Help please

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dadrino

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May 23, 2016
24
New Jersey
Hello all,

Well I have been battling algae now for a week and a half. I took the water to be tested at the local pool store. They said the water was corrosive. It has not been open for about 2 years. (Just moved in January) the readings were: From what I could remember
FC - 0
TA - was low
Ph- was low
CYA- 0

They told me to put in 2 jugs of Total Alkalinity and to put in Ph Increaser and add 2lbs of granular chlorine (They call it shock)
I ordered the K-2006 test kit it should be here monday. What can I do in the mean time? I will go to the pool store to test water today and post the most current readings. If you need any other information please let me know.
 
My first suggestion is not to bother going to the pool store. Their only response it to sell you something, probably the wrong stuff.

I will tell you, it didn't turn green overnight and it will take time to clear. But, we can teach you how to get it sparkling and keep it that was for a lot less money than the pool store.

Not much credence is given to pool store testing around here. While you would think that a "professional" would be the best, unfortunately in most cases it is quite the opposite. Between employees who blindly trust the word of chemical sales representatives and high school kids working in the pool store for the summer you end up with poor results from their testing. But, what can you do?? We base our pool care system on accurate testing and only adding what the pool needs, when it needs it. To do that you need your own accurate test kit. You have ordered a K-2006, but do you know if it's the standard K-2006 or is there a letter at the end? The K-2006 comes in sizes, designated by a letter. The basic K-2006 has .75oz bottles. You need to get the K-2006-C to get the larger bottles that you want. Even then it is a little short on the reagent & powder for the FAS/DPD test. If you ordered the basic (not the "C") you want to consider ordering more of the FAS/DPD reagent now. The kit will get you started, but I know you will run out. This is what you want TFTestkits XL Option. To be honest, I also have the SpeedStir and Sample Sizer. They speed testing and accuracy.


While you wait for it to get delivered you need to be dong two things:

* While the pump is running add one bottle of bleach to the pool each day. This is generic laundry bleach, 8.25% chlorine. Easily available at WalMart or Dollar General. No splashless, scents or other special bleaches. It is usually lableed "concentrated" and is in a 121 oz bottle

* A homework reading assignment. Start with ABCs of Water Chemistry and Turning Your Green Swamp Back into a Sparkling Oasis
 
You do need to get your pH up asap. Ph Increaser will work, so will these below and probably be cheaper and available at Wal-Mart/Target. Use PoolMath (top left tab) to calculate what you need to take pH from 6.8 to 7.5. Add that, wait 20 minutes test again and add another dose until you get a reading. Luckily any test strips or pool store can be a decent way to read pH levels. I would not necessarily trust there TA levels, that test is a little more involved and history has taught us to not trust more pool store readings.

Raising PH
PH can be raised in three ways: borax, soda ash, and aeration. Borax is usually the best choice. Borax raises the PH and also raises the TA level just a little. If your TA level is low soda ash will raise both the PH and TA levels. If your TA level is high, aeration is best as it will not raise the TA level at all. However, aeration is rather slow compared to the other two.

Borax is available as 20 Mule Team® Borax Natural Laundry Booster. It is sold in the laundry detergent section of most larger grocery stores and some big box stores. Borax is best added by pre-dissolving it in a bucket of water and then pouring that slowly in front of a return.

Soda ash is available as ARM & HAMMER® Super Washing Soda Detergent Booster. Do not confuse this with ARM & HAMMER® laundry detergent! It is sold in the laundry detergent section of most larger grocery stores and some big box stores. It is also sold by pool stores under various names, including PH Increaser, PH Up, Balance Pak 200, etc. Soda ash is best added by pre-dissolving it in a bucket of water and then pouring that slowly in front of a return.

Feel free to ask questions, but a low pH can be harmful to equip, etc. so it is good to raise is soon.
 
Pool Tool said:
You do need to get your pH up asap. Ph Increaser will work, so will these below and probably be cheaper and available at Wal-Mart/Target. Use PoolMath (top left tab) to calculate what you need to take pH from 6.8 to 7.5. Add that, wait 20 minutes test again and add another dose until you get a reading. Luckily any test strips or pool store can be a decent way to read pH levels. I would not necessarily trust there TA levels, that test is a little more involved and history has taught us to not trust more pool store readings.

Raising PH
PH can be raised in three ways: borax, soda ash, and aeration. Borax is usually the best choice. Borax raises the PH and also raises the TA level just a little. If your TA level is low soda ash will raise both the PH and TA levels. If your TA level is high, aeration is best as it will not raise the TA level at all. However, aeration is rather slow compared to the other two.

