Think i may need help soon!

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I will start my drain first thing tomorrow, unless there is a miracle overnight. I will clean it up and refill and try to get numbers from the testkit i have in hand to get up amd running. Once i get the new kit, i will post accurate numbers and get up to speed on this whole thing. So glad i found you all! Thanks again to everyone!
 
I called the pool store...he is baffled by this situation...shocking, I know...he thinks it is because my pump is too small to handle the job. chlorine seems to be coming down a bit finally, getting closer to 5 on the color chart, but still a bit darker than that, but my ph is showing 7.2 now...but still using the poolmaster kit, so not "sure" on the numbers, just guesstimating for an idea at this point...will make a final decision within the hour...waiting to see if the sun being out for real today does any good at all as the chlorine levels start changing - so frustrating...I am now worried about killing the grass in my yard with the chemicals...LOL - thanks for listening, I know there is not much advice at this point that hasn't already been given...just venting mostly at this point :)
 
Yeh, it's a tough decision, but great to see you taking charge of your pool. The pool store is just reading off the song sheet given to them by the chemical companies. They won't be much help.
 
Hubby is getting out the sump pump... I'm not even confident enough to get in this water to remove the plug if we use the drain on the side of the pool...lol... I figure if we start draining it now we can have it drained cleaned and refilled hopefully within about 24 hours and he can get me the chemicals I need tomorrow while he's in town so that I can at least get by until my kit gets here
 
Do you have a vacuum hose? And a low spot within reach of around 2/3 of that hose?

If so, sink the vacuum hose in the pool with something to hold one end down, like an old sock filled with rocks. Then push the rest of the hose down into the water, hand over hand working toward the other end. Then put your hand over the free end to hold the water in it. Drag it out and lay it down and a siphon should start. This might work together with your pump and speed things up.

You were using pucks before and I think you said the chlorine was bright yellow bordering on orange in the OTO test. There's every chance that water is safe to get in. Stick your hand in and take it out and see if you smell any motel pool smell. If you don't, or it's very faint, I think you're fine. I'm not advising getting in it, because I can't without knowing your CYA, but the bacteria is definitely dead from all the shock, so the only risk is elevated chlorine with CYA too low, and that would really surprise me. You can always shower off after. Most of the chlorine you put in on the weekend would have burnt off if there wasn't CYA in there and you've had sunshine.
 
For some reason I thought you were in the country. I can't advise on your local ordinances, but the water is not dangerous or anything. Most people down here would stick it down a rainwater drain, but again, I cant advise that.
 
I am kind of in a town of 125 people so rain drains are not even a thing LOL... my husband is concerned about killing off the grass in the area where the water drains too because we can't get it clear out of the yard. Honestly I just feel better all the way around with the extra knowledge that I've gained over the last few days from this forum. I do think there's a pretty good possibility that my main issue is that my pump and filter just isn't able to do the job so next year the first thing I'll be doing is buying a brand new pump most likely that is big enough to handle this pool regardless of what I have to do to it. But I do think with what I've learned here and what I will continue to learn I won't have to do anything like this again hopefully. I'll probably have several questions as I do my refill and get things into balance to get by until my kit gets here, but I will likely start a whole new thread for that so that people don't have to read all of this gobbledygook that led up to today...
 
I'm going to bed, but feel kinda bad leaving! Thankfully there's a ton of experts here who will correct anything I've said that's wrong or misleading. Here's the recipe again, and they'll fix you up as needed.

Day 1 - Wednesday filling

Test the pH so you can use PoolMath to figure out how much muriatic acid you're going to add later.

You can start adding bleach once the bottom is all covered a few inches. Not all of it, just add it proportional to the water that's in and sweep it around with the brush to mix it.

Once you have a foot of water, start the CYA. Put a pound of the powder in an old sock. Suspend it so it doesn't touch the vinyl. Squeeze the sock now and then to help it dissolve, rinse hands after, some people (rare) are sensitive to it. Keep going as it comes up. Stir the pool with a paddle or the brush periodically.

Muriatic acid if needed to adjust pH (guessing your water will be around pH 8, CYA may bring it down a bit) - use PoolMath to shoot for 7.5
2.5 gallons 8.25% bleach (plain, unscented, not splashless) to hit 20 ppm FC (shock level) to kill off whatever is hiding on the walls, etc.
4 lbs CYA (aka stabilizer, aka cyanuric acid) to achieve 50 ppm CYA so the chlorine won't burn off - Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart, pool $tore

This could be adjusted to 40 ppm CYA and 16 ppm FC and be totally fine.

Day 2 - Thursday, water warming up but still cold
Add 1/2 a gallon to stay up around shock level
Test your TA and adjust, using PoolMath

Day 3/4 - Friday/Saturday, leave it to allow FC to drop - pool is safe for swimming, likely still too cold, but from a water tower is good if it's not too far away :)

When you see FC drop down to 5 ppm, start adding to maintain 6; don't let it fall below 4
Should take somewhere around one quart per day, a bit more on sunny days with swimming

9 gallons 8.25% bleach should cover 30 days at 2.5 ppm FC average loss per day

Needs test numbers on fill water to refine this, but...
Guess TA is 50, raise it to 70 - 3 lbs baking soda
Guess pH is 8.2 - lower it to 7.6 - 20 ounces of 15% muriatic acid (MA) or 10 ounces of 31% - buy a gallon and will last a long time

- - - Updated - - -

Oh OK, got ya. I lived in a town of 800 for quite a few years, so I hear ya. Spread that water around as best you can I guess. Neighbours can get feisty if it affects them. I guess that's something to watch out for. Good luck with it all.
 

