New Pool Owner, White Flakes on surface, Need Help - First Time Poster

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rjstanis

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Bronze Supporter
Apr 4, 2018
11
Conroe/TX
New pool owner, inherited Nov 2017. Ive been trying to maintain pool on my own with minimal instruction. After seeing this site, I realize I have more homework to do, and need to your pool school. In the meantime I need help...

I have one acute issue, and one lingering issue.

Pool Info:
IG, saltwater pool, plaster, cartridge filter, I think about 15000 gallons, has attached spa that overflows into pool, city water source - w/ auto filler, Pentair Water Automation system - schedules: run filter from 8am-6pm everyday, and cleaner from 8a-10a every morning

Acute:

Went to local Leslie's Pool Supply Chain (big chain at least in Houston) to have water tested on Monday. Here were the results:
FAC: 0
TAC: 0
Salt: 2800
CH: 220
CYA: 20
TA: 110
pH: 8
Acid Demand: 3
Copper: 0
Iron: 0
Phosphates: 300

It gave me a breakdown what I should do and of course the chemicals they provide for me to purchase. I bought some of the stuff on Amazon already. Here's what I have done so far...
1. Day 1 Monday: Added Acid to lower pH. I used HTH(r) 67006 Pool pH Decreaser - I followed the instructions on the label on how much I should add to lower pH (24oz essentially)
2. Day 1 Monday Night: I added 2 bags of Leslies Power Powder Plus Shock
3. Day 2: I added about 6-7lbs of PuriTech Stabilizer Conditioner Cyanuric Acid UV Protection for Swimming Pools and Spas (25lbs).

I tried to mix in a bucket with pool water before pouring but it didn't mix well. I read/saw on YouTube that you should take out skimmer basket and pump filter basket and add this through the skimmer. It seemed to get clogged in one of the drains a bit but water was still flowing well. I pushed through until I could see the hole again. I did this to both skimmers (one by my cleaner, and the other I was told that could be used for vacuuming).

It ran with the filter for most of the day yesterday, and I forgot to turn the filter on to run all night. I woke up this morning to what looks like snowflakes on the top of my water. I am assuming this is from the CYA I added? Is this because I didnt run my filter and/or I added to much, or mixed wrong, or what? What should I do at this point?

Ongoing problem:
I keep getting black spots in two different parts of my floor of pool. I tried scrubbing with pole brush but don't go away. I was waiting for it to be warm enough for me to get in pool to scrub. 3 weeks ago, green algae started forming on walls of my pool. I was going out of town and worried what to do so I had a pool company come out when I was gone to clean and stablilize. They added salt and chemicals and when I got back everything was pristine again. I keep having to add salt and my chlorine levels always seem to be low. I have supplemented with chlor tabs in the floating things the previous owner left. What am I doing wrong?
 

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Hello and welcome to TFP! :wave: Well, I have to be honest .... there are a few red flags in your narrative. :cop: Let me break them down below for simpler review and you let me/us know of you still have questions:
- First & foremost ... stay out of the pool store! They'll take your $$$ and leave you hanging with bad advice or test results. You would think they are the experts, but it doesn't work that way.
- You MUST get a proper test kit and test your own water. Either a TF-100 (link below) or Taylor K-2006C. I recommend the TF-100 (w/ magnetic speedstir), but either is fine. But you must start there. You'll see after one test and comparing to the numbers above that your numbers are what matters.
- The flakes might be calcium breaking loose from your SWG. That has happened to others. The stabilizer shouldn't do it, but I'm curious how you added the stabilizer (CYA).
- Definitely stop buying over-priced products. Review and bookmark the vital links below in my signature (update your as as well!). You'll see one for Recommended Chemicals. That's all you need and it shows how/where to add each one. EASY!
- The black spots could be algae. The chlorine tabs are generally good for short-term use, but not regular chlorination. You would be better served to use regular household bleach as it's the exact same thing as liquid shock, just a different strength. Make sure it's plain - like HEB's regular Bravo or Walmart's Great Value.

Let's start there and let you catch up. We really need to see your own testing results. Stick around here for a bit and you'll see why. We'll be glad to help and coach you through the process. Checkout those links and let us know what other questions you may have.
 
Thank you so much for your reply and input.

