Please, take a little time and do some reading on our site. You are saying things that are "pool store/pool industry" quotes that have no real basis in pool care for a residential pool. The one that jumps out at me is "continue to shock until break through chlorination is achieved". Get the idea of "shocking" out of your mind. We do not "shock" our pools.
OK, so you have added multiple pounds of CalHypo.
CalHypo raises the calcium (we refer to it as CH) level of the water. When the CH gets too high it is very easy to have calcium scale form in your pool. Think of little stalagmites all over the floor or even the walls of the pool.
So, the testing numbers didn't list your CH level. But, you also didn't answer the question - Who is doing the testing and what are they using?
As you are ordering a TF-100 (good choice) I have to assume a "pool professional" has been testing the water. Not much credence is given to professional testing around here. While you would think that a "professional" would be the best, unfortunately in most cases it is quite the opposite. Between employees who blindly trust the word of chemical sales representatives and high school kids working in the pool store for the summer you end up with poor results from their testing. We will wait for your testing to get "real" numbers.
For now I suggest -
*Tell the pool man he is correct, as he has given up his services are no longer required - you will fix the water
*No more granular shock
*Turn off the SWG, or at least turn it down to about 50% for now.
*Add one bottle (121oz/8.25%) generic bleach to the pool with the pump running each day until you get your test kit.
*Visit WalMart and purchase the bleach and an inexpensive 2 way test kit (about $8), mainly for the pH test. While there, also purchase several boxes of 20 Mule Team® Borax Natural Laundry Booster. It is sold in the laundry detergent section of most larger grocery stores and some big box stores. Please note, you do not want detergent, you want Borax Natural Laundry Booster. 20 Mule Team® Borax Natural Laundry Booster is almost always less expensive than the sodium carbonate from the pool store. Secret is, it's the same stuff in different packages.
* Now, use
Pool Math to calculate your pool volume.
*Before you add your bleach to the pool, test the chlorine and pH. If as you have said is true, the chlorine will read "0" and the pH will probably be off the bottom of the scale. If the chlorine reads anything higher than "0" stop and let us know before you continue with what I have below.
*Use the calculated volume in Pool Math to determine how much 20 Mule Team® Borax Natural Laundry Booster to add to raise your pH from whatever your scale's lowest number is to 7.5 Use half that amount and add it to the pool by pre-dissolving it in a bucket of water and then pouring that slowly in front of a return. Wait 30 minutes, test the pH and repeat until you get the pH around 7.5 Once there add your bleach for the day.
OK, still with me? Remember I said "continue to shock until break through chlorination is achieved" is pool industry speak? They feel throwing massive single doses of chlorine at a pool will break the back of an algae bloom. It might, be we have a better way - we call it a
SLAM.
Read up on the the
directions on SLAMing your pool in the How To section of Pool School as that is the procedure you will be following once you have your test kit. We prove through testing that the algae is gone when:
- CC is 0.5 or lower;
- You pass an OCLT (ie overnight FC loss test shows a loss of 1.0 ppm or less);
- The water is clear.
When all three are true, you are done SLAMing and can allow the FC to drift down to normal levels.
Questions?
- - - Updated - - -
How long do you wait after adding chlorine bleach to test for free chlorine?
Just long enough for the water to circulate it through the pool. 30 minutes is usually good.
. From what I can tell, I have to raise the PH and continue to shock until break through chlorination is achieved. I feel that the problem is that he is shocking only once a day. Yesterday was the first day that the pool was not green. He is shocking with Calcium Hypochlorate.
Welcome to TFP cindyhmorris
