I am new to TFP and maintaining a pool, so I apologize if I am either posting in the wrong spot or asking the wrong questions.
We decided to go on vacation approximately a month after putting our pool in. Prior to us leaving it was perfect, but now it is nasty. I read the thread about turning you swamp into a sparkling oasis and have a couple of questions to make sure I am on the right track.
Prior to finding this forum I did the same thing others probably have done.....consulted with the pool store sharks, so most of the materials I have on hand at the moment are leftover from my first purchase there. With the exception of the bleach and baking soda I picked up at Sam's yesterday.
I was initially using the test strips before reading on here about the advantages of having the TF100 kit (I purchased this, but am still trying to figure it out); nevertheless, when I got back in town I tested the water with the strips and it showed my PH was extremely high and my CYA was around 100. I understand that we had thunderstorms while we were gone, so I understood why the PH was high, but didn't know why the CYA was high also??
So in an effort to lower my CYA I did a partial drain, maybe 8" of water at the most. But I read on the bottle after the fact, that if the PH was high the CYA test wasn't accurate which made sense because it was 30-50 before I left. I also used the CYA test in the TF100, but the black dot never faded either.
I am now trying to pull my PH down with lo and slow that was purchased in the beginning, but after a couple of pounds I am seeing minimal change.
My plan is to get the PH down to 7.2, get an accurate reading on my CYA, determine the appropriate shock level for that reading, purchase 4x that much bleach and hold it at shock level until the algae is gone.
Am I on the right track?
Timothy
27' AG round
52" wall height
17,200 gallons
Hayward power flow matrix 1.5 hp
200lb sand filter
Built June 2016
TF100 test kit
City water, currently under no water restrictions
We decided to go on vacation approximately a month after putting our pool in. Prior to us leaving it was perfect, but now it is nasty. I read the thread about turning you swamp into a sparkling oasis and have a couple of questions to make sure I am on the right track.
Prior to finding this forum I did the same thing others probably have done.....consulted with the pool store sharks, so most of the materials I have on hand at the moment are leftover from my first purchase there. With the exception of the bleach and baking soda I picked up at Sam's yesterday.
I was initially using the test strips before reading on here about the advantages of having the TF100 kit (I purchased this, but am still trying to figure it out); nevertheless, when I got back in town I tested the water with the strips and it showed my PH was extremely high and my CYA was around 100. I understand that we had thunderstorms while we were gone, so I understood why the PH was high, but didn't know why the CYA was high also??
So in an effort to lower my CYA I did a partial drain, maybe 8" of water at the most. But I read on the bottle after the fact, that if the PH was high the CYA test wasn't accurate which made sense because it was 30-50 before I left. I also used the CYA test in the TF100, but the black dot never faded either.
I am now trying to pull my PH down with lo and slow that was purchased in the beginning, but after a couple of pounds I am seeing minimal change.
My plan is to get the PH down to 7.2, get an accurate reading on my CYA, determine the appropriate shock level for that reading, purchase 4x that much bleach and hold it at shock level until the algae is gone.
Am I on the right track?
Timothy
27' AG round
52" wall height
17,200 gallons
Hayward power flow matrix 1.5 hp
200lb sand filter
Built June 2016
TF100 test kit
City water, currently under no water restrictions