-While trying to find a solution to my issue this morning I stumbled upon a link for a TF-100, and was in the process of ordering, but wanted to see here recommendations first. I'll be ordering as soon as Im done posting this.
-I added the stablizer by weighing a pot on a run of the mill bathroom scale and then pouring stablizer into it. From there I took a Lowes bucket and filled about 3/4 of pool water and mixed the stabilizer in while stirring. Obviously it didn't mix much, and then I poured that straight into the skimmer hole basket-free. I had also removed the basket from my pump filter too (I put setup in Service mode while removing and turning back on) until I finished pouring the mixture in, and then I replaced all the baskets. I probably used about 4 buckets worth of pool water when mixing in total. The mixture seemed to just sit in one of the holes in the skimmer, so I used the same metal stake I was using to stir to mix the stabilizer around that was sitting in the hole until I could see black from the hole again.
-I'll definitely read your recommendations in your signature
-I only used the tabs because 1) the previous owner left a bucket of them, and 2) bc the pool service person who came out 3 weeks ago when I was out of town, put 7 of them in the floating things. I didn't realize until this morning, that all the tabs were gone already.



Today was the first morning I noticed the flakes/specks so I only thought it was the CYA since that was the newest thing I dumped. My SWG cell light is always blinking, does that mean I need to do something with the cell? My neighbor said something about having some sort of cleaner for it and was going to show me this weekend to clean or mess with that cell. Since Ive bought the house Oct 28th, Ive put in ~18 bags of salt total, and I think the pool service people added about 3-5 as well. Does that seem right to go through that much salt that fast (It had zero when I bought the house)? And shouldn't that provide the chlorine for the pool, or is that only supplementing a portion of the chlorine? Sorry if Im asking dumb questions. Hopefully between your links and the pool school I'll have a better understanding.
 
And one last update. The white specks/flakes appear to have gotten smaller or at least reduced. I'm not sure if that has to do with it being brighter out in the afternoon or that the filter has been running all day.
 
Get the SpeedStir to go along with the TF-100 kit. It will provide greater accuracy in your test measurements. I am not sure if the K-1766 salt test kit comes with the TF-100. If not, you will need that also.

We normally suggest putting dry stabilizer in an old sock and hanging in the pool from a broom stick or such in front of a return. With you dumping it into the skimmer and the filter in bypass it is highly likely the white flakes are in fact stabilizer. I would expect it to dissolve in a day or two. I would run the pump 24x7 through the filter and brush frequently until it is dissolved. CYA (stabilizer) is very acidic and can damage your plaster.

What lights are flashing on your SWG? What model SWG do you have? Please add this to your signature.

Is your pool vinyl or plaster? Type of plaster? Add to your signature.

For the interim shut off the SWG until we get some measurements. Add 1 gallon of 8.25% household bleach or 10% liquid chlorine now and 1/2 gal per day until you get your kit and give us some numbers. This will get your FC up above zero (which is why you have green/algae happening).

How big were the bags of salt you put in? 18 is a LOT if they are 40#. Your SWG may be complaining of high salt?

I spent many many years going in and out of a Leslie's before finding this site. Stay with us and you will be amazed how easy pool care really is when you have the knowledge.
 
rj,

Welcome to TFP... a great place to find the answers to all your "Why is my pool so Flakey?" questions... :shark:

I see were Pat says that he saw a few Red Flags.... What he calls "Flags" I call Red Flashing railroad crossing lights, with a speeding train about 20 feet away!!! :p

Man, there sure is some confusing things going on... The one I find the most disturbing is the salt level in your pool... Your pool store tested your water and said it has 2800 ppm of salt... but you stated you added 18 bags of salt and maybe the pool guy added more... :confused: Well, 18 bags of salt would have increased your salt level by about 5800 ppm...

If this is true and your salt level is really 5800, then it makes zero sense to add any expensive chemicals to your pool since your only option is to drain at least half of the water. You need to know what your salt level really is.. To do this you should get the Taylor K-1766 salt test kit... The same Speedstir that you can add to the TF-100 is really needed to make this test kit work well...

Once you know the salt level, we can then look at your other readings and see where to go from there...

Just to keep algae at bay, I would immediately add a gallon of 8.25% plain bleach... even if we have to drain the water, as a jug of bleach is not all that expensive..

I don't think it is a coincidence that the white flakes appeared after you dumped raw CYA into your skimmers... I believe it to be un-dissolved CYA flakes.

Thanks for posting....

Jim R.
 
peirek said:
Get the SpeedStir to go along with the TF-100 kit. It will provide greater accuracy in your test measurements. I am not sure if the K-1766 salt test kit comes with the TF-100. If not, you will need that also.

