Work In Progress - Green to Clean... Almost!

[straymute]

Moved into the house about a week ago, completely green pool, had been green for approx 3.5 months. Pump had been dead/off for approx 2 months. Filter had not been cleaned, ever, it seemed. Infloor cleaning system also malfunctioning. I hired a "good" pool guy, he promised crystal clear water in 3 days. He replaced the pump, the light, and dumped 2 gallons of *something* in the pool and came back 2 days later. Still green, he said he couldn't do anything about it without draining it, promised to bring sump pump the next day. I said OK (uneducated).

Next day came, no show, so I went to pool store, they said "Don't drain it!! Plaster will crack!!". Fired pool guy, bought 300 bucks in shock/algaecide/other stuff, dumped 8 pounds of shock and 2 bottles of algaecide in, the next day it was clearish with lots of dead stuff on the bottom. Brushed it all up, reshocked it with another 8 pounds of shock, took sample in, they sold me 2 10 pound bottles of Sodium Bicarb, 1 bottle of Phosfree (uneducated me), and 1 bottle of Soda Ash. Was told to dump ALL Sodium Bicarb in and 1/2 litre of the Phosfree. Did that.

The Next day, looked a lot better, except I had a bunch of yellowish algae in some shaded areas and some nasty black stuff nearby (see pics). Started doing my own research, found this site, ordered my test kit, fired my pool store, and dumped 3 192oz bottles of Clorox bleach in, helped a lot, but still have some black and yellow algae, I want it gone!! Rubbing the Black Stains with a Cl Puck seemed to do nothing. Rubbing the Yellow Stains with a Cl Puck seemed to do the job.

Here's my stats as I remember them:

CYA - 90 (Pool store number)
TDS - 340 (they said that's high, we need to drain it in off season)
CI - 0?? (Pool store number)
FC > 3 (my crappy test kit number)
CC = ??
TC = ??
TA = 250 (Prior to selling me the bicarb it tested at 75)
Ph = 7.2-7.4 (Prior to Bicarb/SodaAsh/etc it was 6.8)

So here are my questions:
If I shock it to the level in the Pool Calc, I have to bring it up to some ridiculous level, is this going to hurt my plaster?
Can I test the CI myself? 0 is hard to believe and if it is 0 I think I need to fix this first!
Are the black stains black algae or something else?
Also, instead of having a Pressure Gauge I have a line running to the outbound PVC from my filter (see pic). What is that?

Thanks for any help you provide!
-Wes

P.s. Will upload files later, having issue with file size!

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Hi there,

Unfortunately the bags of shock they told you to add probably raised the CYA to it's currently too high level. You should do a partial drain and refill, perhaps a few to lower it down to a more manageable 70. Hopefully this may get your TA down too....

High TA may cause your PH to rise. Anytime you see the PH drift up to 7.8 or higher, simply add muratic acid down to lower the PH to 7.2. The acid will also lower the TA and eventually it should come down into the recommended range.

Before you tackle the algae/chlorine issue, get the CYA down.

If the pucks didn't do anything to the black stains, they may not be organic. Try holding a Vit C tablet on the stain and see if you get a reaction that may confirm metals.

 

[MrDude]

If the pucks didn't do anything to the black stains, they may not be organic. Try holding a Vit C tablet on the stain and see if you get a reaction that may confirm metals.

Im having the same problem ..pucks didnt do anything. So what would be the right way to get rid of all the black "stuff" I have on the side of the wall?? I have tried scrubbing till my arms hurt and still nothing.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

IF pucks don't fade black stains, especially when brushing the spots, then they are possibly metal, possibly copper. Vitamin C may change the appearance if metal, if copper, the stains may darken after contact with the Vit C tablet. The vitamin c probably won't work on copper stains.

There are stain test kits you can use to determine the type of stain:
http://www.jacksmagic.com/shop/shopexd.asp?id=96&bc=no

 

[straymute]

After testing with Wally HTH test kit, here's what I got:

CYA - 100+
CH - Somewhere between 200-1000, really hard to tell because it turns more purple than blue...
FC > 5 (HTH test kit limit)
CC = ??
TC = ??
TA = 250
Ph = 7.4-7.6

I scrubbed the dark spots with a wire brush and nothing seemed to happen, and started the process of empty/fill to get my CYA down (it will take several iterations, since I don't want to drain too deep into the plaster since its 110 degrees + out here...)

Next steps:
Drop some Muratic Acid (based on Pool Calc)/ and Aerate to get TA down.
Drain/Refill frequently to get CYA down
Get the Taylor Test and test with that to get some more accurate numbers
Pop a Vit-C on the black spots to determine if its metal.

Sound right?

 

[duraleigh]

Next steps:
Drop some Muratic Acid (based on Pool Calc)/ and Aerate to get TA down.
Drain/Refill frequently to get CYA down
Get the Taylor Test and test with that to get some more accurate numbers
Pop a Vit-C on the black spots to determine if its metal.

Sound right?

I would change the order of priority just a little.....

1. Get a good test kit. Either the Taylot K-2006 or the TF-100 that I sell. Nothing else will work for your situation. Order one extra bottle of CYA reagent....YOu will need it.

2. Maintain adequate chlorine in your pool constantly. With your current CYA, that 7+ppm minimum.....10ppm wouldn't hurt.

3. Drain/refill to reduce CYA to around 60ppm

4. after CYA is down around 60 and you have kept adequate chlorine in your pool, address the stains. Don't be surprised if the correct chlorine level hasn't reduced or eleiminated them.

5. After fixing the stains, address your TA.....that would be my last adjustment....done after the pool was sparkling clear.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

What he said.