My Algae Battle

[gsxr1181]

Hey everyone, I'm getting ready to tackle my first algae battle with my pool. Remember first time pool owner here, so bear with me.

I received my TF100 today, and just tested my pool water. The results are extremely low, but this pool has been setting for years half full, just topped it off with city water last week.

FC= 0.5
CC= 0.5
TA= 35
CH= 190
PH= 6.8
CYA= 0-10 <-- I was to the top, and clearly seen the dot.

Now I've read all the Pool School, and the Turning Your Pool To an Oasis guides about 10 time I think. So let me see if I get this right, and you guys correct me if I'm wrong.

Now from what I read on here, I should worry about raising my CYA first, correct?

I'm going to shoot for a low 30 for now, just because are weather is probably going to stay cloudy for the most part this time of the year. Plus that will put me having to use less bleach for the shock. Also I want to keep it low just in case I'm off a bit on the gallons my pool holds, which I know I am. This way I don't over shoot.

Second, should I keep my PH at 6.8 while I shock, or go ahead and raise it to 7.2 before the shock like the guide says?

The guide says PH is more effective at lower PH levels, so I feel I should just leave this alone, because from what the guide says, it's more efficient for the chlorine. Again correct me if I'm wrong in thinking this.

Here is some pics when I was filling.

[attachment=1:38t2q2nm]IMAG00252.JPG[/attachment:38t2q2nm]

[attachment=0:38t2q2nm]IMAG00292.JPG[/attachment:38t2q2nm]

 

[duraleigh]

I would clear the pool by doing the following.....

1. Bring your pH up right away with 20 mule team borax. 7.2 to 7.6 is fine but 6.8 is too low......it may even be lower than that.

2. It appears there is quite a bit of gunk in the bottom of the pool. Rake as much of it out as you can get. The more solids you get out of the pool the quicker it will clear.

3. Raising the CYA to 30 is fine but it will not register on your CYA test for a few days so measure carefully when you add it.

4. Now, Clear your pool with chlorine....lots and lots of chlorine. The first you put in wil be gone in hours. The only way you can successfully get your pool clean is to keep the chlorine up around 16-20ppm constantly.

5. Keep the chlorine up high. Reread the article on how to shock your pool

6. As your pool clears, post some more test results and we'll help you fine tune it to get it sparkling.

 

[gsxr1181]

Thanks for the quick reply. :-D

Ok, so I'm looking at 100oz of borax to raise my PH to 7.5. I will do this tomorrow. and see where I stand.

When I get that done, I might so ahead and do 60oz of stabilizer and see where that puts me next week.

As for the debris, I've got most of what I could see removed. Those are old pics, and I spent all day last Saturday vacuuming. Problem is I can't see the bottom of the pool to see where I need to go next. So I'm going to have to start shocking first before I can get all of it. I just need a little bit of transparency first. 8)

 

[duraleigh]

gsx,

Good plan. Because the pH adjustment is not precise, you might do around 70-80 oz and sort of "sneak up" on your target. Again, you have a decent range (7.2-7.8) so you'll be fine but maybe just a little less borax will be better.

The stabilizer seems about right.

You are certainly on the right track to get the pool cleared. If I didn't emphasize it before, be prepared to use more chlorine than you think......frequently lot's more.

Once you start adding the chlorine, your ability to hold it at shock value will have a lot to do with how long it takes to clear.

Have you read the Pool School article on shocking?

 

[gsxr1181]

Well today I added the following:

Stabilizer= 64oz
Borax= 100oz

I'll follow up on my PH through the week while the CYA dissolves. What's the minimum I should wait on my CYA? I was really hoping to start shocking this coming Saturday, which will be 4 days from now.

Also when they say brushing, are they referring to vacuuming the algae, or just stirring it up, and letting the chlorine do it's job?

As of right now, I'm setting on over 1000oz of 6% bleach. I found some 12% at my local farm supply store. So I will be going to buy a few cases of that also. I believe I will be ready 8)

And yes I have read all the guides a couple of times.

 

[JasonLion]

It can take up to a week for all of the CYA to dissolve, but a good deal of it will be dissolved in 24 hours if you leave the pump running the entire time. In 4 days you shouldn't have any problems.

