New Home with Pool - Learning

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blaksnake

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Apr 29, 2016
9
Minneapolis, MN
Howdy all,

Just wanted to say thank you as this forum has helped me understand the chemistry of maintaining a pool and saving me money. My test kit should be waiting for me at home today, so I am excited to run some tests and see where I am at.

Started at the pool store last week with a $167 bill and they wanted me to come back and get more stuff this week. I added half the stabilizer they suggested (they wanted CYA around 50ppm), added 5 lbs of bio guard super soluble, added the 2lbs dichlor shock. I found this forum after I got home that night before I put all that stuff in the pool (I figured I would try a hybrid of actions since I already had the stuff) and have only been running my filter 24/7 and vacuuming as much as possible while adding a gallon of bleach everyday since. Initial water test from pool store was something like .1 FC, 55 TA, 0 CYA, no metals, and I don't recall the rest off hand. I can finally make out the white main drain (barely) in the deep end and am excited to test the water so I know exactly what to do to clear it up!

I will confirm the info in my signature later. Sorry for the terrible picture, it was just to track my clarity while I progress. (Pool is more clear now, I can see the vinyl design clearly in the shallow end)

Only real concern at this point is one of the 3 returns isn't flowing any water out. Not noticing any significant water loss and pressure is good to the other two.

Ps. I did remove that puck holder floaty thingy so my CYA doesn't get too high while I waited for test to arrive.
 

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Welcome to TFP, Great choice on the test kit :)

Post up some numbers when you get it, great job on adding just chlorine for now :)
 
Thanks all,

Tested when I got home yesterday and got this:

FC 3
CC .5
Ph 7.5
TA 130
CYA 45

Since the pool is still cloudy in the deep end, I added 5 121oz jugs of bleach to try and bring the FC to ~18. I brushed the walls and floor and went to bed. Woke up this morning and only had time to run the FC test and it showed 27!

I may have measured my pool incorrectly (I measured and its more like 18x36 vs 18x40), but I think 27 is still pretty high for adding 5 jugs @121oz. Either way I brushed again a bit this morning and will test again when I get home and take another picture. (if its not too dark)

It did clear up a bit in the deep end by the time I got home yesterday to test. I could see the main drain cover a bit more and the walls farther down the sides. Hopefully it will look even better this evening.
 
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OK, we got a test kit :) nice

27 is way over what you wanted, poolmath shows to go from a 3fc to 27 fc your pool is about 20 thousand gallons, try changing that and add.. then test 30 minutes later and see what you get.. Try a target of 20 so you stay over 18 at all times :)

Great job so far...
 
So, pool is looking better each day. I can fairly clearly see the bottom at the deep end! (So that's what it looks like!!) I tested FC before I went to bed and it was at 11 and tested again this morning and it was still at 11 with CC @ .5. (FC was at 27 the night before)

So water is pretty clear now. I can see the details of the liner in the shallow end and can see the areas where the angles come together to make up the deep end as well as the main drain. I think maybe I just need the filter to work its magic and clear up the water a bit more?

I will get a full set of test numbers when I get home this evening and re-post.

Here is what it looks like now. (dont mind my re-decking of the patio project going on in the background)

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Deep end
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Test this morning was:
FC 5.5
CC .5
CH 625
TA 190
CYA 35
PH 7.7

Water is looking clear but I swear I saw some algae on the bottom of the pool last night so I added the only two bottles of bleach I had. Not sure if it was dead or alive, but I don't wanna fall backwards.

Will test again in a bit here.
 
Doing well. You had a 10-point change in CYA so you might want to double-check to make sure. With a CYA of 35 (round-up to 40), try to maintain the FC of 16 to ensure effectiveness. If you find your CYA to be closer to 50 like before, then your FC SLAM level is 20. Make sure to continue everything listed on the SLAM page until you pass all 3 SLAM criteria. Oh, and no need to test anything else right now other than FC, maybe CC once or twice if you want. Wait until the very end to do the last test - the OCLT. Good luck. You're doing great.
 

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So water is super clear and FC is doing great day to day. Only problem is now that I turn the pump/filter off overnight and only run for about 6 hours a day, I am noticing a significant water loss. (about 6 inches since going to bed last night to noon today). I didnt add any water yet and it seems to have leveled off at about half an inch above the return jets and about an inch of water into the skimmer. I got on my knees and inspected the waterline all the way around the pool and didnt notice anything. I am wondering if I should fill it back up to normal levels and run the pump overnight to see if I dont see as much water loss? Should I just call someone to figure it out? I have a few theories: maybe its leaking from the return jet that is not functioning (but that doesnt make sense if it doesnt even get to below the top of the return), maybe a leak around the steps, maybe a leak around the skimmer housing?

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks,
B
 
Ugh. That stinks. Well, let me first give you the TFP Pool School - Leak Detection page. If it's leaking ONLY when the system is off, more than likely it's seeping-out on the suction side. Do you only have a poolside skimmer? No main drain? What about a light in the pool? Those are common leak areas as well - behind the light in the niche. I'm guessing your water is still quite chilly, so getting In may not be a good option. But start with the link and notes above and we'll see if there is any other way to help.
 
So I plugged all the returns and skimmer and had virtually no water loss overnight on 5/15. Yesterday morning I opened all of them with exception to the return jet port that has never worked since opening the pool. No water loss again overnight last night. So it seems to me that that return line is the culprit. I would guess that is collapsed/crimped underground and leaking. So should I start digging up dirt and try to find the spot? Should I stick a snake in there from the pool side to try and guesstimate how far down the line the collapse is? Any other thoughts? (good news is the water is looking great!)

Thanks!!
 
The leak ....... when you close-off both the suction AND pressure side (skimmer and jets), you essentially are checking to see if there is a leak in the pool itself (liner, light, or skimmer box). Since water didn't go any lower, I'm wondering if the water level was high enough (like normal). What you might want to do if you still suspect one of the lines under ground is close the suction or pressure side one at a time from your valves. Normally if the pressure side has a leak, it shows itself by dampness around that area, not always but often. Suction leaks, unless really bad, normally will only let air in the line when the pump is running. When the pump is off that's when water can seep-out, maybe even pull a little dirt in as well. Just some things to consider. If the leak is suspected under concrete, that's a search & rescue mission and unless you have time and equipment, many owners just resort to a leak detection company to pinpoint it better.
 
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