2nd year opening a pool still a battle

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PunKid

0
Jun 2, 2015
33
Hanson/MA
I purchased my house in the winter of 2014, and through the use of this site I was able to re-open a pool that had been closed for 5 years, with 3 or more years with no cover. It was a lot of work and took a month and half but It finally did clear and we enjoyed it all summer.

Fast forward to this spring and I thought it would be breeze, I knew all the stuff from this site, and nothing could be as bad as last time...

Well I had some problems and mistakes.

-First was a leak last fall, that I could not resolve until this spring. This allowed the pool cover to sit very low (fine mesh style) and lots of leaves sat on the cover and made it sink into the pool.
-Second was cover removal was a complete fail resulting in all the debris falling into the pool, not my finest moment.
-Third was fixing the leak in the spring which took longer to do then anticapted (finding time, draining the pool, and then refill)

So the cover has been off for over a month and I was not able to start pumping and filtering till the long weekend, here is what I started with on Friday


After a weekend of on an off filtering, I was trying to Keep my FC around 10-12, because my CYA is less then 30 (I guessing around 0-10). I dont have my notes in front of me but I will post my test results later.

On monday this is where I am at


I still can't run the filter longer then about 1.5hrs before needing to bump it. (at the begining it was 30mins). I have not done an over night test yet, I wanted it to clear up a little more. I still have some sludgy material at the bottom of the deep end that I keep scooping or vacuuming and it will all go away but then after a couple hours settle back down.

now thats its the work week I can only run the filter a couple hours in the evening, I am hoping to try and keep my FC at shock level tho.
 
I think I am on Day 12 of the SLAM, I am seeing very little to almost no improvement of the pool over the last 5 to 6 days. Although the filter can now run for 8 plus hours before needing a bump.

Last test results
FC 10
CC 0.5
CYA just under 30
PH N/A
TA 30
CH 40

this is just the other day



I am now perfectly clear, can see the bottom no problem, everything vacuumed out and I try to brush once a day.

I am only loosing 2-4ppm per day of FC.

I have only been adding Megashock liquid 12.5% chlorine from oceanstatejob lot (newenglanders will know what it is).

One thing I have noticed is a have a lot of discoloration on the vinyl and fiberglass stairs below the water level when it was closed during the winter. The strangest part is when I repaired the stair gasket I cleaned the stairs and they were not bad, but as soon as I started the slam the stain showed up, even know the water level was now higher.

I am now considering bumping up the TA and CH to try and get my overall chemicals in line. I will continue with the SLAM but I am getting really tired and want to swim!
 
A couple of items that stand out:

Your TA and CH are a little low (I believe you have a liner). Once you are done with the SLAM process, please post PH results and if they stay consistent. Please raise the TA to at least 60-80. The other item is the mesh cover. While I have a solid cheap cover, my friend has a mesh safety cover. He had someone close the pool in early September and about 2 weeks prior to memorial day the pool was a green swamp. The pool was cleared up pretty quickly and within 7-10 days (If I remember correctly).

The 2nd year, we did something different. Over the mesh cover, we placed my old solid tarp and cut slits in the cover (on the grass of course), laid over the mesh cover and secured with rope, etc. Water was still allowed to soak through the cover. This year, we opened the pool (one month early from Memorial Day) and the pool within 24 hours was crystal clear (2 gallons of shock).

I believe the mesh cover is allowing a lot of sunlight through, which is causing your issues. This may be a solution for you. Wal Mart sells very inexpensive blue tarps. You can purchase a few of them and lay over the other tarp. The only other option is to close real late and open real early when temperatures are lower. Personally, in NJ, I closed around September 29th, 2016 (because of all the leaves going into the pool) and opened up April 22nd. Water was a little dirty, but cleared up in about 4 hours.

Please keep us posted!
 
The Mesh cover is that ultra fine mesh and honestly looks solid, but it should allow water to flow through it slowly. I definitally need to a better job closing and opening my pool, I was in a rush last fall with leaves and the leak, and then through out the winter I should have made sure no leaves stayed on the cover.
TA
Yes the last two nights I added both TA and CH my new levels as of last are

TA = 70
CH = 80

I plan to bump them up some more. I actually ran out of my chlorine tester so I am down to test strips until it comes.

here is the picture from last night, maybe I am hopefully but its actually looks a little less green (this was taken right after a thunderstorm and the chlorine was low)



Last question is I am pretty sure I meet the 3 requirements of a finished SLAM, FC drop less then 1.0 overnight, CC less then 1.0 and pool is clear. But its still kinda greenish, so do I keep at the SLAM or do I start trying to balance the PH and other chemicals and hope its more just pollen and the filter doing its final clean?
 
