Starting the Algae Battle (Again)

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Very good read here! I will say I'm very impressed and proud of my little brother tackling this project as I don't know anything about pools. It amazed me how much really is involved in this entire process and it very exciting to read. Almost like going into battle against the algae and having to really have a plan and strategy lol. Anyhow just also wanted to say everyone on this thread seems to be very helpful and I thank you for that! This pool has really been a thorn in my Grandmas side since our Grandpa passed and I'm so glad Jason has taken the initiative to get this figured out! I need to try and get more involved with it so I can learn how it all works :) Thanks again everyone! Jason keep the pictures coming! Lol


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Hello MrGillus. Yes, Jason is doing an awesome job, and did a great job learning the process on his own. If you personally don't know anything about pools you've certainly came to the right place to gain that knowledge. No doubt that Jason can help you along the way with his outstanding knowledge of Pool Chemistry etc. but if you yourself have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. I'm sure Grandma will be thrilled with the results and it is too beautiful of a pool to just let it go so I too am glad to see the awesome transformation that he has achieved with it so far. I'm so excited also to see the end result of a crystal clear pool. Have a wonderful day :).
 
No worries crackerjack! That was the first time (ever) testing for CC so it was good for me to do the test, see how it works and have a baseline of where my CC was at.

I appreciate everyone's help and advice! Having a good time with this.

Jason


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mrgillus said:
Very good read here! I will say I'm very impressed and proud of my little brother tackling this project as I don't know anything about pools. It amazed me how much really is involved in this entire process and it very exciting to read. Almost like going into battle against the algae and having to really have a plan and strategy lol. Anyhow just also wanted to say everyone on this thread seems to be very helpful and I thank you for that! This pool has really been a thorn in my Grandmas side since our Grandpa passed and I'm so glad Jason has taken the initiative to get this figured out! I need to try and get more involved with it so I can learn how it all works :) Thanks again everyone! Jason keep the pictures coming! Lol


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Click to expand...

Thanks Brother :). It is indeed like going to war against algae and making sure my troops (chlorine) stay strong and fight the good fight! LOL!


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Creacherjack,

Your reasoning is sound. It was good for him to do the OCLT to see how fast the FC dropped. Now he will have a baseline for later on AND he knows how to do it now.

Jason, have you been teaching Grandma how to do the tests?

Does she have and use a computer or smart phone? If so get her to sign up on here so she can meet us. Of course if you live close enough to give her a hand every day that would work also.

I am going to shoot you a link so you can see what is needed to maintain a pool daily, weekly, monthly, etc. This is for after the pool is clear.

Pool School - Basic Pool Care Schedule

Kim
 
Thanks Kim!! I am exclusively taking care of the pool for her daily until the water is clear and the cover is on. Thanks for the link! I will look through it. She does have an IPad but is a novice user :).


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1240pm Update:

I decided to let the chlorine drop to 14ppm or so but may be having second thoughts now. I have had an interesting new problem develop. I started to manually vacuum the pool (filter on filter setting since the debris was not bad at all, mainly dust) and I noticed everything I was vacuuming was coming back into the pool via the returns. Any idea what would cause this? The last season that the pool was opened (2yrs ago) we replaced the sand in the filter thinking that was part of our problem regarding the algae issues we faced. I did notice back then when we ran the system after the change a little bit of sand entered the pool through the shallow end return. Also, when I backwash the filter sand enters the sight glass, which never happened before the sand change. Note that the filter was just back washed this morning.

Any idea what the cause of this issue would be?

Test results for today thus far below:

8/22

Test 1- 6:50am (19 drops) (10ml) x.5
2 drops for CC test
FC- 9.5ppm
CC- 1ppm
Note: OCLT FAIL, raising to shock level.

Test 2- 8:10am (35 drops) (10ml) x.5
FC- 17.5ppm

Test 3- 10am (32 drops) (10ml) x.5
FC- 16ppm

Test 4- 11am (31 drops) (10ml) x.5
FC- 15.5ppm

Test 5- 12:40pm (29 drops) (10ml) x.5
FC- 14.5

Progress picture(current):
b268fabd2eec3060dc01c86dcbc3e0d4.jpg


Jason


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Jason since you are there and have the pool as your "job" for this weekend it might be a good idea to take the filter apart :(

You should not have any sand shooting back out or in the eye. Here are a couple of things that could have happened:

-sand not rinsed/cleaned right after put in filter?

-Where you SUPER careful to not get any sand down the tube?

-Did you fill the filter halfway with water before you put the sand into the filter? This helps protect the laterals

-Are you SURE the laterals (little things that stick off of the tube) did not have any cracks or nicks in them?

-Is there a chip in the tube?

These are all commons problems if a sand filter is not working properly. Let me know if any of these stick out to you.

Kim
 
Thanks for the suggestions, Kim. I do remember being very careful not to get sand down the tube, I'm pretty sure we inspected the laterals to ensure they were still heathy. I cannot remember if we filled the filter half way with water before putting the sand in. And I also do not think we rinsed the sand after installation.

I'm not sure if it is actively still blowing sand into the pool, I just know I could feel some on the floor two years ago and when I got in last week for a few minutes. I do know that dirty water was coming back in through the returns as I was vacuuming. I took a picture of it coming in.
7b40df7b05ef472e894ddb516855dff7.jpg


Thanks,
Jason


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I can't say for sure what is causing it on yours, but I had the issue with my 1st slam vac. Mine was related to the skimmer basket filling up within a matter of seconds with green slimy yuck, it then began shooting the gross stuff back into the pool via my return. LOL so from then on until I was certain what was down there, I did a vac to waste instead. And now I vac to filter always, but have had no further issues. Perhaps there is a lot more than you are aware of down there,and that could be your issue? It would definitely be worth a try to do a vac to waste to see what's lurking below.
 
I'm not too sure, I've been weary of the filter ever since I first felt a little sand in the shallow end, but it does not seem to be accumulating. Before the SLAM I vaccumed to waste last weekend and got a lot of stuff out. Thought it was mostly clear and ok to vacuum to filter but who knows. I think I'll probably vacuum to waste to be sure. Also, my pressure gauge was broken on the filter and I finally just replaced it so I now know for sure what my pressure is looking like. Hoping there are no serious filter issues and it will just clear this water up without further intervention lol. Turns out Leslie's doesn't carry r-0871 and I need to order some ASAP [emoji15][emoji15]


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As far as the sand getting into the pool/site glass etc, as Kim said it shouldn't occur.

I read this thread the other day that was did comparisons of a couple different type sands, and the person writing the article said that he had bought the Quickrite brand and IT too blew right back into his pool. I think it was determined or suspected that the company possibly filled the pool sand with the wrong type of sand. Here is that link if you want to look at it. http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/103421-My-findings-on-how-not-all-sand-is-created-equal

But anyway be it the filter, the sand, or whatever, as Kim said, it shouldn't be happening.

- - - Updated - - -

If you do run out of reagent just keep adding chlorine in the approx. amount that you have been until it arrives and you should be fine. If you've been adding say 50 ounces then just put in a half gallon to bump the numbers a little and all hopefully will go well. I hope this helps, and have a nice night.
 
Thanks guys!! Yeah I'm expecting the clear to take a few days so long as the filter is doing its job. Pressure did not change from yesterday after I installed the new gauge and back washed. After the last test last night (520) I added chlorine to bump back to shock and I went all the way until 830 this morning and FC was at 15.5ppm so I'm very happy about that. I think I'll vacuum to waste out some dust/debris in the shallow end which isn't much then put the Polaris vacuum in.


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