lisas15575's new pool ?'s

[lisas15575]

I am a newbie to pool ownership and have just set up a used pool. I was told about this site yesterday by a friend.
I have test strips and the dropper/vial tests.
Per test strips:
total hardness 200
FC 3
pH 7.8
TA 240++
CYA 30-50

the vial dropper test show FC at off the scale (too high) and the pH as closer to 8.4

from what I read here, I'm thinking I need acid (?chlorine, but concerned since I am getting two different readings)
please help

 

[The Mermaid Queen]

1) welcome to TFP!
2) what does your water look like? are you having any problems?
3) around here, we call them "guess strips", because they are not much better than guessing!

Invest in a good test kit (see my signature)

For now, you can get your OTO kit to read higher chlorine by diluting 1 part pool water with 2 parts distilled water. Test that, and multiply your results by 3. Now your OTO test will read up to 15!
If your Cl is very high, it can skew the results of your pH test.

There are other links in my signature to help you get started. Read all the stickies, and post bakc so we can help you further!

 

[lisas15575]

ty for a quick reply
It is well water - notably hard, prefilter to house shows high iron, high calcium, (previous well tests did not show any other metals, etc)
The pool was turning 'light green' before it was half full (took about 16 hours/ 18 X 48" Intext) - have floater with puck - was adding bleach per friend that referred me here and getting NO FC - added a bag of shock last night (pump running continuously).
this am - the high readings on chlorine/ pH.
I don't have any distilled water here at the house, so will have to go get some...
After the shock, the green is almost gone, but water is slightly cloudy - and the filter has a 'rusty' look to it this am...

thanks
Lisa

 

[The Mermaid Queen]

Did you use a metal sequesterant yet? you will need one, or you will be fighting stains and metal 'fall-out' when you shock. Jack's magic is a recommended brand, also Metal Magic.

You will need to get some CYA (stabilizer) into your pool... you will get some with your pucks, but better to buy some separately. CYA is like sunscreen for your chlorine. You probably are showing no chlorine because it is all being burned off by the sun. It is best to add your bleach in the evening, so it can work at night sanitizing your water.

With the small intex filters, you will have to be a bit more diligent in your testing and water maintenance, and will need to clean the cartridge weekly or more frequently.

 

[lisas15575]

Ok - I will try metal sequesterant...

I haven't been able to find any CYA except in a 3 gal bucket... for lots of $$$$ - does it come smaller?

This am - still have a light green tint - OTO test shows FC at 2 (diptstick at zero) - but I am wondering- is there something else in the water that could make the OTO test read high? It was still reading darker than 5 last pm and there has been absolutely NO chlorine odor to this water this whole time - the dipsticks have been consistently saying low/no FC (I know you don't think much of them, but I am trying to make sense of how I can still have green water, NO chlorine smell and be having the OTO reading remain high.....)

Lisa

 

[The Mermaid Queen]

Try Lowe's or Home Depot for the CYA...

If you are getting your Cl up high at night, and by morning it is at 2, you are still fighting that algae bloom HARD. You need to keep your Cl at 15 until it holds overnight. Ditch the test strips and use the dilution method with your OTO test (Use some dasani or other drinking water if you don't have distilled... anything that would have 0 chlorine is fine, just for your Cl test.) Also use the calculators in my sig to help you add the correct amount of bleach. Don't worry about what the water smells like, just go by your OTO test and the look of your pool.

The OTO reading, from what you say, is NOT high. 2 is not high. The algae is eating up all your Cl at night. The strips are not working. They are inaccurate at best, and they degrade fairly quickly if they a) are old, b) have been stored in the heat, or c) have gotten damp/humid.

1 small jug (96 oz) of 6% will raise the FC in your pool by 7ppm. So, if your pool is 2ppm, 2 jugs will get you from 2ppm to 16ppm

Get a couple jugs in there this morning. Test as often as you can and boost the cl up to 15 with bleach. The more often you can get it back to 15, the faster you will be through this! Remember to keep cleaning your filter (your intex filter will probably need to be sprayed off daily during this bloom) and brushing your walls, if you can.

 

[itabb]

Your test strips are reading Free Chlorine. Your OTO is reading Total Chlorine. If your OTO is 2, and your strip is 0, you probably have 2 CCs and 0FC. If it were my pool, I'd shock to 20ppm FC with that CYA level and see if it holds overnight.