Borax is available as 20 Mule Team® Borax Natural Laundry Booster. It is sold in the laundry detergent section of most larger grocery stores and some big box stores. Borax is best added by pre-dissolving it in a bucket of water and then pouring that slowly in front of a return.

Soda ash is available as ARM & HAMMER® Super Washing Soda Detergent Booster. Do not confuse this with ARM & HAMMER® laundry detergent! It is sold in the laundry detergent section of most larger grocery stores and some big box stores. It is also sold by pool stores under various names, including PH Increaser, PH Up, Balance Pak 200, etc. Soda ash is best added by pre-dissolving it in a bucket of water and then pouring that slowly in front of a return.

Feel free to ask questions, but a low pH can be harmful to equip, etc. so it is good to raise is soon.
Click to expand...
His numbers are from January and they had him adjust at that time. We don't need to be adding anything until we know what is going on now.
 
Ok will do what tim5055 said to do until my test kit comes in, btw I purchased the basic k-2006 (the one without the letter "C") so I will be buying more reagent today. I had the wife run to the pool store this morning to just test the water since it is free. Told her not to buy anything just test water. I will post the readings later once I get home from work. My test kit should be here by Monday. Ideally I would like the pool to be clean enough to swim by Father's Day 6/19. Thank you again for the responses.
 
Wait, you can use the K-2006, it just has smaller reagent bottles. You can use it until the big kit comes. Can you post a current set of test results? How does the water look?
 
Mr Bruce said:
Wait, you can use the K-2006, it just has smaller reagent bottles. You can use it until the big kit comes. Can you post a current set of test results? How does the water look?
Click to expand...

I will post a current set of test results when i get home from work (7pm) Just looked and the test kit should arrive by Saturday 6/4. The water is currently a murky green and when I brush it gets darker. I can see the first step, the 2nd step not so much and the third step forget about it.
 

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So the wife couldn't make it to the pool store yesterday and it closed before I got home from work, so I dont have the pool readings. Good thing is that my test kit will be in this weekend. Also this morning I did what Tim5055 said to do and put in 1 gallon of bleach. Should I be brushing or blind vacuuming.
 
No problem missing the pool store. We couldn't use those numbers anyways. :) The 1 gallon per day still applies and will be fine for your size pool in its current condition. If you can see the bottom, then vacuuming is fine. Brushing/sweeping all the surfaces is still encouraged. Watch your filter pressure and backwash once it increase by 25%.
 
Texas Splash said:
No problem missing the pool store. We couldn't use those numbers anyways. :) The 1 gallon per day still applies and will be fine for your size pool in its current condition. If you can see the bottom, then vacuuming is fine. Brushing/sweeping all the surfaces is still encouraged. Watch your filter pressure and backwash once it increase by 25%.
Click to expand...

Ok thank you. I brushed the pool last night and it got darker and had to back wash a few times. I can't see the bottom so i didn't vacuum. Tonight I will brush again and continue to backwash. Is there a preferred time to put the gallon of bleach in? (Morning or Night)
 
Ok so yesterday I got home from work and scooped out a whole bunch of leaves and debris from the pool. I couldn't see the bottom because it is so green so I didn't vacuum but I did brush and backwashed often. Still waiting for the test kit to come in. I have 18 Gallons of bleach on hand and put another gallon in this morning. Tonight I will take out more debris and brush again.
 
Good morning everyone. Well my test kit came in and here are my pool readings:

FC = 0
CC = .4
Ph = 6.8
TA = 40
CH = 90
CYA = less than 30 (black dot did not disappear when level of water reached the 30 on the testing tube but did disappear when i filled the tube all the way to the rim)

I hope this is helpful in determining what I should do and what steps to take in order to get my pool clear. Thank you in advance.
 
It does help! Now it's SLAM time. Small "quick" test first. Add enough bleach for a FC target of 10. Check again in 10 minutes. Is most of it still there? At least between 5-10? Makes sure you are testing with the 10 ml sample size, one scoop of powder, count the drops until clear and divide the result by 2. If you still have FC there, then proceed as follows"
- Add some soda ash or borax to increase pH to at least 7.0 or 7.2.
- Add some stabilizer. You want a minimum of 30.
- Increase FC to 12 with regular bleach and maintain it 24/7 until you pass the 3 SLAM criteria (SLAM link below).

It's important to also know all the other tasks required for a SLAM, so read that page carefully. Once you start the SLAM and increase FC to 12, focus on that test only for the first few days. You can test CC occasionally, but no need to test anything else but those two for a while. Let us know if you have any questions.

- - - Updated - - -

Now on that quick test in the beginning, if your FC disappeared almost totally, or dropped significantly below 4, let me know. Otherwise ... SLAM!
 

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