Opening pool -CYA questions

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J

Jennels

0
Apr 28, 2017
24
NJ
Ok Im a tad confused. I was here all last year but had to sign under a new email. Anyway I have a Vinyl 20 x 40 SWG with a 6 foot deep end. Last year I had a battle with algae and I followed all the SLAM directions and everything was great. I don't think my CYA was as high as it should have been with a SWG but with the help of everyone on here we decided to keep it where it was to help me SLAM the pool. I was supposed to then raise the CYA(I remember it wasn't awful maybe 40 or 50?) but then had to fight algae again. It took a bit to beat it but by then the season was over.

So now.. I just opened my pool. It is green with lots of green clumps floating. It actually doesn't look as green as it has in the past. But I did the numbers . My PH is 6.8 . My TA is 30. Of course chlorine is 0. When I do the CYA , I get all the way to the top and its crystal clear. So I get confused, does that mean my CYA is over 100? Or non existent? How did it go the other way? What is my course of action beside vacuuming and shocking. I have my big tanks of liquid bleach ready. My pool is pretty filled from all the rain.. so we are vacuuming an backwashing.

I just want to make sure I am doing this right. I should shock it and then fix the TA and PH when I clear it?


Plus it smells really bad.. It hasn't ever smelled like this.. but I have never had the floating green bushy looking things( that is the technical term) . I usually just have algae all over the bottoms , sides, leaves and worms.
 
Hi, welcome back! Our administrator can help you merge these two accounts. Just send a notification with your request to Leebo and he can help you.

As to your current problem, a clear CYA tube means there is 0 CYA in the pool. You have likely experienced a rare event where the CYA is consumed over the winter. This leaves some byproducts in your pool that will have to be dealt with as part of your pool cleanup. You will need to do a slam, but for the first few hours you will need to test FC and add bleach approximately every 15 minutes until the rapid loss of FC slows down. When you are able to hold chlorine loss to less than 80% 15 minutes after a chlorine addition you may follow normal slam procedures.

A slam will temporarily raise your pH, so I would check it during the slam and if it is still below 7.0 we can look at raising it a little. Otherwise don't adjust anything else until after the slam is complete. You will need to add some CYA but wait until after the chlorine holds more than 15 minutes.
 
20170428_191233.jpg It

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It actually might be grass clumps now that I got a better look at it since vacuuming. It kind of smells like fish..I don't know..lol

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zea3 said:
Hi, welcome back! Our administrator can help you merge these two accounts. Just send a notification with your request to Leebo and he can help you.

As to your current problem, a clear CYA tube means there is 0 CYA in the pool. You have likely experienced a rare event where the CYA is consumed over the winter. This leaves some byproducts in your pool that will have to be dealt with as part of your pool cleanup. You will need to do a slam, but for the first few hours you will need to test FC and add bleach approximately every 15 minutes until the rapid loss of FC slows down. When you are able to hold chlorine loss to less than 80% 15 minutes after a chlorine addition you may follow normal slam procedures.

A slam will temporarily raise your pH, so I would check it during the slam and if it is still below 7.0 we can look at raising it a little. Otherwise don't adjust anything else until after the slam is complete. You will need to add some CYA but wait until after the chlorine holds more than 15 minutes.
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Ok will do! Thank you ! Ok well a clear CYA is better than a high CYA right? Use the pool calc to know how much to put in?
 
Just to be sure.... you took the sample you tested after the pump had been running awhile, yes? If you had a porous cover on it, rain and snowmelt got in and pushed out some pool water and sits as a layer on top. Make sure the water has mixed well before you trust the sample.
 
Hmm, yeah looks like some organic matter got under the cover and is growing algae of its own.

Not sure about the smell, but I would follow the procedures Zea mentioned before adding CYA. If you notice a big CC number come up then be very glad you are performing the procedure as it is saving you a lot of time :)

After you complete the SLAM I imagine the smell will be gone, if not we can try attacking that separately but I imagine it will clear up with chlorine.
 
You won't have any CC until after you add some chlorine and give it time to circulate (if you have CC at all), but Richard saw what both I and Zea missed, yes you need to get the water circulating before running your tests.
 

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Jennels said:
It's one of those safety covers.. and yes I believe porous. No , I took it before the pump is running. So I should test it again. I should do the CC test? I hadn't done that one yet
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Yes, test again after the pump has been running a while. Maybe start brushing to further mix things. Drag anything you can catch with the skimmer out, too.
 
Ok..will do.. I should not add chlorine yet then? My husband is vacuuming out the bottom and then will run it? For the near future.. if my CYA is still that low, I get a little confused on where I am supposed to keep my shock levels at. I thought it said 10 but that seems low?
 
Jennels said:
Ok..will do.. I should not add chlorine yet then? My husband is vacuuming out the bottom and then will run it? For the near future.. if my CYA is still that low, I get a little confused on where I am supposed to keep my shock levels at. I thought it said 10 but that seems low?
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Don't add chlorine until you're certain of the pH and CYA values, and that will be after the water has been thoroughly mixed. If the pump's been on and someone has been brushing and vacuuming, half an hour should be plenty.

The pH test will be off during the SLAM so you can't test it during, so you need to get it right before you start bleaching. So retest before dumping in bleach.

Shock level depends upon CYA level. If you have no CYA, then 10FC is plenty. As CYA goes up, so does shock level. Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart
 
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