We normally suggest putting dry stabilizer in an old sock and hanging in the pool from a broom stick or such in front of a return. With you dumping it into the skimmer and the filter in bypass it is highly likely the white flakes are in fact stabilizer. I would expect it to dissolve in a day or two. I would run the pump 24x7 through the filter and brush frequently until it is dissolved. CYA (stabilizer) is very acidic and can damage your plaster.

What lights are flashing on your SWG? What model SWG do you have? Please add this to your signature.

Is your pool vinyl or plaster? Type of plaster? Add to your signature.

For the interim shut off the SWG until we get some measurements. Add 1 gallon of 8.25% household bleach or 10% liquid chlorine now and 1/2 gal per day until you get your kit and give us some numbers. This will get your FC up above zero (which is why you have green/algae happening).

How big were the bags of salt you put in? 18 is a LOT if they are 40#. Your SWG may be complaining of high salt?

I spent many many years going in and out of a Leslie's before finding this site. Stay with us and you will be amazed how easy pool care really is when you have the knowledge.
Click to expand...

Jimrahbe said:
rj,

Welcome to TFP... a great place to find the answers to all your "Why is my pool so Flakey?" questions... :shark:

I see were Pat says that he saw a few Red Flags.... What he calls "Flags" I call Red Flashing railroad crossing lights, with a speeding train about 20 feet away!!! :p

Man, there sure is some confusing things going on... The one I find the most disturbing is the salt level in your pool... Your pool store tested your water and said it has 2800 ppm of salt... but you stated you added 18 bags of salt and maybe the pool guy added more... :confused: Well, 18 bags of salt would have increased your salt level by about 5800 ppm...

If this is true and your salt level is really 5800, then it makes zero sense to add any expensive chemicals to your pool since your only option is to drain at least half of the water. You need to know what your salt level really is.. To do this you should get the Taylor K-1766 salt test kit... The same Speedstir that you can add to the TF-100 is really needed to make this test kit work well...

Once you know the salt level, we can then look at your other readings and see where to go from there...

Just to keep algae at bay, I would immediately add a gallon of 8.25% plain bleach... even if we have to drain the water, as a jug of bleach is not all that expensive..

I don't think it is a coincidence that the white flakes appeared after you dumped raw CYA into your skimmers... I believe it to be un-dissolved CYA flakes.

Thanks for posting....

Jim R.
Click to expand...

Thanks again for all the replies!


IMG_20180405_120022949_HDR.jpg

-Here's a pic of my SWG. The Status section in the middle where it says "Cell" the green light flashes. Everything else is green when on (turned filter back on after this pic).

- The 18 bags are over a 5 month period of time. I have never added more than 8 bags of salt in a 48hr period.

-Pool is plaster but I have no idea what type it is or how I would figure that out.
 
rjstanis said:
Thanks again for all the replies!


View attachment 74541

-Here's a pic of my SWG. The Status section in the middle where it says "Cell" the green light flashes. Everything else is green when on (turned filter back on after this pic).

- The 18 bags are over a 5 month period of time. I have never added more than 8 bags of salt in a 48hr period.

-Pool is plaster but I have no idea what type it is or how I would figure that out.
Click to expand...


rj,

Still... salt does not get used up, so where did it go???

As others have said... the flashing cell light means you need to unscrew the cell and look inside and see of there is a lot of build up on the plates.. If it is there is will be pretty obvious.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 

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Update...

Got my test kit this afternoon so haven't had a chance to test everything before I left. Results so far...

FAC: 4
TAC: 4.5
CH: 225
CYA: 40
TA: 150
pH: 8

- Instead of the bleach, I kept the chlorine tabs since they were already in use (still haven't absorbed all of them) and seemed to be working

-flakes are completely gone and water has looked really good so far but obviously it's not balanced with what I've tested so far
- I haven't had a chance to dig into to the info yet but hoping to this weekend. I did scrub the sides of the pool the other day
 
Appears you are on the right track. With the SWG and in Texas, the CYA can be in the 70-90 range. The tabs will help get you there.
FC - You are below recommended value (5-6) with your 40 CYA but just above minimum (3) - is your SWG running?
CH - just below minimum recommended but will likely go up with fill water. I would leave as is.
pH - the max reading is 8.0 - I would add liquid MA to target 7.4ish. This will help bring your TA down a little.
TA - is a bit high. Most here find with SWG the sweet spot to minimize pH creep (up) is around 50-60 but never below 50.

Glad to hear the flakes were just the undissolved CYA granules.

----- Edit ------
I recommend daily pH and FC tests for a while until you get to know your pool. Try to do it around the same time each day in the AM or PM before/after sun is off the pool.
 
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