1st timer, but what do I do now.... disgruntled frog owner hosed by local pool store!

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TA of 10 will make it impossible to keep a steady pH. Need to get that up by adding baking soda. Minimum for a vinyl pool is 50 per Pool School - Recommended Levels

Poolmath says add 169oz(10 lbs) of baking soda to bring up your TA. you will also need to raise your pH as you are in a danger zone of liner and equipment being damaged. Soda ash or borax can be used for this. See poolmath.

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once you get the baking soda in there and let it mix for about 30 minutes, you will need to run the base demand test on your pH again to see how much soda ash will be need to affect it.
 
Update: I tested my levels almost hourly today. Adding bleach as instructed by pool math. Because my cya is 0 my shock level is 10. I went with the mustard alge coverage which is fc of 12 just to be sure. I've been able to maintain a fc level between 9-10.5. Finally tonight at 1030p my fc is 12.5 cc 0.5. I will retest in the morning to see how it holds up over night.

It is still very cloudy no real change since the picture above. Filter is going 24/7 this is day 8. My other concern is that my ph is testing low (below 7 according to the color indicator) should I adjust this? Am I on track? I plan to add DE as soon as I can pass the over night test.

Numbers:
Fc 12.5
CC 0.5
Cya 0
Ph below 7
Ta 10
Ch 100
 
Analogbytes said:
TA of 10 will make it impossible to keep a steady pH. Need to get that up by adding baking soda. Minimum for a vinyl pool is 50 per Pool School - Recommended Levels

Poolmath says add 169oz(10 lbs) of baking soda to bring up your TA. you will also need to raise your pH as you are in a danger zone of liner and equipment being damaged. Soda ash or borax can be used for this. See poolmath.

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once you get the baking soda in there and let it mix for about 30 minutes, you will need to run the base demand test on your pH again to see how much soda ash will be need to affect it.
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Wow thanks ...made an emergency run to Wal-Mart. Currently waiting on baking soda to mix in.
 
After my emergency trip to walmart I added 12lb of baking soda waited 30 min and retested. Thankfully that seems to have my numbers in check. I'm off to bed FINALLY hopefully I will wake up to a sparkling pool (wishful thinking). Do you all think my low ph and TA could be contributing to my stubborn cloudiness?
Numbers:
FC 11
CC 0.5
Ph 7.2
TA 80

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My ph is showing 7.2 range it won't let me add another pic. ..wish it would I would like a little confirmation.
 

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I don't believe anyone has addressed your lack of stabilizer and i for one would go ahead and raise it to 30. The sun may not be as strong as it is in July but i can't imagine it has zero impact. You will want it anyway and it won't hurt anything.
 

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ship of fools said:
I don't believe anyone has addressed your lack of stabilizer and i for one would go ahead and raise it to 30. The sun may not be as strong as it is in July but i can't imagine it has zero impact. You will want it anyway and it won't hurt anything.
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I am in total agreement with ShipOfFools here. That CYA not only protects your chlorine from the sun, but it also protects your vinyl liner from all that harsh bleach you've been putting in there.

A pool with 3ppm of FC and NO CYA is far harsher than a pool with 10ppm FC and 30ppm CYA. You don't want to bleach your liner out I imagine?

This needs to be addressed soon. Your pool store clerk who told you it wasn't needed needs to be bonked on the head with a container of CYA.

Yippee :flower:
 
Avalanche said:
Is that because of the extra expense? Having to clean the filter? Seems like having the particles bond and being filtered easier would be a good thing. I'm curious.
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Those are 2 reasons, but also because it seems the industry (and no offense to you) treats a clarifier as a fix all. If the water is cloudy due to live algae, the clarifier wont stop a bloom, chlorine and filtration will. For increased filtration with a sand filter, we suggest adding a small amount of DE.
 
YippeeSkippy said:
I am in total agreement with ShipOfFools here. That CYA not only protects your chlorine from the sun, but it also protects your vinyl liner from all that harsh bleach you've been putting in there.

A pool with 3ppm of FC and NO CYA is far harsher than a pool with 10ppm FC and 30ppm CYA. You don't want to bleach your liner out I imagine?

This needs to be addressed soon. Your pool store clerk who told you it wasn't needed needs to be bonked on the head with a container of CYA.

Yippee :flower:
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Oh awesome well between my PH dropout and now slamming for 9 days with no CYA its possible I have no liner :kim: I will add some today. Does it matter the FC level when adding it? Also, what method do you all prefer when adding CYA? Liquid or granule?

