New here - with problems

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kingkev

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Aug 25, 2015
27
ny ny
So after some research and much frustration I've found myself with a green pool, 100 dollar test kit and on this forum for help.

I've had my pool for 3 years now and had no luck keeping it clear. I've been using the 3 inch triclor tabs from my local pool store along with their liquid chlorine to shock the pool once a week.

My pool is a 33k gallon in ground vinyl pool with an s240 Hayward sand filter. It gets full sun here in ny and sits sound 85 ddegrees all season.

I purchased a k2006c test kit which I used today and my readings were such.

Ph of 7.8
Ta 70
Calcium 150
Cya 40
Fc 0 (I gave up for the year so this is why).

I was about to give up and close it green for the winter until I found this forum and the test kit so I figure it's my last beacon if light.

I currently have 4 gallons of 12.5% bleach and about 15 lbs of pucks left. I tried the calculator for how much bleach I should add and I think it was 4 to get me to fc of 15 but I imagine I need more to maintain that. And do I keep using the triclor pucks?

Can anyone give some advice? Thanks!
 
This forum does not promote the use of pucks on a regular basis (from what I gather is because it can make your CYA levels get out of control). Your levels seem pretty good, you just need to get your FC up.

I think with a CYA of 40 you will want to shoot for a FC of 3-5 (but you are green so you will need to calculate and investigate what your levels need to be, 16FC I think). I imagine that if you stop using the pucks and add the amount of bleach that the calculator calls for and see what happens, you might have some luck. Let your pump run for the next few days after you add the bleach. You should notice slight improvements everyday.

Chlorine/CYA Chart

But at this close to the end of the season you will have to weigh the costs involved in maintaining the pool versus how much more use of the pool that you will be getting the remainder of the season.
 
Welcome to TFP!

Your CYA level is about as high as you want it so I wouldn't use any dichlor or trichlor products. Liquid chlorine or bleach is best because it will not add any more CYA. The rest of the numbers look good.

Chlorine level is set based on your CYA level and the Chlorine CYA Chart. Chlorine needs to be at target at all times and never below minimum level to keep the pool sanitised and algae free. It is safe to swim with FC between minimum and shock level for your CYA.

If you have algae or green pool now then you need to SLAM the pool to kill the algae. Here is how, Pool School - SLAM - Shock Level And Maintain

More on managing your pool here, Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry
 
Oh yes, we can help :)
First off, ditch the pucks because each puck not only adds chlorine but it also adds *more* CYA. When your CYA rises, so do your chlorine requirements too. Pool Stores fail to tell you this potential problem. Folks with smaller above ground pools can often get away with this because they drain the pools yearly or frequently enough to manage. Your pool is a biggie which means you don't drain it routinely so its best to manage your water with conservative puck use (during vacations or when you need more CYA...times like that). The TFP way of pool care is all about always having the right level of FC to correlate with your CYA, and no one should ever have to routinely "shock" their pool like Pool Stores teach (because they sell those products).

How does your water look? If its green you need to perform a SLAM procedure- Pool School - SLAM - Shock Level And Maintain
The important thing to remember here is that its not a one time dose of chemical, its a process which works to kill all the algae and hold a high enough level that means the algae can't reproduce before its all dead, dead, dead.
 
And you guys really swear by maintaining the chlorine levels by just adding in bleach often? Does anyone with a similar size pool mind telling me how often and how much bleach they add per week to maintain?

For everyone that responded thank you a ton. I went out and purchased 8 more gallons of 12.5%today to hopefully overcome my cesspool.
 
When you perform your tests you need to write down your results. Then go to the http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html and enter your results in to the "now" column. Then enter your desired levels in to the "Target" column. Make sure you put in your pool volume up at the top, and your pool surface, method of chlorinating and that you want the "Troublefreepool" goal levels. The app will calculate what you need and how much. In fact, it will guide you to the range for each chemical test right above the "now" and "target" boxes. The goal levels do vary based on pool surfaces and chlorination methods.

For a CYA level of 40 you want your FC level to never drop below 5 ppm...but with a green pool you FIRST need to do a SLAM procedure as I mentioned previously to kill the algae. THen once all is clear and clean again you want to follow the CYA/Chlorine chart
Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart
 
kingkev said:
And you guys really swear by maintaining the chlorine levels by just adding in bleach often? Does anyone with a similar size pool mind telling me how often and how much bleach they add per week to maintain?

For everyone that responded thank you a ton. I went out and purchased 8 more gallons of 12.5%today to hopefully overcome my cesspool.
Click to expand...

Just a guesstimate, but it looks like less than a gal a day. I used 33000 gal. Starting at 5ppm going to 8ppm using 12.5% chlorine. Pool math says 101oz. So a jug would be fine.
That assumes a 3ppm loss each day. Yours could be more or less than that. But you get the idea.
 
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