newbie mess..... ??

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M

McFaith6

0
Jul 15, 2009
5
Northern KY
We just purchased an Intex 15 ft by 4 ft above ground pool and added the water. This am I put in one pound (yes.... one pound bag for treating 12,000 gallons, sigh!) of Aqua Chem Shocks Water Clear (Shock Xtra Blue). The Aqua Chem test strips (came in a "start up kit" that my hubby got) are 2-way test strips, testing for FC and pH. Right now, the pH is ok, but the FC is very purple....very high. Water is clean and clear, no odor. It's an Intex 15x4 above ground pool, approx 4440 gals; cartridge pump (size A). I have not tested anything else &
live in Northern KY. It's a cloudy day today; supposed to rain & be cloudy & upper 70's next few days

Suggestions? Other than the obvious - get a better test kit, LOL!
Safe to swim?
 
You're welcome!

Reason I did shocked the pool was to get the chlorine in. Because the last time I used the tablets (trichlor), I ended up with a stabilizer mess & had to dump the pool out and refill it. Didn't want to go through that again, and I remembered never having any issues with just shocking it once a week. Since it was so late in the season (I'm in northern KY), hubby wanted to wait on purchasing a $200 salt filter system. I guess what I'm trying to find out is, is there another option than waiting days for the chlorine to dissipate? My kids are driving me nuts, and I don't want to let them in the pool if it's unsafe.
 
You won't find the answer you are looking for because of your FC test method. I have read some folks say it is OK to swim if your pool is at shock level. Pool School has an article about what shock level should be for a pool based on the CYA. You won't find anything on this site that says a FC reading of very purple is ok or not ok to swim. Read pool school again, I know I had to read it 3 times just to start understanding it, but it's worth it.
 
1 lb of that particular brand of powder shock product, which is Dichlor, in your size pool, would raise your FC to 15 and your CYA level to 14, according to the Effects of Adding Chemicals secition of the Pool Calculator.

Tis up to you if you want to let them swim, everyone has varying opinions on what's safe or not.

Regardless, at such a low CYA level, the FC will still burn off quickly. You'll see much lower levels tomorrow.

If you have any more Dichlor, I suggest not adding more than 4-8 oz at a time, and don't use more than 2 lbs total as your CYA will be a 30, which is a good level for an Intex Pool.

I would advise you to get an HTH 6-way test kit, Walmart may have one for about $20. If you can find it...
 
Basically people feel that swimming up to shock level is safe. For a CYA of 14, your current level your shock level is 10 (refer to the CYA chart). So right now you are probably above shock level.

Some folk will swim at shock level and higher. You might see some degrading of swimsuits, fading or elastic breakdown. To each his own...there's no set rule on what is "safe" or not....

As the CYA level increases, so does your shock level, and therefore so do this level at which swimming is still considered safe.

:whip: :mrgreen:
 

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Thanks for your input everyone, I just am so frustrated with the kids bugging me over getting in, and if it were just my own kids, I wouldn't be as concerned, kwim? Since I don't have a car to get anywhere to get a test kit or have the water tested, they just have to wait until Daddy comes home. He and I can sit down and do some reading after they go to bed. Thanks again, & off to do some reading!!
 
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