WARNING: Long post!!!
Long time reader and first time poster. I have an in ground 16 x 32 pool 6-ft deep at the deep end. By my calculations this comes out to 32,000 gallons of water. We run a DE filter with a Pentair Intellichlor SWG. This is our 8 summer with our pool and I've never had the amount of trouble we are having this year! We have a very wooded lot and have covered the pool in the past but this fall we never got around to doing that. Back in late April I began scooping leaves and after wheel barrow load after wheel barrow load, I finally got the vast majority of them out. While doing this process I began adding chlorine and the water became less and less green. Since we didn't cover the pool last fall, we didn't drain like we normally do so I added very little fresh water at the beginning of the season. All was well until the chlorine stopped registering when I would test the water. I finally purchased a Taylor K-2006 kit so I could get better readings. That is when I realized my CYA has increased over time and was WAY out of control--like around 400 ppm out of control. Three partial drains and refills later, the CYA was down to a managable reading of somewhere between 190-200 which is still way too high but at least my chlorine would register when I tested it. My water cleared and looked fabulous for about a week or two and then our pump began to fail. I had to run it sporadically until we could get a new pump ordered and on hand. The last couple of days before replacing the pump (we replaced it last Saturday) I had to turn it off completely because of the horrible noise it was making. On Saturday when we replaced the pump the pool had become cloudy but was still a nice blue color. After installing the pump, I set the SWG at shock level for two days as well as added 3 jugs of clorox. (8.25%) I added another jug of clorox for the next few days and the water slowly improved. Less cloudy each day but was struggling to maintain a chlorine level that would register when tested. Woke up this morning to my water clear as a bell but tinted a light green. Tested my chlorine levels and they didn't register at all. Added one more jug of chlorine and ran the vacuum. Have backwashed and tested the water and the chlorine seems to be holding--it has been sunny and around 90 degrees all day.
Here are my reading as of this evening:
FC--5
TC--10
CC--5
Br--10
TA--160
Ph--7.6
CYA--between 190-200 (hard to tell when the dot truly disappears)
Ch--60
What am I missing? Do I just need to keep adding a jug of chlorine at a time until my water begins to clear? I don't want to have to drain and refill a third time! (Each time I drained about 1/4 of the water) Is there anyway I can manage the chlorine load that will be necessary using only the SWG or will I be adding chlorine all summer long?
Thanks for whatever help you all can provide!!
Long time reader and first time poster. I have an in ground 16 x 32 pool 6-ft deep at the deep end. By my calculations this comes out to 32,000 gallons of water. We run a DE filter with a Pentair Intellichlor SWG. This is our 8 summer with our pool and I've never had the amount of trouble we are having this year! We have a very wooded lot and have covered the pool in the past but this fall we never got around to doing that. Back in late April I began scooping leaves and after wheel barrow load after wheel barrow load, I finally got the vast majority of them out. While doing this process I began adding chlorine and the water became less and less green. Since we didn't cover the pool last fall, we didn't drain like we normally do so I added very little fresh water at the beginning of the season. All was well until the chlorine stopped registering when I would test the water. I finally purchased a Taylor K-2006 kit so I could get better readings. That is when I realized my CYA has increased over time and was WAY out of control--like around 400 ppm out of control. Three partial drains and refills later, the CYA was down to a managable reading of somewhere between 190-200 which is still way too high but at least my chlorine would register when I tested it. My water cleared and looked fabulous for about a week or two and then our pump began to fail. I had to run it sporadically until we could get a new pump ordered and on hand. The last couple of days before replacing the pump (we replaced it last Saturday) I had to turn it off completely because of the horrible noise it was making. On Saturday when we replaced the pump the pool had become cloudy but was still a nice blue color. After installing the pump, I set the SWG at shock level for two days as well as added 3 jugs of clorox. (8.25%) I added another jug of clorox for the next few days and the water slowly improved. Less cloudy each day but was struggling to maintain a chlorine level that would register when tested. Woke up this morning to my water clear as a bell but tinted a light green. Tested my chlorine levels and they didn't register at all. Added one more jug of chlorine and ran the vacuum. Have backwashed and tested the water and the chlorine seems to be holding--it has been sunny and around 90 degrees all day.
Here are my reading as of this evening:
FC--5
TC--10
CC--5
Br--10
TA--160
Ph--7.6
CYA--between 190-200 (hard to tell when the dot truly disappears)
Ch--60
What am I missing? Do I just need to keep adding a jug of chlorine at a time until my water begins to clear? I don't want to have to drain and refill a third time! (Each time I drained about 1/4 of the water) Is there anyway I can manage the chlorine load that will be necessary using only the SWG or will I be adding chlorine all summer long?
Thanks for whatever help you all can provide!!
It's perfectly crystal clear just has a nice lightly green tint.