*seasoned BBB'er having trouble this Spring* Need Advice

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Cjblanton07

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Platinum Supporter
May 19, 2011
5
Lawrenceburg, KY
I say "seasoned" carefully, I found TFP maybe 5-6 years ago. I used to have an account and was a paying member for the first few years but something happened to my account and I had to create a new one. Every Spring is like having to take a crash course on BBB. I refresh what I remember and what I thought I remembered and get a game plan together. This year, I feel like I screwed up adding my stabilizer too soon.

Our winter cover ripped this year, and taking a 33ft round cover off without getting anything in the water is never easy anyway, as in I've never been able to not get anything in the water. But this year was especially bad.
We removed the cover on 4/29 and my #'s were:
FC 0
CC 0
pH 7.0
TA 30
CYA 0
I added 2 Borax and 4 (128oz) bleach

4/30
FC 0
pH 7.6
Added 6 bleach
FC 10/5
Added 2 bleach
FC 14
CC <.5
pH 7.8-8
1 bleach
FC 13
Added 1 bleach
FC 17.5
CC <.5
TA 50-60
pH 7.8-8
^all on 4/30

So I was off to a great start stabilizing all my #'s. I started being able to see the bottom on 5/2 and realized there was a huge pile of debris that needed to come out. But since I could see the bottom I was like "Oh I need to get my stabilizer in here". So I stuck my pantyhose in with my stabilizer. Which I feel has ended up royally screwing me. I sooooo wish I would have waited to add that. I don't know what I was thinking!!

It ended up raining for the next 3 days non-stop and I couldn't do anything. Plus I added way too much I guess (the whole bottle - which is what I've always done in the past) and my CYA was 80-90 on 5/8. I don't have any pics of the water during that time but the water really hasn't been the same since I added the stabilizer.

5/15 I finally got to vacuum (I have toddlers so spending time on the pool isn't easy:) and broke my vacuum head.

I finally realized on 5/19 that I was going to have to maintain a higher shock level b/c of the high CYA level. That maintaining between FC 10-15 wasn't going to work and that it need to be 24+.

5/19 I got my new vacuum head in the mail. Hooked it straight up and got to work. Spent 5/19, 5/20 vacuuming and shocking at night. 5/21 was raining all day so I tried to maintain close to shock level throughout the day.

5/19
3pm
FC 11
added 5 bleach

5/20
11am
FC 19.5
pH 7.4
CYA 60
8pm
FC 10.5
added 4 bleach

5/21
11am
FC 18.5
cc <.5
pH 7.4
added 2 bleach
9pm
FC 17.5
added 3 bleach

Last year it took me 69 gallons and almost 4 weeks to get adjusted. I just used 69 gallons last night and I don't feel like I'm done. Thankfully I work where I get bleach delivered straight to me from a custodial supply distributor so I order 20 cases at the start of every season and have never used more than that. In fact last year I had 3 cases left over.

I'm really hoping that y'all can see something in my numbers that I'm not. Other than the fact that I added my CYA too soon and am now needing to maintain higher shock levels... Please help me get a game plan together! I would love for my niece to be able to swim in "clean water" on Memorial Day! 4-30-17.jpg5-1-17.jpg5-2-17.jpg5-19-17.jpg5-21-17.jpg

Any help would be so greatly appreciated!
 
No expert here but it appears you do not use Pool Math (see Pool Math tab at top). Then before you put in anything, measure it and you should not have a problem hitting your targets. If your CYA is too high you can do partial drain and refill to get the # you want, calculate how much water you need to remove for the CYA # you want then add water. Ideally CYA at 30 to 40 is easy slam and even 60 not too bad. I have had a few swamps that clean up in a week, what is the climate where you live? If you can't monitor closely over shoot your FC target a little. What concentration of chlorine are you using? I use 12.5% and 15 gals usually cleans up swamp. How old is chlorine? I have found the 12.5 % is best bang for my buck around me, might want to do some web searching to see if it is good price in your area and be sure it is fresh. I do not think adding stabilizer too soon was your problem, you should have it at least 30 to SLAM so the sun does not burn off your chlorine. You just really need to use Pool Math and put in what you need and if your CYA is 60 then your slam Level is 24 and if you can't attend to every hour set slam target to 27, and put in the amount Pool Math tells you, also you can vacuum to waste and then with rain and some gradual filling CYA comes down and the algae carcasses do not clog filter, although sand filter is easy to clean.
 
