High-altitude Chlorination

[ccuellar4]

I'm new to owning a pool and have been doing quite a bit of reading on TFP. I'm currently in a battle with a swamp as many of the posts here have also said. I have been trying to bring up the FC level by using the Leslies power powder shock. The lady at leslies told me that liquid chlorine doesn't hold well at high elevations and that it would be a waste to use it. A lot of articles here mention that liquid chlorine is all they use.

Do you have suggestions regarding chlorinated at 5300 feet?

 

[tim5055]

Welcome to TFP!

Yea, let's think about this. A salesperson told you not to use what they don't sell, but do use what the do sell. It's easy, she is either lying or sadly misinformed. Chlorine is chlorine is chlorine.

You need an accurate test kit and lots of bleach. You need to follow the SLAM Process process to,get rid of the algae.

I recomend the TF-100 and you will want the XL option. I'm on my phone, but someone will be along to give you links.

Oh, stop going to that pool store.

 

[Richard320]

I'm new to owning a pool and have been doing quite a bit of reading on TFP. I'm currently in a battle with a swamp as many of the posts here have also said. I have been trying to bring up the FC level by using the Leslies power powder shock. The lady at leslies told me that liquid chlorine doesn't hold well at high elevations and that it would be a waste to use it. A lot of articles here mention that liquid chlorine is all they use.

Do you have suggestions regarding chlorinated at 5300 feet?

UV is stronger at higher elevations. If all you added was bleach with no stabilizer present, it would break down in minutes. So the lady was partially right. But CYA of 60 will counter that no problem. If you've been using the pool store advice up til now, I suspect your CYA will be two to four times that high.

To clear the swamp, you need to SLAM Process. To SLAM Process you need a proper test kit, one that the pool store probably doesn't stock. Pool School - Test Kits Compared Don't let them sell you a DPD test kit. It's not the same as FAS-DPD. I've lost count of how many people here have been suckered that way.

With a reliable set of test results, we can guide you through the rest. If CH or CYA are too high, a partial drain may be called for first. Or something else may indicate some other problem. But once things are settled, it's just a matter of bleach brush vacuum backwash test.

Check out some of these threads. Your pool can't be worse than some of them. Just do what they did. Recovering my old inspirational links

 

[cowboycasey]

Welcome I used to ride motorcycles up there every year when I was in El Paso

Liquid chlorine has all the good stuff and none of the bad

I take it the pool store is also testing your water for "free" they are also taking you to the cleaners for that free service

with a swamp you really do want the TF100 with XL option, do they say you have high CH, even if you do not the speedstir is worth its weight in gold TFTestkits.net

what to do about your swamp while the test kit is coming, go to walmart pool isle or the laundry isle, get the 8.5% bleach (not splashless or fruity flavors) or the 10% pool shock (bleach) grab about 10 bottles for now

nest, we need your pool info, fill out your signature so we can tell you how much to put in a day Trouble Free Pool check out

Run the pump 24/7 until your done with the SLAM

brush at least 2 times a day for your daily workout

I hope this helps, look in my signature for links to what we are talking about and ask all the questions you have

 

[ccuellar4]

Thank you all for your posts. I had a similar sentiment after reading all the articles about leslies and liquid chlorine. I'm in the process of getting a test kit that you guys mention and I will post the results from the tests.

Leslies also ran a test on my water a few days ago with the following results:
FAC 0 - now around 2
TAC - 0
CH - 525
CYA - 30
TA - 80
pH - 7.6
Copper 0
Iron 0
TDS 500
Pho 0

I also noticed that I have a pool that sounds like it has a heartbeat because the pump seems to lose pressure occasionally. I'm fairly convinced that it's due to a leak in one of the pvc pipe joints.

@cowboycasey that's awesome about El Paso, I grew up there so I'm very familiar with both places!

 

[Richard320]

Thank you all for your posts. I had a similar sentiment after reading all the articles about leslies and liquid chlorine. I'm in the process of getting a test kit that you guys mention and I will post the results from the tests.

Leslies also ran a test on my water a few days ago with the following results:
FAC 0 - now around 2
TAC - 0
CH - 525
CYA - 30
TA - 80
pH - 7.6
Copper 0
Iron 0
TDS 500
Pho 0

I also noticed that I have a pool that sounds like it has a heartbeat because the pump seems to lose pressure occasionally. I'm fairly convinced that it's due to a leak in one of the pvc pipe joints.

@cowboycasey that's awesome about El Paso, I grew up there so I'm very familiar with both places!

If you get a regular surging, check the water level and make sure the skimmer flap isn't sticking. What happens is a vortex forms, the pump sucks air and loses prime, the water is able to fill the skimmer again since it isn't being sucked dry, it primes and starts pumping again. Repeat endlessly.


If not that, check out Pool School - Suction Side Air Leaks

If it was a pressure side leak, you'd be spraying water out somewhere.

 

[ccuellar4]

If you get a regular surging, check the water level and make sure the skimmer flap isn't sticking. What happens is a vortex forms, the pump sucks air and loses prime, the water is able to fill the skimmer again since it isn't being sucked dry, it primes and starts pumping again. Repeat endlessly.


If not that, check out Pool School - Suction Side Air Leaks

I read the article about side air leaks and am convinced that is the issue. My skimmer doesn't have a flap and I haven't noticed any whirlpooling effects. I tried the water test on the PVC that connects directly to the pump and noticed that there was an air leak there.

I unscrewed that section of pipe and didn't notice any chipping or any obvious signs of weakness. I did see that the previous owner had done a poor job with his plumbers tape, so I retaped it and connected the pipe again. It seemed to slow down that leak significantly. I also lubricated the o-ring for both the pump priming section and the hand seal pvc connector. There wasn't an oring or washer of any sort that connected to the pump. Is this normal?

Thank you guys again for all your help. I've also tried to update my signature so hopefully that will start showing.

 

[Richard320]

I read the article about side air leaks and am convinced that is the issue. My skimmer doesn't have a flap and I haven't noticed any whirlpooling effects. I tried the water test on the PVC that connects directly to the pump and noticed that there was an air leak there.

I unscrewed that section of pipe and didn't notice any chipping or any obvious signs of weakness. I did see that the previous owner had done a poor job with his plumbers tape, so I retaped it and connected the pipe again. It seemed to slow down that leak significantly. I also lubricated the o-ring for both the pump priming section and the hand seal pvc connector. There wasn't an oring or washer of any sort that connected to the pump. Is this normal?

Thank you guys again for all your help. I've also tried to update my signature so hopefully that will start showing.

I'm afraid I don't understand. By "the o-ring for the pump priming section" do you mean the one under the pump strainer basket lid? I can't even guess at "hand seal pvc connector". Maybe you can post a picture?

The inlet pipe is a common spot for leaks. The pump is straight thread and the screw-in piece is tapered and sometimes people run out of threads before they get the thing air-tight.