I probably would bring CYA to around 40 and where is the PH? I have realized my pools PH is very stable is a low TA of 80. Last year, I was at 120 and the PH had to be reduced every 4 days with muriatic acid. It is best to not increase your TA until you see how your PH is on a daily basis. If it stays at the 7.5-7.6 range, then I would recommend leaving the TA alone. Even though CH is not a big deal in liner pools, it is up to you if you wish to increase. I found a website that sells 25 lb. with free shipping for $30.

Swimming Pool Chemicals - Swimming Pool Supplies, Parts, and more - Backyard Pool Superstore

We ordered for a bunch of friends to get the $10 fee waived.

Your CC has to be less than .5, not 1 for you to pass the overnight test. Please keep SLAMMING until all 3 tests are passed.
 
Yea I want my CH to be close to the acceptable range for fiberglass pools because of the fiberglass stairs.

I can't check the PH because of the SLAM thats why I was thinking of stopping the SLAM so I could actually check it.

When I get my tester refill I will double check the CC is less the 0.5
 
Ok my last post I was going from memory on the numbers my TA is actually 50 not 70. So yesterday I got my refill so I could continue testing Free Chlorine.

Yesterday at about 430pm
PH 7.0
FC 3.5 (lower then I would have expected, 48hrs before I was at FC 10, and yesterday I added 128oz of 12.5%)
CC 0.5
CYA 30
TA 50 (did not retest numbers from the day before)
CH 80 (did not retest numbers from the day before)

I backwashed the DE filter which was not really spiking in pressure but I wanted to make sure it was not full of algae, the color was kinda greenish but it was hard to tell in the dark.

I added around 200oz of 12.5% chlorine (all I had left) which should have brought my FC to about 10, but after and hour and I tested and FC was 12 which is right at shock level. the pump ran most of the night and this morning I retested
FC 11.5
CC 0.5 to 1.0 (I was doing the 10ml test and it was just about clear after 1 drop but maybe needed a hair more)

New plan is tonight buy more shock hit it at mustard algae level and recheck CC and OCLT

Picture from this morning
 

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At 9pm last night FC was 8.5 and CC was less then 0.5. So I only lost 3ppm between 5am and 9pm (16hrs) and it was a bright sunny day. I raised back to shock level one last time and I think I am calling it done. all three tests have passed

from this morning

 
Yes, I would call it "done" for now. My routine is as follow and I find it easier to take averages, instead of getting overly concerned about the numbers:

CYA - Test monthly
CH - Test weekly on the same day
TC CC FC Test 2X weekly. Usually Saturday morning with all the other tests and in the middle of the week (Wednesday). This allows me to skip a day or so if there is enough chlorine in the pool.
TA - Test weekly on the same day

A total of 3 ppm daily for one day should be fine, but if you are averaging this daily, it appears to be excessive if there is not a lot of activity. Especially as the weather is now cool!



PH Daily with Taylor K-1000 Kit.
 
Last year I had to adjust PH every 4 days as my TA was 120. All along I suspected the 360 degree rotating heads (4 of them) caused this issue. This year, with the help of winter snow and rain, the TA is at 80 and my PH has not drifted at all. Only once I had to add acid, and I believe this is from the borax (PH up), which was done only once. The rain water is acidic and it lowered my PH below 7.2 to around 6.8. You will eventually find out what works best for your pool.

IMG_0801.jpg

My water never looked this good until joining TFP! You can see the reflection of almost everything on the water.
 
I finally jumped in the pool on Sunday, temp outside was 71F pool was 69F. I could not get out of the pool fast enough but I needed to do it.

Latest test results
FC 5
CC less then 0.5
CYA 30
PH 7.2 (currently trying to raise it)
CH 120
TA 50

Latest picture, gets better with each picture but can't get that tint of green to leave

 
I finally jumped in the pool on Sunday, temp outside was 71F pool was 69F. I could not get out of the pool fast enough but I needed to do it. Latest test results FC 5CC less then 0.5 CYA 30 PH 7.2 (currently trying to raise it) CH 120 TA 50
Click to expand...

Yes, East Coast weather is tricky. You need a good 3 hot days before water gets up there. You may have a lot of shade. We are in the upper 70's, closer to 80. PH (Keep an eye on it) and with time it should increase. If you increase your TA slightly, your PH will go up as well. Please use pool math. Everything else looks good!.

I do not see a green tint. Take a sample of pool water in a nice thick glass out of the pool to see if you still see the green tint. Chances are that you won't.
 
My returns were aimed a little low to help stir the bottom during the SLAM, I pointed them back up so that they just break the surface tension of the water. Thats how I had them all last year and it worked well for moving floating debris into the skimmers and maybe helped aerate the pool a little to keep the PH up.
 
It does look like we have similar stories! I told myself last year that I would be more diligent in closing and opening my pool but it didn't happen. I tend to have to learn things the hard way and apparently last years SLAM wasn't painful enough. Hopefully this fall and winter I will pay more attention to my pool!
 

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