My wife and I closed on a very neglected home last June, next to said neglected home was a very neglected pool. In my initial attempt to clean the pool I was able to remove roughly 300lbs of leaves and debris and one very unhappy snapping turtle. Before I got everything cleared up in ran into an electrical issue and had to shut the process down. Fast forward roughly a year and I was back at it armed with the electrical components (and knowledge) I needed to have it up and running properly again. A couple trips to the pool store later and I was still staring into a cloudy green/black looking mess, which lead me to this magnificent little corner of the interwebs. I ditched all of the information given to me at the junior college prep station, I mean pool store, and started pumping in the chlorine and trying to convince the wife that a $70 Taylor k2006 was indeed necessary. I'm here today to say that I have already accomplished the hardest part of my pool journey (getting money from the ball and chain) and my kit should be here in a matter of days. I'm very excited to start this process and see some real results. I'd like to post some pictures of how far I've already come but I have NO clue how to do so, maybe that could be the first assist in receive from the great TFP members. I won't even bother posting my chem results until I receive the proper test kits, unless you'd like to try and decipher a hth 6 way kit and 6 way test strips at what I'm assuming is around shock levels
Bought a foreclosure that included a 33,000 gallon, p.i.t.a., frog hatchery
- Thread starter Mike5265
- Start date
Uploading them to Photobucket and then just pasting in the IMG code it provides works well. Here's the tutorial on it.
Posting Photo's Tutorial
And welcome to TFP
Posting Photo's Tutorial
And welcome to TFP
Barring any further equipment hurdles.......I have confidence that you can turn a mess into a sparkling pool since you're willing to learn.
My hurdle wasn't convincing hubby to buy a test kit, it was convincing him we needed to build a pool. And just this year (5 years after build) when somebody complimented it he said "that's her baby.......I think she likes keeping it in perfect order for the rest of us more than she enjoys swimming in it"
She will be singing your praises when you get it cleaned up using proper testing and dosing.
The longer you wait to order a kit we can trust, the longer it will take to get meaningful advice. Let's get going and get your pool crystal clear the rest of the season.
As long as equipment is in good shape, that just looks like a fun challenge to me.......not a PITA
Obviously the first picture is after I got it topped off, second is where I'm at currently, and my Taylor k2006 should be here by Tuesday at the latest
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk
Good job ordering the kit. The wife will be happy to have a sparkling pool!
You can measure with your 6-way test, (not strips), and post those results. You still need the good kit, but it will give us a starting point.
You can measure with your 6-way test, (not strips), and post those results. You still need the good kit, but it will give us a starting point.
Ok, here's last night's numbers
TC: turned orange, I'm trying to keep a good amount of chlorine in there
PH: 7.2
TA: 120
CH: not registering, not worried yet (should I be?)
CYA: was at 30 last I checked, ran out of reagent and haven't been adding any powder or pucks.
I cross referenced with strips, I know they're not accurate or suggested but I had them, shoot me. Everything "looks" to be in order, but I know looks can be deceiving without a proper test kit
TC: turned orange, I'm trying to keep a good amount of chlorine in there
PH: 7.2
TA: 120
CH: not registering, not worried yet (should I be?)
CYA: was at 30 last I checked, ran out of reagent and haven't been adding any powder or pucks.
I cross referenced with strips, I know they're not accurate or suggested but I had them, shoot me. Everything "looks" to be in order, but I know looks can be deceiving without a proper test kit
The thing that gets me the most is the complete lack of knowledge shown by some of the pool stores and professionals I've spoken to. Hence the p.i.t.a. line. The run around I've been given has been one of the worst experiences I've ever had. I've been told to drain, flock, clarify, revive, every costly trick up their sleeves was thrown at me. I was told by our resident pool store expert NOT to put chlorine in the pool, but to hook 2 $40 dollar a piece bottles of revive (worthless for me) to the hose, spray pool and leave the filter off for 48 hours. All that did was waste 2 days of my season and bring in more algae growth.
For some reason, most people don't hold pool stores accountable for the resulting mess. I still don't know why.
My coworkers keep telling me what a pain and how expensive pools are. Its my first summer and thus far I've been averaging about $3-6 a week in chlorine and thats about it. I spend more then that on lunch in the office cafeteria. Of course one of these people told me their pool was still green a couple of weeks ago. Knock on wood, these are some smart people and should get you off on the right foot.
Ok.....so it sounds like it is good you found us. Once your test kit arrives, you'll most likely be in total control of your pool. You'll need lots of bleach but you can do it. Keep reading in pool school.
YAY!!! We like pictures Looks like you already have a leg up on it and a good start. Once you have test kit in hand and know the laundry isle employees personally from bleach runs your wife will be happy to finally use the dang pool!
Looks like you already have a leg up on it and a good start. Once you have test kit in hand and know the laundry isle employees personally from bleach runs your wife will be happy to finally use the dang pool!
Great! That is an excellent start! Keep scooping crud out and brushing until that testkit arrives Tuesday.
PH is perfect unless your FC is too high. If you get back in yellow range on FC, test the pH again.
The TA is just fine for now.
If CYA was at 30 with no additional pucks or packets, that is perfect!
For gags you could check your CH just to make sure where it is.
PH is perfect unless your FC is too high. If you get back in yellow range on FC, test the pH again.
The TA is just fine for now.
If CYA was at 30 with no additional pucks or packets, that is perfect!
For gags you could check your CH just to make sure where it is.
Thanks, Marian. I tried to check hardness but the indicator failed to.... well, indicate I guess. Assuming this means either too low for the hth test to register or my chlorine levels are throwing off my results. I don't have any equipment i.e. heater or ladders in the pool as of yet so I'm not too concerned about damaging those items. I'm assuming high ch would lead to cloudiness, are there any other negative impacts for low ch?
Really high CH is rare in a vinyl pool unless the former owners used a whole bunch of cal-hypo or something. TFP says that a level of 0 is fine for vinyl. I have mine at 60 just because the former recommendation was for a minimum of 50. It doesn't really hurt anything.