HELP! Starting over with new water!

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dcc194

Member
May 26, 2020
7
Philadelphia, PA
I switched to a SWG pool over the winter and have followed the TFP method since switching with fantastic results. I really feel like I "know" my pool much better than ever. Things were great. . .

I went away on vacation and a "helpful" pool sitter accidentally left the hose running in my pool for upwards of 4 or 5 days (not entirely sure). I came home to an overflowing pool and a saturated backyard. I'm terribly frustrated.

I tested with my TK-PRO kit immediately (top result from 19 hours ago):
1659385103820.png

SALT had been flushed out into the yard down to about 1000 ppm (only tested with a strip). No FC because of too little salt.

I took the following actions in the following order all last night:
1 - Added the only gallon of liquid chlorine I had in.
2 - Added the only CH increaser I had (15 lbs)
3 - Added the only CYA I had (~5 lbs)
4 - Put 3 3" chlorine tabs into the skimmer.

This morning I did the following:
1 - Added about 550 lbs of salt. I need roughly 650 lbs of salt based on my salt reading and I have the rest here, but I didn't want to overshoot. Since I had only tested with a strip, I went a little light on Salt, and I'll test with my Taylor salt test for a more accurate account of how much salt I have and adjust accordingly. My SWG still says the salt is too low but it's probably only been like 5 hours so I'm sure the salt is still getting distributed etc.
2 - Added 3 gallons of liquid pool shock.

So, a couple questions:
1 - What order do I fix these levels in? FC seems most important to me . . .
2 - How much Calcium Hardness can I add in a day. I've read on here that people suggest only about 10 lbs a day. I have 80 lbs to add, that means that my pool water will be degrading my plaster pool for 8 more days. . . I've also read that adding a lot of CH increaser will reduce my FC.
3 - Can I boost FC with my 1 lb bags of dry pool shock?
4 - My pool is starting to turn greenish in the deep end. That sure sounds like algae to me, but could it be3 because I'm dumping so much stuff in here all at once?

I now have my 80 lbs of Calcium Hardness from Leslies (It seems to be the Calcium Chloride Dihydrate) just based off of the chart on the side which seems to match the TFP Calcium Chloride Dihydrate estimates.

I have plenty of 3" chlorine tabs which I swore off using (and which led me to the SWG pool). I have plenty of the 1 lb bags of dry pool shock. I've also stopped using those because of the SWG.
So, I'm looking for help. It sure seems to me that I need to SLAM or at least super chlorinate. Get my FC super high. Can I do that with those 1 lbs bags? I have 24 of them. Or do I just have to go out and get a bunch of liquid shock.

I'm super frustrated with how this happened (I know the person was just trying to help). It so far has cost me about $400 in pool chemicals, plus about an estimated $300 in my water bill alone.

Any help would be much appreciated to put this behind me.

Thank you!!
 
Also, in the above post, that picture is just to show where the levels used to be a week prior. I know CYA is not on there, but it was at about 60 (something I was working on increasing to 70). And I know my FC was a little high for CYA only at 60 . . .
 
dcc194 said:
I switched to a SWG pool over the winter and have followed the TFP method since switching with fantastic results. I really feel like I "know" my pool much better than ever. Things were great. . .

I went away on vacation and a "helpful" pool sitter accidentally left the hose running in my pool for upwards of 4 or 5 days (not entirely sure). I came home to an overflowing pool and a saturated backyard. I'm terribly frustrated.

I tested with my TK-PRO kit immediately (top result from 19 hours ago):
View attachment 442421

SALT had been flushed out into the yard down to about 1000 ppm (only tested with a strip). No FC because of too little salt.

I took the following actions in the following order all last night:
1 - Added the only gallon of liquid chlorine I had in.
2 - Added the only CH increaser I had (15 lbs)
3 - Added the only CYA I had (~5 lbs)
4 - Put 3 3" chlorine tabs into the skimmer.

This morning I did the following:
1 - Added about 550 lbs of salt. I need roughly 650 lbs of salt based on my salt reading and I have the rest here, but I didn't want to overshoot. Since I had only tested with a strip, I went a little light on Salt, and I'll test with my Taylor salt test for a more accurate account of how much salt I have and adjust accordingly. My SWG still says the salt is too low but it's probably only been like 5 hours so I'm sure the salt is still getting distributed etc.
2 - Added 3 gallons of liquid pool shock.

