Anyone want to buy a pool? AKA Help!

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pearkel

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Bronze Supporter
May 10, 2016
13
Maysville/ky
Well I am a severely frustrated. Starting 3rd year with our 24' AGP. First summer no problem, end of last summer had a severe algae breakout and really struggled with keeping out in front of it. Happened during a really warm week while we were on vacation and I never really got it back to good water. I became so frustrated i just told my wife we would pump it out this year and start over. I changed my mind after discussing with pool supply guy and now i wish i would have have went with my gut. He sold me some flocculant and while this did clear the pool, when i started vacuuming to waste my sand filter started pumping sand back into the water. I took it apart and the solenoid (?) was broken. I purchased a DE filter to replace because the filter was a brand where i couldn't find replacement parts. I hooked the new filter up and everything was going good, however this filter is too good and because i have all this flocculant in the water it is constantly raising pressure in the filter after really only an hour. I bump it and it goes down for a while and then it goes right back up. I cleaned it out with fresh DE today after only running about 2 hours yesterday. and it is doing the same thing. Before I go any further am i doing this right and do i just need to keep replacing the DE? I ordered a taylor k-2006 and water levels all checked out fine, FC was a little low at 3.6 but the CYA was at 40 and ph was 7.5. I wish i would have found this site before i add the floc because i can see it floating in the water. I did at a skimmer sock (panty hose) and hoping this will catch some of the floc before it reaches the filter.

You guys are a wealth of information and I have been reading constantly since i found you and i appreciate the advise i have received by just reading.
 
HI! We are SO glad you found us and your wallet and pool we be glad also! Good job on getting the test kit!

Lets rock! First thing, please post your latest tests like this:

FC
CC
PH
TA
CH (but not really needed for vinyl pool)
CYA

It is much easier to read like this.

You are doing the right thing......LOL on the DE filter working TOO good but.....yeah it does work good and will take some baby sitting to get the water and floc cleared out. The skimmer sock is a good idea. You can also let the water sit over night and make a siphon with the vacuum hose to suck up and out all of the floc that settles to the bottom.

You can also line the skimmer with paper towels to help filter even more BUT make sure you are close by to chech and change as needed.

Kim:cat:
 
Thank you for the warm welcome. That is one thing that encouraged me to post, every post I have read everyone is so friendly! I think it should be a requirement on people who sell pools give this site as a required read! :)
Ok, thanks for the tips, the floc definitely settles but has taken a couple of days in between my vacuums before my filter broke. The water is looking better still very cloudy but I can start to see the bottom of the pool with the filter running.
Current readings as of 30 minutes ago were the following
FC 3.6
CC 1.6
TA 100
CYA 30
PH 7.2
so things are moving around some. I have been babysitting the filter all afternoon and cleaned the filter again. Stayed around 10 psi for a while but is steadily moving back up even with the paper towels. I was just very nervous about letting the DE out and replacing on a new filter but I am determined to get this right and keep it right this summer.
Again thanks for your reply and help. I told my wife I was putting full time on this all weekend to get it straight before we want to use.
 
Hey there :) Nice to have you..

SO, those numbers look like you have some chlorine fighting something, and you say you can just see the bottom so I believe you need to SLAM :)

Testing: you are using the 25ml level, you will use less reagents using 10ml level and multiply by .5 instead

With a CYA of 30 you need to bring your FC to 12 using bleach/liquid chlorine Use poolmath above and put your fc of 3.6 in now and 12 in target and it will tell you how much you need to add.. test as much as you can, 2 hours to start or at least 5 times a day, the closer you keep it at 12 the faster it will go :)

you found the number one thing with DE filters, They work great but when you have algae it glogs very fast...
 
Great, you guys are so helpful! Thanks for the tip on the 25ml and 10ml. I figured i would be purchasing some more reagents soon. :) I will SLAM in the morning. One question i have on the pool math calculator if you don't mind. What exactly does this mean? Add of % bleach.I have bleach from the pool store and it is a 12% but I don't know what the weight in the calculator means. I did search but really didn't see an answer. I am sorry because i know its there but I just must not be searching for the right thing.
Thanks again.
 
First things first... I'm so glad to see someone on the board from Maysville. My family is from Maysville and I lived in Maysville as a boy from '73-'86 and still have family and friends there. Dad worked at Brownings; my grandparents and great-grandparents had stores down on 2nd street. We lived on top of the hill. So many great memories.

For your pool, we are definitely going to get you squared away. Regarding the chlorine percentage, there are a number of different formulations. They vary widely from Walmart bleach, to Dollar General to Clorox, etc. It's important to make sure you represent the correct % from the bleach bottles that you are using when making calculations on pool math. Does that help?
 
pearkel said:
Great, you guys are so helpful! Thanks for the tip on the 25ml and 10ml. I figured i would be purchasing some more reagents soon. :) I will SLAM in the morning. One question i have on the pool math calculator if you don't mind. What exactly does this mean? Add of % bleach.I have bleach from the pool store and it is a 12% but I don't know what the weight in the calculator means. I did search but really didn't see an answer. I am sorry because i know its there but I just must not be searching for the right thing.
Thanks again.
Click to expand...

