2 new's. New Jersey, new pool owner

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themadangler

themadangler

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May 26, 2016
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Southampton, NJ
Greetings from New Jersey. Bought a new house, October. 2015 and it came with a pool. First time pool owner. When we closed in mid October, we had it closed and prayed all winter it was done right. Took the cover off on Mother's Day, she didn't even have to help, and it was clear down to the bottom of the deep end. Had it opened two weeks later and the problems began. First issue, the existing compu pool swg was leaking. Had a crack in the coupling threads. Could have bought a replacement cell, but decided to just invest in a new system. There was a build up of calcium on the blades, didn't know the age of it, so a new Pentair Intellichlor Ic40 was ordered. Next issue was a leak in the pump discharge side, and then the clear water began to change. As the pollen fell the pool darkened until it was a green murky mess. I removed the old swg, plumbed in the new bypass tube for the ic40 and fixed the pump leak. Also added an inline sacrificial anode. Started running the filter and Polaris to begin the process of cleaning up the mess. Added some shock and did some water testing, Taylor k2006c, things began to clean up. Consulted the pool store and Internet for some advice, because I'm clueless, and then I found tfp . Hoping to get some advice on any issues that arise...currently I'm trying to get the water clear. It's blue and fairly clear I think the shallow end. The plan for this coming weekend is to test all parameters again and keep filtering. Ill also get the ic40 hooked up and running once the water is balanced. Thanks for any advice.
 
You're on your way. You've found us and you have a good test kit. Keep that water circulating and keep brushing. It's unfortunate that your spring has started on a sour note with the pool.

When you added shock, was it a powdered shock like dichlor or cal-hypo or was it liquid shock (aka bleach)? We don't recommend using powdered shocks at all or if so, only in occasional doses, knowing that it's adding something that's likely not beneficial for your pool over time. Dichlor adds CYA (stabilizer) in large amounts every time you use it. Cal-hypo adds calcium (CH) every time as well. Both can only be removed from the pool by draining if they get too high in concentration. Check out ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry and come back with questions. Be sure to post all test results when you can like this:
FC
CC
CYA
pH
TA
CH

Testing your fill water for TA and CH can be helpful as well so we know what advice to give if there is a drain/refill in order.
 
Thanks. I did use a powdered shock initially but after reading some here, I know that wasn't the way to go. As far as the bleach, does is vary from brand to brand? Can I just buy the cheapest dollar store bleach or do I need to use pool specific bleach? I will test and post those parameter for the pool and well water once I get off work.

JVTrain said:
You're on your way. You've found us and you have a good test kit. Keep that water circulating and keep brushing. It's unfortunate that your spring has started on a sour note with the pool.

When you added shock, was it a powdered shock like dichlor or cal-hypo or was it liquid shock (aka bleach)? We don't recommend using powdered shocks at all or if so, only in occasional doses, knowing that it's adding something that's likely not beneficial for your pool over time. Dichlor adds CYA (stabilizer) in large amounts every time you use it. Cal-hypo adds calcium (CH) every time as well. Both can only be removed from the pool by draining if they get too high in concentration. Check out ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry and come back with questions. Be sure to post all test results when you can like this:
FC
CC
CYA
pH
TA
CH

Testing your fill water for TA and CH can be helpful as well so we know what advice to give if there is a drain/refill in order.
Click to expand...

- - - Updated - - -

Thank you
 
You can use whatever bleach is the cheapest as long as it's unscented and not outdoor or splashless type bleach. Keep in mind bleach percentage varies by brand and type. Some is 8.25%, some is 6%, some dollar store bleach is 3%. Liquid pool shock is sold usually at 10% or 12.5% and can be had at some big box stores or pool stores. Same thing as bleach, just higher %. One other note on bleach. Try to get it fresh. Most reputable manufacturers will have a born on date or best by date stamped on each bottle. For example: 16099 would mean the bleach was produced on the 99th day of 2016. Others will have a best by date such as 03/27/17, meaning it was likely made on 3/27/16. Get whatever you can that's a good price, decent % (8.25% or higher for less bottles) and is fresh. Higher % bleaches decay quicker so don't get more than a months supply of the potent stuff. If you can't find a % hypochlorite on the bottle, don't buy it.
 
Finally was able to do some testing. The results are:
FC: .5ppm
CC:1 ppm
pH: 7.6
Salt: 3200ppm
TA: 90 ppm
Ch: 200ppm
CYA: Tried the test but the dot at the bottom was visible as I filled all the way up to the top. Tried the test three times and the same result..I guess there isn't any, which is the same result I got for the pool store on the 23rd.
Fill well water was TA: 40 ppm, CH: the sample didn't turn red. Not sure what that means.
I'm noticing a floating clear/white substance on the surface which I assume is algae. In anticipation of the add some bleach response, I'm on the way to the supermarket now. Going to get a few gallons and whatever doesn't get used in the pool will make it in the laundry room. Any thoughts? Thanks for the assistance.
 