So, a couple questions:
1 - What order do I fix these levels in? FC seems most important to me . . .
Click to expand...
Agreed. Get some liquid chlorine in there stat.
dcc194 said:
2 - How much Calcium Hardness can I add in a day. I've read on here that people suggest only about 10 lbs a day. I have 80 lbs to add, that means that my pool water will be degrading my plaster pool for 8 more days. . . I've also read that adding a lot of CH increaser will reduce my FC.
Click to expand...
Never heard of any of that. Add what you need, broadcast over the pool.
dcc194 said:
3 - Can I boost FC with my 1 lb bags of dry pool shock?
Click to expand...
Sure, if you know what is being added (CH, CYA, depending on the type of shock) and account for that with the rest of your additions.
dcc194 said:
4 - My pool is starting to turn greenish in the deep end. That sure sounds like algae to me, but could it be3 because I'm dumping so much stuff in here all at once?
Click to expand...
Sounds like algae to me too. You'll need to do an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test, though you won't be able to while tabs are dissolving.
dcc194 said:
I now have my 80 lbs of Calcium Hardness from Leslies (It seems to be the Calcium Chloride Dihydrate) just based off of the chart on the side which seems to match the TFP Calcium Chloride Dihydrate estimates.

I have plenty of 3" chlorine tabs which I swore off using (and which led me to the SWG pool). I have plenty of the 1 lb bags of dry pool shock. I've also stopped using those because of the SWG.
So, I'm looking for help. It sure seems to me that I need to SLAM or at least super chlorinate. Get my FC super high. Can I do that with those 1 lbs bags? I have 24 of them. Or do I just have to go out and get a bunch of liquid shock.
Click to expand...
Liquid shock is recommended because it's easier when adding a lot of it not to overshoot your CYA or CH levels you're going for. But if you account for those in your additions, you can use it.
dcc194 said:
I'm super frustrated with how this happened (I know the person was just trying to help). It so far has cost me about $400 in pool chemicals, plus about an estimated $300 in my water bill alone.

Any help would be much appreciated to put this behind me.

Thank you!!
Click to expand...
Ask questions if anything is unclear! :)
 
dcc194 said:
I have 80 lbs to add, that means that my pool water will be degrading my plaster pool for 8 more days.
Click to expand...

In PoolMath turn on CSI tracking. Depending upon your current levels you could be within -0.3 to 0.0 And when I plugged your current levels into PM, I show your CSI as -0.14 which is fine. This value is mainly b/c your pH 7.8 and TA 70 are both fine where there at.
 
Thanks for the replies. I've turned on CSI tracking - good tip - I didn't know what that was. I have enough salt in there now so I'm generating chlorine after supplementing with Liquid shock for a day or 2. I think I'm on the road to recovery here. Thanks all!
 
wireform said:
Hopefully you let the salt dissolve 24 hours before turning on the SWCG.
Click to expand...
hmmm I had not heard of this before. When I installed the SWCG the company that did so just dumped the salt in and already had the SWCG running and said "keep checking the light on the SWCG. Once it is green, you know you have enough salt".
I have an IntelChlor 40 SWG.

Could I have potentially harmed something?
 
Even though u have things back up & running,
since u had a period with no fc you should still do an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test - remove the tabs & turn the swg off for this. Easier to deal with it now than before cya is higher. Adding the chems u mentioned wouldn’t result in green unless u have a metals issue. The more likely culprit is algae .
 
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Mdragger88 said:
Even though u have things back up & running,
since u had a period with no fc you should still do an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test - remove the tabs & turn the swg off for this. Easier to deal with it now than before cya is higher. Adding the chems u mentioned wouldn’t result in green unless u have a metals issue. The more likely culprit is algae .
Click to expand...
I'm still fairly new to the TFP approach and gaining knowledge instead of listening to the pool stores (this is my first year). Could you explain what the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test does compared to looking at just CC during a regular daily test? If combined chlorine is 0, can there still be an issue that the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test shows? If so how can than be? Wouldn't I see some CC if Chlorine was actively killing stuff?

Thanks again! You all are so helpful and empowering!
 

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What he said ☝️
The absence of cc’s alone doesn’t necessarily mean the absence of algae although it’s presence can be an indicator of algae.
There are 3 things we use to determine if u are algae free:
CC is 0.5 or lower;
You pass an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test
AND
the water is clear.
(Crystal Clear w/no algae dead or alive)
 
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