50% of the water - this is where we are at currently. The Cya test is still giving us conflicting results. Maybe between 50-80? The chlorine was at 40 ppm yesterday and is around 25 ppm now. pH dropped to about 6.8 too. 1000008038.jpg
 

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sks76v said:
Also my partner did take a sample to a Leslie's pool store today and got it tested. They didn't detect algae but their results seemed skewed from ours.
Click to expand...
They cannot detect algae unless they’re using a microscope- which I doubt they are.
 
sks76v said:
Also this is what we got from the pool store, is it correct? View attachment 584676
Click to expand...
That is calcium hypochlorite- it adds calcium to the pool. Too much calcium can cause scaling.
Large doses of cal hypo can also cause cloudiness.
The slam process should be done with liquid chlorine/ sodium hypochlorite/bleach
 
I’m not sure that is Calcium Hypochlorite. It looks like it’s a liquid in a container I haven’t seen before for liquid chlorine.

That is a liquid, right? If so, then it’s the right stuff.
 
sks76v said:
After removing 50% of the water - this is where we are at currently. The Cya test is still giving us conflicting results. Maybe between 50-80? The chlorine was at 40 ppm yesterday and is around 25 ppm now. pH dropped to about 6.8 too
Click to expand...
Your PH number is probably being skewed by your FC number (the results can be affected by high chlorine).

50-80 is a big spread on the CYA. If you are testing this yourself, you are looking for where the black dot is just about gone - but don't stare at it, or your brain will put the dot there because it knows it should be there. The best method is to fill the tube to a line - say 100, then hold it at waist level, and glance straight down the tube and look away. If you CLEARLY see the dot, add to the next line, check again, until the dot is not obviously there. Do not interpolate between the lines, if its wishy-washy at 50, but pretty much gone at 60, assume 60.

Then, take that number, use the FC/CYA chart to figure the correct FC level for the SLAM process.

1718275690571.png

Try to maintain that level consistently -

www.troublefreepool.com

SLAM - Shock Level and Maintain

We’ve all had to deal with a green pool. Clear algae from your pool with a SLAM! Read here to use shock level and maintain to clear your pool.
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
SJPoe said:
Your PH number is probably being skewed by your FC number (the results can be affected by high chlorine).

50-80 is a big spread on the CYA. If you are testing this yourself, you are looking for where the black dot is just about gone - but don't stare at it, or your brain will put the dot there because it knows it should be there. The best method is to fill the tube to a line - say 100, then hold it at waist level, and glance straight down the tube and look away. If you CLEARLY see the dot, add to the next line, check again, until the dot is not obviously there. Do not interpolate between the lines, if its wishy-washy at 50, but pretty much gone at 60, assume 60.

Then, take that number, use the FC/CYA chart to figure the correct FC level for the SLAM process.

View attachment 584708

Try to maintain that level consistently -

www.troublefreepool.com

SLAM - Shock Level and Maintain

We’ve all had to deal with a green pool. Clear algae from your pool with a SLAM! Read here to use shock level and maintain to clear your pool.
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
Click to expand...
Okay I checked again this morning - seems CYA is 90 so I added chlorine to get up to 35. Should I let some water out this evening though to get the CYA down eventually for swimming? I know this may not be possible but I was hoping we'd get there by this weekend due to our weather being 90+ so I want to set us up for the best possible scenario. Or if I should just keep it at its current level, how do I balance it out once we pass the overnight test.
 
There is nothing inherently wrong with a CYA of 90, in fact I run my pool at 80-90 to alleviate chlorine loss to UV during the day. That said, obviously the higher your CYA, the more FC you need to maintain the correct sanitation levels. More FC = More liquid chlorine = more $ - hence we suggest having the CYA lower when you are SLAMming, so that you don't need to bring in the Liquid Chlorine by the truck load ;)

If you have the ability to exchange some water, that's probably not a bad thing. Aiming for a CYA of around 40-50 is ideal - but its not something you HAVE to do prior to swimming. Try to keep your FC as close to that 35 level as you can, as often as you can, and it will speed up the process. Your particular pool, where it sits, how much sun it gets, whether its covered and so on will all influence what your preferred CYA level should be long term.

Generally, to swim, you want the water to be clear enough to see the bottom of the pool in the deepest part (for safety reasons) and your FC/CYA to be in balance - you are perfectly ok swimming in anything up to SLAM levels.
 
For next season, try to vacuum to waste as much as you can when you open the pool - this really helped me last few seasons. This season, we got lazy (plus the water level was low so didn't wait to fill it back up to vacuum) and took a bit longer than usual (and more liquid chlorine, like 3+ gallons).

In addition, I had to clean the DE filter after 4th days of opening and the filter media / DE was basically GREEN (this was expected as I go through the same process every years). Make sure your filter is clean as well (not sure how to can do that with sand filter though). Currently my CYA is low and trying to get that up....
 
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