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Analogbytes said:
Those are 2 reasons, but also because it seems the industry (and no offense to you) treats a clarifier as a fix all. If the water is cloudy due to live algae, the clarifier wont stop a bloom, chlorine and filtration will. For increased filtration with a sand filter, we suggest adding a small amount of DE.
Click to expand...

When is the best time to add DE?
 
The best time to add DE to a sand filter is to do so when you're able to closely monitor the filter pressure (e.g, a Saturday or Sunday morning when you have a few hours to monitor the pool). You don't want to add DE and go to work - it can cause the filter pressure to spike very rapidly. This step is usually reserved for late in the SLAM when you're pretty sure there isn't any additional algae (chlorine consumption has lowered and stabilized and you're not having to add more chlorine every hour or two) and you're just trying to get the dead algae out of the pool.

Let's circle back to the more important items - CYA and your current chlorine level. It's important with a vinyl liner that you do not hold your SLAM at the "mustard" level. That level is only supposed to be a 24 hold at the end of a successful SLAM for mustard algae. Holding it at mustard levels throughout a SLAM will cause your liner to bleach out and fade. It's not a good idea. Your primary focus right now should be getting granular CYA, using PoolMath to calculate the amount you need for 30ppm and getting it added to the pool by putting it in a sock and setting it into the Skimmer (leave the pump running until it's all dissolved) or by hanging the sock in front of a water return in the pool (don't let the sock rest against the side of the pool). As the level of CYA comes up, you'll adjust your SLAM level to the higher value in PoolMath by adding additional chlorine.
 
Liquid or granules are fine and you can add it whenever you want with no concern about the FC level. I also wouldn't worry about adding DE at this point. Just get the stabilizer in the water (it won't register for a week+- so don't even bother testing until a week is up but keep your chlorine at or above SLAM level for your target CYA number.

The cloudiness is dead algae and will get filtered out .... just keep on keeping on and you will be swimming before you know it. My pool was a green mess Sunday and now it looks like yours. Another couple days and i expect it to be perfect.
 
triptyx said:
The best time to add DE to a sand filter is to do so when you're able to closely monitor the filter pressure (e.g, a Saturday or Sunday morning when you have a few hours to monitor the pool). You don't want to add DE and go to work - it can cause the filter pressure to spike very rapidly. This step is usually reserved for late in the SLAM when you're pretty sure there isn't any additional algae (chlorine consumption has lowered and stabilized and you're not having to add more chlorine every hour or two) and you're just trying to get the dead algae out of the pool.

Let's circle back to the more important items - CYA and your current chlorine level. It's important with a vinyl liner that you do not hold your SLAM at the "mustard" level. That level is only supposed to be a 24 hold at the end of a successful SLAM for mustard algae. Holding it at mustard levels throughout a SLAM will cause your liner to bleach out and fade. It's not a good idea. Your primary focus right now should be getting granular CYA, using PoolMath to calculate the amount you need for 30ppm and getting it added to the pool by putting it in a sock and setting it into the Skimmer (leave the pump running until it's all dissolved) or by hanging the sock in front of a water return in the pool (don't let the sock rest against the side of the pool). As the level of CYA comes up, you'll adjust your SLAM level to the higher value in PoolMath by adding additional chlorine.
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THANK YOU!! Such valuable info:rolleyes:
 
ship of fools said:
Liquid or granules are fine and you can add it whenever you want with no concern about the FC level. I also wouldn't worry about adding DE at this point. Just get the stabilizer in the water (it won't register for a week+- so don't even bother testing until a week is up but keep your chlorine at or above SLAM level for your target CYA number.

The cloudiness is dead algae and will get filtered out .... just keep on keeping on and you will be swimming before you know it. My pool was a green mess Sunday and now it looks like yours. Another couple days and i expect it to be perfect.
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CYA will register immediately if it is added via the sock method that we outline. While I still personally would wait a day to take another CYA measurement once it has all been massaged out of the sock, you don't need to wait for a week or more to retest.

cdwa223 said:
I really hope I haven't completely ruined my liner!
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At worst, you might have taken some of the color out, but let's focus on getting your SLAM safely completed for now. :)
 
Analogbytes said:
Those are 2 reasons, but also because it seems the industry (and no offense to you) treats a clarifier as a fix all. If the water is cloudy due to live algae, the clarifier wont stop a bloom, chlorine and filtration will. For increased filtration with a sand filter, we suggest adding a small amount of DE.
Click to expand...
Trust me I know how bad the industry can be! I pick up new accounts all the time because of bad "pool guys"

Yes, kill algae
Prevent new growth
Filter

Adding DE to a sand filter is doing the same thing as a clarifier. Clarifier bonds the particles to make them bigger and DE filters to a smaller micron. So no difference. Correct?
 

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