Okie needs help.. (Bought new house, with green pool!)

[ColeM]

I have a 25,000 gal inground vinyl pool. We bought the house 2 months ago and have never seen the pool clear. I have removed all the leaves and brushed the pool daily while I waited for my test kit from Amazon. The house was foreclosed on and they let the pool go. The liner is only (1) year old.

Here are my current readings:

CYA: 0
FC: 0
PH: 7.4
ALK: 66 (I had to add 6 drops)

I have attached some photos as well.

 

[Mr Bruce]

Which test kit did you order? Assuming it is a recommended kit I would add 1/2 gallon of 8.25% or 10% bleach a day until it arrived.

 

[MarianParoo]

Yum... Your numbers actually may not be too bad. Better low CYA than high. Do you have bleach/liquid chlorine on hand? Throw a jug in there and test your FC after about a half hour. Let us know what you put in and what your new FC readi g is.

 

[ColeM]

Which test kit did you order? Assuming it is a recommended kit I would add 1/2 gallon of 8.25% or 10% bleach a day until it arrived.

k-2006 (I got the kit today)

- - - Updated - - -

Yum... Your numbers actually may not be too bad. Better low CYA than high. Do you have bleach/liquid chlorine on hand? Throw a jug in there and test your FC after about a half hour. Let us know what you put in and what your new FC readi g is.

Will do.

 

[kimkats]

HI! This will be an easy one! You do not have the Creature from the Black Lagoon living in there! We have helped clear some that we KNEW he lived in there!

Here is the link to what you will be doing:

Pool School - SLAM - Shock Level And Maintain


Print this out and read it a few times. Ask questions as needed and there will be plenty of us here to help you out.

The most important part of the SLAM is the M=maintain as in maintain the FC level at or just above SLAM level for your CYA level.

Kim:cat:

 

[MarianParoo]

You are also going to need to buy some CYA, but don't add any yet until we know your pool can hold some chlorine.

 

[ColeM]

Added (1) GAL of 10% Pool Shock 35 Minutes Ago.

FC: 6ppm

(This is so fun not to have to rely on a Pool Company or Store!) (I am loving this)

 

[ColeM]

Okay, please correct me if I am wrong. Based on my current readings and my pool size I need to do the following:

CYA to 40-50: Add 90oz of Liquid Stabilizer
FC to Shock Level of 20: Add 4 GAL of Liquid 10% Bleach or Pool Shock.

How often do I check the levels after adding each item?

 

[MarianParoo]

Great news! Aim for 30 on the CYA. No higher as you are in for a slam. You can check your FC about an hour later and then bring it back up. For CYA, check after 48+ hours. How are you planning on adding the CYA? And yes, it IS fun!!!

 

[ColeM]

How do you suggest I add the CYA? I was going to head to Walmart and get some stabilizer and pour it slowly into the skimmer.

 

[MarianParoo]

Plenty of people do it that way. It's just that what gets caught on your filter can take a while to dissolve and you shouldn't backwash your filter for a few days. What kind of filter do you have? A lot of people also put it in a sock and put the sock in their skimmer. You can also dangle the sock in front of a return. If you go the sock route, just make sure that you don't block your skimmer or have it rest against the side of the pool.

 

[ColeM]

I have a Sand filter. Can you check my math for me.

On the pool calculator if my current CYA is 0 and I want to get to 30 and my pool size is 25,900GAL I would need to add 104oz by Weight and/or 269oz of Liquid?

How long do I wait until I can start adding bleach to the pool to get to a shock level?

 

[cowboycasey]

Man, I missed an Okie Post

You can put the bleach in right after you add CYA, no issues

Throw that CYA in a sock and hang it in front of a return or you can do like I did

 

[MarianParoo]

Your math was correct, however, I would suggest aiming for CYA of 20 and see where you are. There are two reasons for that. One, is you may have some CYA already in there and the test just can't measure below 30. It could be at 25... Also, people often overestimate their pool volume.

You can add 3 gallons of 8.25% bleach or 2 gallons of 12.5%. Take it to around 10ppm for tonight.

 

[ColeM]

Okay added the required amount of CYA. Do I wait 48 hours until I check for the current level?

My FC reading tonight is 13. Do I need to raise it?

My PH is 7.0.

 

[MarianParoo]

Go ahead and raise FC to your goal of CYA addition. My guess would be 16ppm.

Yes, 48 hours is a good time to recheck.

Do you have any borax on hand to raise the pH a tad?

 

[ColeM]

Yes I do have some borax. I will adjust it in the morning.

 

[MarianParoo]

Oh good. Just a tad. I recommended raising the pH because pH usually reads falsely HIGH when FC is over 10ppm. If your FC is 7, it could be falsely lower. Just a tad increase, please...

 

[ColeM]

Can you give me an idea of what to be looking for as far as water clarity and color? Right now it looks a little brown / green.

 

[Mr Bruce]

If you keep it at SLAM level it should turn to cloudy blue, then start to clear. Sand is slowest, so check back if it stops improving.