No problem, by weight just means the % basically.. just use 12% but I want to make sure, most pool stores sell 12.5% in that strength.. what ever one it is just put it in poolmath and it will tell you exactly how much to put in... :)
 
SWEET to be able to see an improvement! You are getting it! That is a VERY valid question about how to use pool math and what to put in....It does take some practice and use. Ask any questions you might have. We are waiting for you!

Kim:cat:
 
txnole said:
First things first... I'm so glad to see someone on the board from Maysville. My family is from Maysville and I lived in Maysville as a boy from '73-'86 and still have family and friends there. Dad worked at Brownings; my grandparents and great-grandparents had stores down on 2nd street. We lived on top of the hill. So many great memories.

For your pool, we are definitely going to get you squared away. Regarding the chlorine percentage, there are a number of different formulations. They vary widely from Walmart bleach, to Dollar General to Clorox, etc. It's important to make sure you represent the correct % from the bleach bottles that you are using when making calculations on pool math. Does that help?
Click to expand...

Awesome! I was born in Maysville but moved around as a kid, moved back in 96 and been here ever since. My grandfather also worked at Brownings so I am sure they knew each other! Thanks for the explanation, i thought that but when it changed from weight to trade i wasn't for sure if that is what it meant. Cloudy and cool today but already started my first dose, will test hourly and have weekend dedicated to get it right.
 

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Been at it since 7 this morning, went to walmart and bought 12 jugs of liquid chlorine (was ready for a battle!). Put my math in the pool calculator, forgot to change the default value of 6 in bleach concentration and really elevated it. FC jumped to 19 on first test after an hour. Came to forum read others who had done this and what to do. Started sweeping and sweeping and sweeping. An hour later was still at 19. Started brushing some more and pool was becoming clearer so i scooped out some leaves from bottom that i could now see. Around noon FC was at 15 and just about 10 minutes ago was at 14. I have been above my goal of 12 all day but staying the course. I have cleaned filter twice as pressure keeps going up after a couple of bump cleanings. I am on my 4th batch of DE since installing the filter on Thursday, hope this is ok and I am only adding 80% of my initial charge based upon what i read here. Pool is looking so much better. Its not perfect but i really for the first time since last June have hope!
Not the best pictures but it is cold (below 60) and windy. The water is actually warmer than the air! The water has been hanging around low 70's to high 60's. I expect it to be much colder tomorrow as we might have frost tonight. YUK!

IMG_20160514_154225.jpgIMG_20160514_154245.jpg
 
I can see the bottom, your getting there ?

I am using my phone so please excuse any spelling errors and short response. :)
 
IMG_20160514_195307.jpg
What a difference a day makes. 12 hours from when i started, things are continuing to improve! Water is getting really clear now. I have some more sweeping and scooping to do but i am feeling really good. I wish i had a picture of where I started. What started as a green funky mess, a new filter and a lot of reading this sites knowledge and advise, i have a pool i want my family to swim in!
For the first time all day my FC dropped below the 12 mark. I correctly entered my numbers this time in pool math and dosed it again. About ready for my hourly water check to see where i stand.
 
Water looks absolutely fabulous this morning. Did a FC check last night before bed it was at 12.5, woke up at 6 and turned on pump, tested water at 7 and FC was at 12.5. This is good right? CC is at .5. I went ahead and did a full gamut of testing
FC 12.5
CC .5
TA 120
CYA 30
PH 7.5 (color is in between 7.4 and 7.6)
Still have some sand to get out and a final vacuum to get some small leaves and stuff off the bottom but feel really good. I am going to try the syphon with a garden hose to get the sand out as i really don't want to introduce any to my new filter if possible.
Question, should i try and adjust anything else on my pool levels? Raise CYA to 40? I have some stabilizer that i didn't use because I was tired of dumping chemicals into the pool until I knew what i was doing.
Thanks!
 
you are doing great... you can leave your CYA just where it is and watch your FC use daily... your target is 4fc every day, if your FC falls to 2 (your minimum) every day then raise your CYA level to 40.. with a CYA level of 40 your would target 5 and see where that gets you :)

also, from those results and a clear pool I do believe you have passed the OCLT.... YAY :) just let your FC drift down to 5 and test your TA and PH again to make sure they are good and then do your daily tests...
 
cowboycasey said:
you are doing great... you can leave your CYA just where it is and watch your FC use daily... your target is 4fc every day, if your FC falls to 2 (your minimum) every day then raise your CYA level to 40.. with a CYA level of 40 your would target 5 and see where that gets you :)

also, from those results and a clear pool I do believe you have passed the OCLT.... YAY :) just let your FC drift down to 5 and test your TA and PH again to make sure they are good and then do your daily tests...
Click to expand...

Great Thank you! I can't say enough on how much i appreciate all of your help, both mine and for everyone else! I would still be fighting a dirty pool if not for you guys.
 

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