New pool owner fighting algae

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M

mommiesweeps

0
Jul 6, 2016
9
Baton Rouge, LA
Hi everyone! We purchased a home 2 months ago and I have been battling the pool ever since. Initially it was blue and clear. I ran the pump 12 hours per day and made sure to backwash the sand filter. I live in Louisiana and have been warned that the rain and hot weather we have can sometimes lead to algae. Well, it has been taking over. I have brought the pool from green to blue 4 times now since living here and wasted so much money at "the pool store". I know, I know. Bad! I thought I would turn here and ask for help and sanity. I am ready to give up.

3 days ago I went back to the pool store and they suggested I add green to clean, wait 5 minutes and add 5 lbs of shock. Wait 12 hours add another 5 lbs of shock. After another 12 hours more 5lbs of shock. Once that is done they told me to add some clear aid. I have been running the pump non stop since then and nothing. It looks the same. We also replaced the sand before starting on this process.

I do plan on going to get another reading in the morning to see what it is currently. I am waiting on a test kit to come in.

When I went this last time my readings were

FAC 4
TAC 4
CH 90
CYA 50
TA 90
PH 7.8

Phosphates 2500???

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you so much in advance!
 
First we need to know about your pool, please see this post and add the information to your signature.

Second, don't trust any pool store test results, I hope you ordered either the Taylor K-2006, Taylor K-2006C, or the TF 100 test kit. You will need one of these kits that do the chlorine FAS-DPD test.

Third, take any chlorine tabs out of the pool, don't use anymore of these. We only use liquid chlorine, aka bleach, in our pool on this forum. Just buy the plain, unscented bleach. Don't buy any dripless or scented bleach. The most common strength is 8.25%, but you can also find the 10% and sometimes 12.5%.

Fourth, You should add some bleach now, and daily until your test kit arrives, use pool math, link at top of page, to determine your pool volume and how much bleach to add. Ask here if you need help to determine how much.

Lastly, start reading Pool School, link at top of page.

When your test kit arrives, please post results here. You will probably need to do a SLAM.

You can get your pool sparkling clear, without spending all that money and time at the pool store.

The experts on this forum will help you get it done.

Major
 
Thank you so much for your response! I had a feeling I was leaving out the most important details. I have been so overwhelmed by everything. I have edited my signature. As soon as my test kit (Taylor K-2006) arrives I will post my results. I added 8.25% bleach to the pool today.
 
For your size pool, 36,000 gallons, one gallon of 8.25% bleach will raise your chlorine by appox. 2.5 ppm. I would not be afraid to raise your chlorine to 10 ppm until your test kit arrives. 10 ppm would be shock/slam level for a CYA of 20 ppm, and is still above the minimum FC of 7 for a CYA level of 100 ppm.

So for your pool, to go from FC of 0 to 10 ppm, it would take just over 4 gallons. Then add 1 gallon per day to cover FC loss due to sunlight.
 
I just noticed you have a SWG cell. It will add chlorine to your pool and will help maintain FC levels, but will not give you enough chlorine to SLAM your pool. Plan on adding a gallon of bleach daily till your kit arrives along with your SWG cell being on.
 
Oh, and plan to run your pump/filter 24/7 until the water is sparkling clear and your SLAM is over. Also remember, it is important to brush the sides and bottom daily to break the biofilm layer that is protecting your algae from the chlorine. When the chlorine starts killing the algae, the pool may even get cloudier because of all the dead algae in the water. That's why it is important to run your pump continuously until the water is clear.
 
Thank you so much Major! I thought I responded the evening I originally posted. I have been following your advice and running the pump 24/7. My test kit came in 2 days earlier than expected. I went right outside and tested the water.

My levels as of this morning.