I've used pool math for everything except the CYA, due to just thinking I knew what I was doing. Since it's been raining so much my CYA is already decreasing. I can manage with it that high just have to adjust my SLAM to be higher. I had read for 24 for a CYA of 60 which is what I'm at now. I can't test in the morning through the week. Now that the kids are out of school I can test at lunch and try to adjust. And then again when I get home and before bed. The only time I can test and adjust around the clock is on the wknds. I've been putting in slightly more to try to hit that target #. I use 6% bleach b/c that's what's available through my distributor. No idea how old the bleach is but it comes from a custodial supply distributor. The brand is Pure Bright (KIK International) bleach. And it has been the cheaper to buy in bulk from them than to try to buy from the local stores which I did for the first couple years. I've never checked to see if they have 12.5%, I guess I'll check on that for next year. I live in Kentucky so crazy weather. Hot and humid one day, cold and rainy the next.
 
I went back to the Best Guess chart, I have it written down in my pool log notebook but wanted to make sure I hadn't missed something. There's a second column of shock numbers that I don't remember being there before. I couldn't find a description of when those higher numbers should be used.

I tested at lunch and my numbers were
FC 20.5
CYA 60-50
I added 4 (128oz) to try to get through until I get home. Plus the water is now a cloudy aqua color again so hopefully headed in the right direction.

I've always used a lot of bleach to get started and then I can slack off to 2-4 bottles a week.
 
by the way, store the chlorine in a cool dry area. Chlorine will loose its potency over time especially in heat or sunlight. Good news is the concentration is low and therefore not as susceptible to degradation as higher concentrations. Not sure what chart you are looking at for second column of numbers but could be mustard algae shock # just remember mustard algae shock is only held for 24 hrs so as to not damage equipment. but anyway you should be good to go.

Just for your info, I have used Slime Bags and it really does a nice job of cleaning up pool when ever I have an algae problem and gives the water a good sparkle. I know the science says a sand filter working well will do just fine and many with sand filter use DE to get that extra fine filtration that gives the sparkle, I just put the Slime bag on for little while. I am surprised how much junk it traps. Perhaps my spider gasket is leaking or I have some channels in my sand, but this is easy. Also I have seen a DIY thread on here of making your own from Diesel filters. They purchase from Duda diesel which are much cheaper, then they modify them slightly to fit on a barb on the return. If I ever need another one ,and I probably will, I will do that because the way they modify will be much easier to clean, and less expensive. I have had 2 very bad swamps when opening. Cleaned them both up in a week and with less chlorine than you are using, so not sure why. hope all goes well. Let us know when you get the results.
 
I think the second column must be for the mustard algae bc it was a shock level of 75 for my CYA level versus 24. I changed my sand once before I found this site and I've never done a deep clean like they recommend on here. I just found the link of YouTube videos for it yesterday. Wish I would have seen it before hand. I'll be sure to do that from now on. I think I'll order some DE since it's not much on Amazon.

I was able to keep my levels above 20 yesterday. Ill try to make time to get out there tomorrow morning to see what my overnight losses are. It did look better by yesterday evening though.

If I'm using too much bleach to get going I'd like to figure out why. Other than the fact that I can't be there 24/7 to monitor. I buy 120 of the 128oz at the start of the season for $320 and have never used more than that. I had thought that was actually pretty good for seasonal costs. I do also buy a 5 gal of commercial tabs but don't use those until I get everything sparkling.
 
Well it looks like you are on your way, my thoughts on why so much chlorine are: 1) if your CYA was below 30 during your SLAMs, the sun will burn off chlorine really fast. So in addition to using more chlorine, it also allows the FC to drop below target quickly and therefore takes longer. 2) Chlorine degradation but this is probably the minor part in the beginning as it is fresher unless you are using last years stock.
Also my concentration is 2x higher so for fair comparison multiply by 2 but that is still a large discrepancy, Our pools hold about the same amount of water. Anyway keep overshooting that FC a little to keep it at shock level most of time and it should clear up fast. Hope you make it for your party. My water is 70 which is too cold for me, but kids have been in already.

Also, I have read that sand filters clean best when a little dirty and sand is packed down tightly, when you deep clean it fluffs the sand up and may not get tight pack for a week therefore inhibiting fine filtration. So i would wait till after party.

- - - Updated - - -

PS.
You live in hotter climate than I, which may be conducive to more algae growth and faster degradation of chlorine, but you also get to swim longer.
 
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