Guessing that you have a 30,000 gallon pool (18'x48'x4.5') and 0ppm FC at 7pm at night, you would need 125oz of Calcium Hypochlorite (65%) or 156 cups of Sodium Hypoclorite (bleach 6% - such as wal-mart ultra or Clorox - basically 10 gallons -- 20.5ppm FC).

Before adding the bleach, I'd adjust the PH to get maximum benefit from the chlorine. I'd want 7.5. So at 8.4, I'd add 29 cups of Muratic acid (or pretty much 2 gallons, which would get you to PH 7.4).

Even with the high ALK, your CSI is only -0.07 so your pool will be in great shape. I'm not so familiar with non-gunite pools, so I don't know if that high of a chlorine level could cause you problems with your liner. If you have metals, it will probably cause them to precipitate out of the water, so add your chlorine very slowly. Something like Jack's Magic BLUE would probably help with the metals. You'll need 3 bottles.

Anyway, I'm a bit agressive, so maybe wait for some more reponses here.

 

[The Mermaid Queen]

Your test strips are reading Free Chlorine. Your OTO is reading Total Chlorine. If your OTO is 2, and your strip is 0, you probably have 2 CCs and 0FC. If it were my pool, I'd shock to 20ppm FC with that CYA level and see if it holds overnight.

Guessing that you have a 30,000 gallon pool (18'x48'x4.5') and 0ppm FC at 7pm at night, you would need 125oz of Calcium Hypochlorite (65%) or 156 cups of Sodium Hypoclorite (bleach 6% - such as wal-mart ultra or Clorox - basically 10 gallons -- 20.5ppm FC).

Before adding the bleach, I'd adjust the PH to get maximum benefit from the chlorine. I'd want 7.5. So at 8.4, I'd add 29 cups of Muratic acid (or pretty much 2 gallons, which would get you to PH 7.4).

Even with the high ALK, your CSI is only -0.07 so your pool will be in great shape. I'm not so familiar with non-gunite pools, so I don't know if that high of a chlorine level could cause you problems with your liner. If you have metals, it will probably cause them to precipitate out of the water, so add your chlorine very slowly. Something like Jack's Magic BLUE would probably help with the metals. You'll need 3 bottles.

Anyway, I'm a bit agressive, so maybe wait for some more reponses here.

STOP! Her pool is an intex, 18' round by 48" high, so 6700 gallons.

(Good catch on the FC v TC thing, tho! I forgot about that, if I ever knew it )

15 is an acceptable shock value for CYA of 30-50, as per the best guess chart (in my signature). Especially for a vinyl pool.

Lisa, what is your pH now, with the strip and the drop test (don't use dilution for this test) (her CL was high when she got that 8.4 result, and high CL can skew pH results)

ETA CH is only an issue in vinyl pools if it goes over 500. If the TA is also super-high you can have cloudy water issues.

 

[itabb]

Oh yeah, well, that does change everything, doesn't it? I'd try 15ppm, see if that works.

 

[lisas15575]

ok - I added bleach to shock and waited til 10 am to re-test.
all the 'algae'(?) settled out to be green sediment on the floor, vacuumed/disturbed the water and changed the filter (5 days old). - Filter was grainy with iron sediment.
The OTO read 3 for Chlorine and pH was still slightly high.
By late afternoon, after the kids were splashing for quite some time the water got very odd - cloudy pewter would be the best I can describe it.
We covered the pool last night because the wind was blowing a lot of sand around... tested this morning and the water is clear, chlorine was down to 2 (but at least measurable in the normal range), no green sediment - but some streaks of black sediment (may be dirt? didn't have time this am to examine it closely) and the pH was the third one down (7.4?? can't remember from here at work, but again, at least in the 'normal measurable range')
Hopefully I am now on the right track, will add additional chlorine when I get home... with the suggestion to increase chlorine to 15 ppm, how long before we can swim again? I am assuming this should be done at night before bed?
thanks again
Lisa

 

[The Mermaid Queen]

I am certainly no expert, although I DO have pool experience, just no pool at the moment

It really sounds like a metal problem. Metals will 'react' with chlorine, especially high levels, and 'fall out' of the water, causing some pesky problems, including staining of your liner, or even your hair! Not to mention your water will look gross!

Get some sequesterant in there. They serve to keep the metals in suspension.

Add your bleach in the evening or night so it does not have to compete with the sun. If your kids don't drink the water, it is ok to swim, just wear old suits and rinse off promptly. (Others here would disagree)