 

[gsxr1181]

It can take up to a week for all of the CYA to dissolve, but a good deal of it will be dissolved in 24 hours if you leave the pump running the entire time. In 4 days you shouldn't have any problems.

8)

Checked my PH this afternoon, and it looks to be 7.5 on the money.

I will start my shock Saturday morning!

 

[Casey]

So how's it going? Can't wait to see update pics! 8)

 

[gsxr1181]

Added around 384oz of 12% yesterday morning. Then used my vacuum to brush everything up off the bottom. But I did have a few hang ups.

Toward the end of my brushing, in which I was using my vacuum head not attached to the pump, the vacuum came off the poll. I couldn't see where it was, and didn't have anything long enough to get it out. I'm going to take care of that problem today.

Also I had an issue with my pump loosing prime. It ran for a week just fine, but the psi increased from 10 psi to 12 psi, which shouldn't have been a problem. Back flushing seemed to fix the problem. I don't know what that was all about?

My FC that afternoon was 9, so I added some 6% to try and bring it back up to 17. I'm going to go out here in a bit, and check it again. I'll try and get some pics soon.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Did your pump lose prime when you were vacuming? If you sucked in some air thru the vac hose that would explain it.

 

[gsxr1181]

Did your pump lose prime when you were vacuming? If you sucked in some air thru the vac hose that would explain it.

No, I wasn't vacuuming. This was just regular filtering with both my skimmer and drain on. When I turn my valve into recirculation, it instantly picks back up. Then when I switch to filter, it will run fine for about 10 minutes, then it seems to lose prime. Like I said, back washing seemed to fix the issue. :|

And it's definitely worst while vacuuming. I can vacuum to waste without any issue, but if I vacuum while filtering, I can pretty well forget it.

It just seems when my filter hits 12psi, this starts to happen. Back washing drops it down to 8psi, and everything works just fine, except vacuuming.

Also, I seem to be spitting out quit a bit of sand on my back wash. So I'm wondering if there is an issue within the filter itself?

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

I wish I could help....my knowledge of sand filters is minimal. Hopefully an expert will be along to weigh in....

 

[JasonLion]

A sand filter will put out sand when backwashing if it was over filled with sand to begin with, if the pump is way too large for the filter, or if something is broken internally.

 

[gsxr1181]

A sand filter will put out sand when backwashing if it was over filled with sand to begin with, if the pump is way too large for the filter, or if something is broken internally.

I'm beginning to wonder, something just isn't right with the way it's acting. I'm going to look into it this weekend.

Here are the readings I got this morning.
FC=16
CC=0

And then this afternoon.
FC=11
CC=1

So I took it back up to 17 tonight, will see how things go tomorrow. But it's looking much better. I'd say it would be much clearer if my pump and filter were behaving. Here is a current before and after.

[attachment=0:2la5k3lj]IMAG0082c.JPG[/attachment:2la5k3lj]

 

[Butterfly]

Looking better! :lol:

Making progress even with a pump & filter not playing fair.

 

[gsxr1181]

Looking better! :lol:

Making progress even with a pump & filter not playing fair.

Looks like I "might" have figured out what my pump problem was. When it was running right, the water line was about an inch from the top of the skimmer. After a few back flushes, and draining to waste, water level decreased, and that might have been what was causing it. It wasn't low enough to start sucking air, but low none the less.

I shut off the top skimmer last night and let it run all night with just the drain. It was working fine this morning, which made me think it might be a water level issue. Just topped it off, so will see tomorrow.

But man she looked good today. Brought back up to algae shock again, even though I might be ok to bring it back to regular shock level. But I'd rather keep it there for a few extra days and make sure. And with all the rain were having this week, it might be best for now.

I'll provide a copy of my log, and see what you guys think. All time is military time.

[attachment=0:1sykv69o]log.JPG[/attachment:1sykv69o]

Also forgot to add the drop in FC from 4-28 16:30-18:30 was due to the water I just added.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

I agree, with all the rain best to keep it up.

I suspect, when you are done shocking and mother nature is done raining, as your FC drops so will your PH. Your TA from 4/21 was very low, have you added any baking soda? I see you added Borax for the PH. You may have to do some more adjusting (but like I said, wait until the FC drops and the PH is under 10 to retest these numbers.) Also it's been a week since the CYA addition, it would be good to retest that too.

Looking good!