FC- 3.6
CC- 1
PH- 7.6
TA- 70
CH- 170
CYA- 30
 
Ok, first we need to perform a SLAM on your pool. For the SLAM your CYA level of 30 is perfect, at 30 you will have to use much less chlorine during your SLAM. After your SLAM is complete and you pass the OCLT you will need to add CYA (stabilizer) to 70, which is the minimum recommended level for a SWG pool.

After you read the SLAM page in Pool School, let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I'm off all day today and will be watching your thread in case you need help.

Major
 

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Major_in_MS said:
Ok, first we need to perform a SLAM on your pool. For the SLAM your CYA level of 30 is perfect, at 30 you will have to use much less chlorine during your SLAM. After your SLAM is complete and you pass the OCLT you will need to add CYA (stabilizer) to 70, which is the minimum recommended level for a SWG pool.

After you read the SLAM page in Pool School, let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I'm off all day today and will be watching your thread in case you need help.

Major
Click to expand...

Thank you again! I have been reading up on everything. I tested again this morning before starting. I was wondering about the CYA level so that is good to know that I can bring that up after the SLAM process. Will definitely update in here on what happens with everything.

12:30 PM FC 4.2 and CC was .6

I added 5 gallons of 10% HTH liquid chlorine and am going to retest at around 3-4pm pending weather.
 
1469466877594.jpg

I have been keeping an eye on the FC levels and bringing them up to shock level every 2-4 hours except overnight. I have had such a huge difference since yesterday. The picture in the middle was yesterday afternoon around 6 (4 hours after adding the first round of liquid chlorine) I appreciate all of your help! My CC this morning was .2
 
ditto on the 10ml sample. That will keep from using up your reagents so fast.

I think you've got this. Just keep doing what you're doing. When your water is clear and you are ready to do your OCLT, remember to turn off your SWG.
 
Thank you both! I realized what I did above. I have been using the 10ml and calculating correctly on the FC by multiplying the drops by .5 . I then did the CC test and forgot I was using the 10ml sample so it was actually around .5 since it took a drop. The pool is looking so much better this morning. I have been able to babysit the pool every couple of hours so I turned the SWG off during the slam. Should I turn it on now before I am ready to do the OCLT?
 
You are getting there...slowly but surely. I went through a similar process twice and can be painful. How big is your cell? As I went through SLAM twice (as I keep losing FC), and found out (thanks to all the TFP members) that my SWG cell is not big enough (although my cell supports up to 25K I actually need 40K which I just ordered - based on TFP members' feedback, I need a cell 2.5-3 times bigger than my pool volume and T-CELL-15 is the biggest one). In addition, the salt production figures assume 24/7 running of your filter / SWG which may not reflect reality. If you have Si 45 or bigger you may be ok but please double check. You can find CL generating capacity here....

Discount Salt Pool - Compare Chlorine Generators and Chlorinators

Good luck and looking forward to your sparkling pool pictures!
 
Ok, I turned the SWG off. Thank you cj3737. I had it turned on for a few hours today.

Thank you so much hoskim! I went outside to double check and it is the Si-45 Plus. It is probably nearing the end of it`s life though so I am researching replacements for it now. The amps and volts read fine on it so once this SLAM is complete I will see how it is really doing.
 
Just so we're clear you can leave the SWG on until you are ready to do an OCLT test. The SWG will help you to maintain your SLAM levels of chlorine. When the pool is clear to where you can easily see heads or tails on a coin in the deep end, then bring your FC up to 12 at dusk....turn off the SWG. Run the pump through the night. Then before the sun hits the pool, test your FC again in the morning. This will show you how much you lost through the night with no sun and without any supplemental addition from the SWG. If this loss is 1 ppm or less and your CC is .5 or less, then you've completed your SLAM. Turn on the SWG and enjoy your pool. For the next few days, test your FC levels and adjust your SWG/pump run schedule such that your FC slowly drops back down to 5 or so. Add additional CYA for a minimum of 50 to a maximum of 80. Then continue to monitor your FC daily until you get your SWG dialed in and it's maintaining your FC levels.
 

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