I'm thinking I'm going to have to SLAM my pool. With no cya, is that where I should start first? Or can I increase the cya and add bleach at the same time? I have 4 gallons of 8.25% Sodium Hypochlorite, 91.75% other ingredients???( Yields 7.86% available Chlorine) Hope that is the correct stuff.
 
Yep, good decision to do the SLAM. I'm guessing you have read Pool School - SLAM - Shock Level And Maintain, but just in case, have a good read through that. Remember to take your pH down a bit as a first step.

When there is zero CYA in the water, and there definitely was CYA in the water when you closed, then it's possible you have CYA-eating bacteria and ammonia in the water, so that possibility can be ruled out before adding CYA. Do you know if there was CYA in the water when it was closed? Were you using pucks or powdered chlorine up until close last year? Do you still have the powdered shock container you used this year, and if so, please tell us what kind (look for the chemical name) and how much you added.

Even if you don't know, it's quite easy to check, but it needs to be done when there's no sun on the pool, e.g. early tomorrow morning, you would add enough chlorine to get to 10 PPM FC. Have the pump running and mix it with your brush as well, and re-test 10 minutes later. If you lose more than half (i.e. now 5 PPM) you have ammonia and CYA-eating bacteria. If you do, we hold off adding the CYA until that's killed, by testing very often and maintaining 10 PPM FC until it starts to hold better than 50%. If you don't have ammonia, then yes, the CYA is needed and 30 PPM is the recommended CYA level for starting the SLAM. At 30 PPM CYA, your FC level for the SLAM will be 12 PPM.

If you start with the sun on the pool, at zero CYA, the chlorine will be consumed very quickly, and it will get confusing. Do everything you can to stay at 12 PPM FC, and then after it is holding better, add the CYA.

I defer to JVTrain on all of this cause I'm a newbie, but thought I'd explain a bit in case you're up late thinking about your plan for tomorrow. Here's a thread on ammonia, and you may be able to rule this out and go straight into the SLAM. Dealing with Ammonia. I haven't found the guide mentioned there yet, but will keep looking.
 
I can't find the guide, but here's the procedure with the edit that was mentioned further along in the thread (underlined):

Treatment for Ammonia:
1. Begin a SLAM and dose FC up to SLAM level. If your CYA test is showing as zero (perhaps already converted to ammonia), use a SLAM/Shock FC of 10. Do not add additional CYA at this point.
2. Retest FC at 10-minute intervals.
a. If FC loss is greater than 50%, add FC to bring back up to SLAM level and continue retesting FC @ 10-minute intervals.
b. IF FC loss is 50% or less, add FC to bring back up to SLAM level. Go to Step 3.
3. If CYA is below 30 ppm, add enough CYA to bring level up to 30 ppm.
4. Continue SLAM as directed in the SLAM article until the SLAM Criteria of Done are met. Test as directed in the SLAM article - no longer need to test FC at 10 minute increments at this point.
 

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We only moved in the house in October of 2015 we moved in and close the pool immediately didn't add any chemicals other than what's used to close the pool I had a company do it so I don't even know what was involved. Once opened on Mother's Day it was clear period when it started turning green I added some of the shock that I found lying around the house then I added some pool store advice and finally some Walmart stuff. Then I found the right place to go for the right information which is why I'm adding bleach right now before the sun comes up.
 
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Just checked and the 4 jugs of 8.25% will just get you to 10 PPM, so we're gonna need a fair bit more chlorine alright. Sounds like you saw the same thing! You got this. Excellent.

I see the pics, thanks. Was it just the one bag of each? If so, not a big deal in that size pool. If more, let me know. I'll use PoolMath to figure out how much CYA went in and whether it would be noticeable. If possible, get the CYA (stabilizer, cyanuric acid) as well. Get 12 lbs of powdered. Your pool calls for 8.3 lbs, but when we're done slammin, you'll need it anyway. If you buy liquid stabilizer, get 2 gallons. Liquid is not a bad idea if you're in a hurry and if it isn't too much more $ than the 12 lbs of powder.
 
Excellent. So just to be sure... pump is manual on to run 24/7, right? Is the SWG on or off? If on, what is the % setting and daily run time? And where is the filter pressure vs. your known clean pressure?

The bags of trichlor and dichlor added about 10 PPM CYA. That amount is not noticeable in the test, but good for us to know about.

Before starting the SLAM, and including the CalHypo, you added 19 PPM FC. That gives us an idea of how fast it's getting consumed.
 
The pump is on and running 24-7 currently. The salt water generator is not on yet I didn't want to hook it up until I got all the levels correct. The filter pressure is about 24 pounds and doesn't fluctuate much higher than 28 when in need of backwashing

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