First time pool owner - first next steps

[Ag_2006]

Howdy. First post warning. I've read lots of posts, many of which are still Greek to me. And now I'd love to have some expert advice. I shocked the pool with the last of my old bag shock (cal hypo) about 2 weeks ago. A few days later, it started getting cloudy and is turning green now.

I was unsure of my test kit results so I had a water sample tested at Leslie's pools this Am. Here are my current standings.

FAC 10
TAC 10
CH. 250
CYA 200
TA 120
pH 7.8
Tot diss solid 450
phosph. 300

photo of green pool is attached.

Next steps? Partial Drain and refill to lower CYA to get chlorine working?

 

[Amail]

Welcome aboard!

First, don't trust Pool $tore readings. Use the appropriate kit and test yourself.

If your CYA is that high, then you do need to drain the pool. Here is a link showing the CYA level you want. But wait until you have your test kit and can confirm the CYA is that high.

Post your levels when you get your kit.

 

[wayner]

Your pool looks like it is ready to host the Olympics diving competition - congratulations!

 

[kschmidt1]

DO NOT USE ANY POOL STORE CHEMICALS. We need additional info such as pool size, what kind of pump, filter, other add-ons. We call this adding a "signature" to your post. Until you have a good test kit, it's hard to guess what may be going on. SLAM is based on adding chlorine bleach according to your CYA (stabilizer). Since we can't trust pool store analysis, hard to guess numbers.

 

[Ag_2006]

Not sure why my signature didn't show up on the first post. I filled it out earlier. I'll get a test kit and check cya, I suppose.

25000 gal, plaster, pool pump pentair challenger CHII-N1-1 / centurion motor 1.5 HP; sand filter Purex triton tagulus TA-50/50d; Polaris PB4-60 booster pump; on city water.

 

[Amail]

Remember, all test kits are not created equal. You can't get the recommended kit at Walmart, for instance. I know you can get the Taylor K-2006 at Amazon.

 

[bmoreswim]

Your pool looks like it is ready to host the Olympics diving competition - congratulations!

Ouch! But funny.

 

[Ag_2006]

Ok. Taylor k2006 test kit received. Here is what I got as results.

3.5 ppm free chlorine
0-.5 (?) ppm combined chlorine
8+ ph (5 drops acid demand)
16 ppm total alkalinity
38-40 ppm calcium hardness
Cya well over 100, off the charts, likely 160+ based on scale

Pool is now a full on nasty green. Have had lots of rain in past week also.

Suggested next steps?

 

[jeffchap]

Sorry, but you're going to need to drain and refill about 80% of your water to get that CYA down before you can do much else.

 

[Ag_2006]

I'm going to do a partial drain. And then I'm going to change the sand in the filter after i SLAM the pool.

Or should I change the sand prior to slamming?

 

[jeffchap]

Replacing sand is seldom necessary. New sand is already millions of years old. It doesn't wear out.





Sometimes deep cleaning is necessary, but green water isn't a symptom of a filtration problem, it's a chemical problem due to insufficient chlorine relative to your CYA level.





Concentrate on getting the algae killed first by dropping your CYA and raising your FC. Then after that, if the water remains blue but cloudy, we can deal with the filtration.





Surprisingly, slightly dirty sand filters better than clean sand. That's why many of us add D.E. to our sand filters, ie. to "clog" them up a little bit.



Is this a new or old pool?

 

[Ag_2006]

Old pool. I'll do a partial drain and refill this week. Then slam. Will report back with results. Thanks for your help.

 

[Ag_2006]

Late late reply. I got the pool looking great after a 3/4 drain and refill to get the CYA levels down. Liquid bleach from there and we had a great summer this past year. Thanks for your help, all.

 

[kimkats]

That is an awesome update! So glad to hear the drain and refill along with testing helped!

Kim