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That is such a pretty color! LOL It looks just like what I put on my bedroom walls!

HI! Man on man have you been on a ride! John (needsajet) and Pat (Texas Splash) have you well covered! They are SO awesome! I just wanted to jump in and say HI and that we got you covered.

While you are draining I would take out the ladder and give it a good scrubbing with 50/50 bleach water to make sure there is nothing hiding in/on it.

I am SO happy to see you have the test kit on the way. Sad it will take that long to get to you BUT with you having "fresh" water it will be easy to keep it clear until it does get there. Your little test kit should work.

Hey I just thought of something.......be right back!

LOOK what I found!

hth 6 way pool test kit - Walmart.com

It says it is at Independence on Peter Pan RD.

This will make sure your water is SAFE for you family. I hate to ask you to spend any more money right now :( but it will be worth it since this little test kit does it all. Just on a couple of times.

Do NOT bother testing the CYA until you have added all of the water and what you need to add to get your water to say 30ppm for CYA using Pool Math. Your fill water will not have it and you will not have much from your "old" water.

:hug: we got this!

Kim:cat:
 
I do have a poolmaster 5 way test kit , will that get me good enough readings to get me by until my good to kit comes?

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And yes this has been quite a ride for the last few days after having no issues at all last year and none for the first month we were up this year. I'm just glad to know that that right is now over and you guys have my back and I can't even begin to say thank you enough for all of the good advice
 
It should be okay. I like that the hth has the CYA test BUT since we are just going to "pretend" you have a CYA of 10ppm when you are done filling up and go from there you should be okay so long as you can test the PH and FC. THOSE are the two main ones that all of the others are bases on.

Kim:cat:
 
sorry, I missed this in all the posts...I have drained it only once at the end of the season last year to store it. our goal is to not do that and keep it up, but we are open to whatever is recommended when the season draws close to an end...

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MarianParoo said:
Have you ever drained the pool before?
Click to expand...

sorry, I missed this in all the posts...I have drained it only once at the end of the season last year to store it. our goal is to not do that and keep it up, but we are open to whatever is recommended when the season draws close to an end...

- - - Updated - - -

good news! my kit is shipping tomorrow and I should have it much sooner than the 12th after all! whew! in the meantime, I am going on a road trip tonight to get the stuff I need to do it right as it fills tomorrow (might even start tonight in case the wind comes up! eek! ... I think I have a good shopping list thanks to all of the help and a few extra little helps from a few :) again, thanks so much to everyone! I hope I can start a new thread tomorrow and move forward on getting into the new way of doing things! I try to learn quickly so I am not too much of a pain, but I also tend to overthink and will ask a bunch of questions...it is not enough to know the sky is blue...I want to know WHY it is blue! :)
 
needsajet said:
Do you have a vacuum hose? And a low spot within reach of around 2/3 of that hose?

If so, sink the vacuum hose in the pool with something to hold one end down, like an old sock filled with rocks. Then push the rest of the hose down into the water, hand over hand working toward the other end. Then put your hand over the free end to hold the water in it. Drag it out and lay it down and a siphon should start. This might work together with your pump and speed things up.

You were using pucks before and I think you said the chlorine was bright yellow bordering on orange in the OTO test. There's every chance that water is safe to get in. Stick your hand in and take it out and see if you smell any motel pool smell. If you don't, or it's very faint, I think you're fine. I'm not advising getting in it, because I can't without knowing your CYA, but the bacteria is definitely dead from all the shock, so the only risk is elevated chlorine with CYA too low, and that would really surprise me. You can always shower off after. Most of the chlorine you put in on the weekend would have burnt off if there wasn't CYA in there and you've had sunshine.
Click to expand...



this is great! I used the vac hose instead of the garden hose and sump pump...pool is around half drained in 4 hours! yay! thanks! never would have thought to do it this way!

- - - Updated - - -

MarianParoo said:
The reason I asked was because I was wondering if you were planning on leaving some water in the bottom to hold the liner in place. I don't know much about above ground pools.
Click to expand...

we will likely begin our fill tonight to at least get a bit of weight in it in case the wind comes up tonight...there is no metal frame around it, so it is just a vinyl liner hanging from the framework.
 
I have a shopping list based on what I think I have learned! gonna go get stuff tonight when I get off work!

6 gal bleach - enough to fill and maintain bleach for a few days (sounds like this can be either name brand or off brand and could even just be liquid chlorine for pools and end up about the same, just different on prices mostly?)

muriatic acid - green label, not blue - is a quart sufficient or do I need a half gallon or a gallon? I do have a 2lb container of dry acid...is that the same thing? I just did a reading on my hose water and it does show my PH to be 7.8-8 (poolmaster 5 way test kit)

stabilizer - I have at least 3 or 4 lbs in hand, will get a 1.75 lb container for now - I assume this won't be consumed rapidly like chlorine?

big package of baking soda (I think they come in 13 lb bags...is one enough and is it ok to pre-dissolve?)

i plan to get in the habit of testing my water each evening around 8pm.

is it ok to use a floating chlorinator with pucks if we are gone for the weekend? sooo many questions!
 
Bleach: look for date codes for freshness and this calculator to determine best price (ignore zip code search): Chlorine Price Per Ounce Calculator

MA: get a gallon

Stabilizer: that should be fine, it doesn't get used often as once it's in the water, your level will not change much. That's why we caution people to go slowly with their additions.

Baking soda: you can always pick that up at the grocery store if you need it.

Yes, you can use the floater for vacations. Just keep in mind that the pucks wil raise your CYA/stabilizer level and be prepared or that.

See this for more info:
Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry
 

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