Lime Green Pool, $500+ to a pool store and still bad....

[Numb]

Well it's probably even more than that, I added some towards the end of last year and the shock they sold me had stabilizer in it. Smh they told me i needed to get the pH to hold before the chlorine would work and recommended more stabalizer.... so my chlorine probably isn't working at all

What's done is done, what matters is what is happening now. The good news is, no matter what the test results come back as, its all fairly simple to get back to where it needs to be. Brush and/or vacuum daily as Richard mentioned. The cleaner the overall surface of the pool is when you start your SLAM the more effective it will be and yield faster results.

 

[Mweltz88]

Alright, I've blind vacuumed with a roller vac and now use a brush vac, my dolphin is still picking up a pretty decent amount of scum/trash, just can't get what's in the water to catch in the filter or settle out

 

[Mweltz88]

Just curious about my filter, I've back flushed it frequently and run it until the soghtglass is clear then I rinse for 2-3 minutes. I've never changed the sand and I've read the different schools of thought (change sand vs never change sand) how would I deep clean my filter? How would I know if it is not working?

 

[Richard320]

Deep Cleaning a Sand Filter shows how.

Working vs not working is impossible to tell with a green pool. No filter will clear the green alone.

 

[Mweltz88]

It's ran my test for CYA and it is high, doesn't even register high, it took very little of the solution to cover the indicator, maybe like 1.8-2ml, 4ml shows 100ppm. Free chlorine is 19ppm... no change in pool for 3 days, lime green and cloudy

 

[Richard320]

It's ran my test for CYA and it is high, doesn't even register high, it took very little of the solution to cover the indicator, maybe like 1.8-2ml, 4ml shows 100ppm. Free chlorine is 19ppm... no change in pool for 3 days, lime green and cloudy

No... there won't be any change. At 100 CYA, shock level is 39 FC. At 120 FC it's 47. Beyond that, you're higher than any tester can read.

I posted this in this very same thread a couple days ago

13+ FC might not even be high enough for daily chlorination, let alone shocking, depending on the CYA level. Being generous with the size, let's say your pool is 20X40X5 ft average depth, about 30000 gallons. Your 30 lbs of balance pak stabilizer will have driven CYA up to 120! Who knows how much was already in the water and how much the shock added also.

The short answer on where to start is twofold
1) Fill out your signature
2) Wait for the test kit. You may end up needing to drain a whole lot of water. Why treat it only to pump the expensive chemicals out?

Now you have your answer. A whole bunch of water replacement. And you still haven't filled out the signature, so the pool volume is still just a guess.

 

[Mweltz88]

On my profile I have a sig filled out and tagged to show it. It's 40x20, 8.5 deep end.

 

[Mweltz88]

Not sure why I can't get signature to show up, I checked show signature on the bottom

 

[Richard320]

It's showing up now.

 

[Mweltz88]

So draining.... is that the only option? If so, how much is necessary ?

 

[tim5055]

So draining.... is that the only option? If so, how much is necessary ?

Yes, it's the only option. How high have we decided the CYA is and how low are you willin got go?

If your CYA was 100 and yo wanted to get to 30 then you need to replace 70% of the water.

In the middle of PoolMath under CYA it makes those calculations for you. Enter what you have now and your target and it lets yo know how much water to replace.

BioActive is a product that "supposedly" reduces CYA, but we have had no members document any loss other than from their wallet from using it.

 

[Richard320]

So draining.... is that the only option? If so, how much is necessary ?

Bioactive reducer is an expensive gamble with a pretty poor track record. Reverse osmosis will cost as much as you spent at the pool store if its even available where you live. Draining is the best option. In your case, probably 75%, except you can't take that much out at once lest you float the liner. You'll need to leave a foot or so in the shallow end, refill, circulate, retest, and go from there. Probably two half-drains will get the CYA down to something useable.

 

[Mweltz88]

What caused my CYa issue?

 

[jblizzle]

What caused my CYa issue?

Likely using Trichlor chlorine tablets and/ or Dichlor shock powder.

They add CYA with the chlorine and though the chlorine is consumed, the CYA builds up and up as up. And the required chlorine is a function of the CYA level.

 

[tim5055]

What caused my CYa issue?

From your own statements:

8 pounds of shock initially,

I've never bought a text kit because I have the means to do it myself at work

As far as the CYA I don't test for it but have always associated it with the Alkalinity

Well it's probably even more than that, I added some towards the end of last year and the shock they sold me had stabilizer

Lack of knowledge and misleading pool stores. Pool owners don't know what they don't know.

You knew a little about water treatment from work, but that did not translate into pool care.

Add to that the reticence to trust strangers on the web and you end up where you are.

Every puck you ever put in the pool, every bag of shock you ever dumped in has added up to where you are.

The folks here are trying to help, listen to them.

 

[Mweltz88]

Sound good, just wanting to make sure I can avoid the issue in the future. Also, what is an ideal CYA level? I'm guessing because my testing method won't allow me know for sure but I'm thinking it's around 120-140ppm, I know now thanks to you guys that means a lot of draining, but at what point can I stop draining and filling and say "ok, good to go"

 

[tim5055]

Sound good, just wanting to make sure I can avoid the issue in the future. Also, what is an ideal CYA level? I'm guessing because my testing method won't allow me know for sure but I'm thinking it's around 120-140ppm, I know now thanks to you guys that means a lot of draining, but at what point can I stop draining and filling and say "ok, good to go"

Ideal in your climate is 30 - 40

 

[Mweltz88]

Last question, CYA is technically an acid with a lower pH and greater molecular weight than water, if I let the pool sit with no circ for 24 hours or so would the new water being put in layer toward the top? Then making pumping from just the drain more efficient? Just curious if anyone has tried this?

 

[n240sxguy]

I don't think it stratifies in a matter of hours. Over winter, maybe. There has been some success using a large tarp where you lay it on top and fill above it while pumping the old water from underneath. With the price of my water, a big enough tarp would probably cost as much as half the water. Places out west with water restrictions have much more incentive to use the tarp method.

 

[Mweltz88]

Yeah I think my water is around $.01-.02 per gallon... so it might range from $150-$300 to fill it half way