new with questions

[jmlodin]

I am so glad to have found this site! We had our pool opened last week and it was slightly green and cloudy. Headed off to Leslies and came home with a lot of chemicals and a to do list. The water is finally almost clear, but not quite. I just received my Taylor k 2006 test kit today and got busy! I put the results in the pool calculator, but am looking for advice on exactly what to do and in what order! Here are the results.

FC 1
TC 4
PH 7.0
ALK 290
CH 280
CYA 50

I also have a question about the filter pressure gauge. I have been backwashing once a day while the pool was so cloudy. It reads about 28 and never goes down after a backwash. It does go to zero when the pump is off. Any ideas?
Thanks!
Jill

 

[JasonLion]

First, you need more chlorine. With CYA around 50 you never want to allow FC to go below 4, and when you are fighting algae (right now) it should be around 16. Keep the FC level up around 16 till the FC and TC readings are the same (or very very close).

Second, your TA level is very high. You are going to need to get that down. Read http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/lowering%20total%20alkalinity. You probably want to wait on this part the the algae is dead, but keep the PH down in the mean time.

 

[spishex]

Do you have any valves on the return side? What else is plumbed in after the pump? How many returns do you have and what size eyeballs do you have in them? If there are no valves, I'd be interested to see what your PSI is with the eyeballs removed. Of course, the gauge might be bad, but when they zero out that's usually a pretty good sign. What does the PSI read with the filter set to recirculate?

At 28psi your TDH is at least 65-70' which would give you about 60 GPM which is ok, but the pressure does seem high. Not 'end of the world' high, but not typical. Backwashing daily will prevent the pressure from building up noticeably, but that's alright since you're fighting off algae. Once your FC level starts to hold overnight don't backwash until needed.

 

[jmlodin]

I looked in our pool manual and the water flow after the pump goes to the heater, then the purifier (nature 2) then the chlorinator, then paramount valve then to the pool through the returns or one of the 3 pop up valves in the pool floor. There are 6 returns and the eyeballs are probably about a 1/2 inch. I checked the PSI on recirculate and it stayed the same. I hope that makes sense.

 

[JohnT]

Hello Jill,

The biggest concern you have is your Chlorine. The FC is too low and the difference between the FC and TC is too large, which indicates that you have about 4ppm combined chlorine. Ideally you want this 0.5 or less. Combined chlorine indicates a contaminant load (probably algae) in the pool that the chlorine isn't able to clear because there isn't enough.

If you go to the chlorine/CYA chart in Pool School, you'll see that for 50ppm CYA, you need to always keep your FC at 4ppm or higher, and for effective shocking you need to raise the chlorine level to 20ppm. When dealing with algae, the important thing is to stay at the shock level until the pool clears and stops using the chlorine quickly. I would raise your chlorine to 20ppm tonight, then check it again first thing tomorrow and see how much you lose overnight. Just the one time might clear your combined chlorine, but if it doesn't raise the chlorine to 20ppm again in the morning, then check every 4-8 hours and raise it back up as required until the CC gets below 0.5. Then let the chlorine come down until you get to 4ppm. I wouldn't use any kind of powdered shock or chlorine since it will raise your CYA. Use either 12% liquid shock from a pool store or unscented laundry bleach.

Your TA is a little high, but if you maintain your pH around 7, it will gradually come down.

Your pressure gauge reading is high. Is the flow through the returns strong? When you backwash, how long do you let the pump run?

I can promise if you follow the guidance here you will save money AND your pool will be cleaner and safer than most people's pools.

 

[jmlodin]

I put in the bleach according to the pool calculator 2 hours ago. How long do I have to wait to measure the chlorine level?

thanks

 

[Butterfly]

I put in the bleach according to the pool calculator 2 hours ago. How long do I have to wait to measure the chlorine level?

Half an hour or so should be enough time for the chlorine to mix.

Welcome to TFP!