HELP! Foreclosure home, pool sat for 2 years

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X1088LoD

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Jul 19, 2009
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So, I have been following some advice from a local pool shop, not sure if I am on the right track.

We opened up the pool, it had been sitting pretty open for about 2 years. We started by scooping all the murk, leaves, and debris out of the bottom, and we are confident that it is mostly or all out. So all we have left is murky green water.

We had our equipment services and verified it is all working well (1 HP pool pump and sand filter)

At the advice of the pool shop, what we did was started with two 25 gallon buckets of granulated chlorine, dumped half a bucket in with pump running and did this over a span of about a week with the pump running.

I havent really noticed any change at all in the color of the water or clarity. Yesterday I went back by there, and got some "dropoff", diluted it in water and spread out in pool.

Also got some test strips, the chlorine is dark purple (off the charts as expected I guess), my alk was bright yellow (at the lowest end of the spectrum), and the pH wasnt even a choice, it seemed to knock most of the color off with brownish/purple splotchs.

mY next steps is to put the filter on "vaccum to waste" for a while, while refilling the pool from hoses. Later add more chlorine. Does it seem like I am on the right track or are these guys leading me astray?

Thanks!
 
Welcome to the forum ! :wave:

We have a section called Pool Scool that is full of helpful information to help you with your situation.
We are going to need to see a full set of numbers so we can offer advice. I suggest taking a water sample to the pool store and asking them to test it.

I recommend getting a good test kit (see my signature) so you are able to test your own water and not rely on the pool store. All they try to do is sell you stuff you dont need :hammer:

Do you happen to know the name of the granulated chlorine they gave you? It could, in the long run cause your CYA to get so high that your chlorine will not be high enough to avoid another algae outbreak.

For right now I suggest posting a full set of numbers and reading up in pool school.

Im sure you will have more questions once your done reading .....

Please when you have a minute add your equipment to your signature for us. Top of page, user control panel, profile, edit signature ....
 
Yes, please list the type of pool, how many gallons, type of equipment. :wink:

You're never going to beat the green out of your water with test strips and the Pool Store. You'll waste alot of money but your water will never sparkle, I can almost guarrentee it.

You have started in the right path though by finding us. :cool: Now it's HOMEWORK time! :cool: Read Pool School as suggested by Reebok and Tiz Me. Also get your pool the best pool test around which is the TF-100 which you can only order online.

Please remember that shocking is a process and not a one time event. If you put shock in and let it go for a couple days before you add more, you're wasting your time and the chlorine. You have to be consistant to kill the algae beast because it's consuming the chlorine!

You can get this done but you have to do your part by reading Pool School. We can walk you through it but if you don't understand it, you'll be back to square one with a green pool. We're here to help and you have to help yourself and your pool too by reading Pool School. :wink:

Welcome to TFP!
 
When you take a break from reading the info in Pool School, take some time to jot down the ingredients of the stuff you have already put in your pool, so we know exactly what they had you put in. As you will read, there are different additives in dry chlorine products that can greatly affect the balance of your water.

Also, take some pics and share. We love to see pics of before, during and after treatment.
 
Reading over pool school now:

Pool is pretty standard in-ground oval pool, around 16,000 gallon, maybe 30x15 ft, average depth maybe 6 feet.

Equipment is a 1 HP pump, with a 26" diameter Meteor TM High Rate sand filter

Currently, have in two 25 lb Nu-Clo Concentrated Granules (stabilized dichlor granular, fast dissolving) and I did some EZ Clor drop out over night last night (which visibility in the pool is much more increased, I can see down 3 or 4 steps in the shallow end now where I could only see down 1 last night)

I have Poolmaster smart test strips

Appreciate any immediate next steps

Attached is current pic:

poolenu.jpg


Thanks!
 
The cheapest way to get "green out" I think is to switch to bleach. Posting a full set of numbers is important so we can determine how much bleach you should add according to your CYA level. Your CYA will determine the "shock" level you should maintain to kill off the algae in the pool.

See this chart for comparison numbers related to CYA levels and chlorine.

I cant stress the importance of getting a reliable test kit. As Casey says with using test strips your water will never sparkle. Most of the time you will be guessing at amounts to add and its usually not enough.
 
In the absence of a good test kit. What are your current readings on your pool with your test strips or maybe a pool store test today?

You may need to change to liquid chlorine because your CYA may be getting high.
 

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if your ph and TA are that far out of whack, they need to be adjusted asap. you may be able to find a 6 way test kit at walmart that will hold you over until you get a good one. if you have to go to a pool store, try to find the cheapest one that will tell you chlorine, ph, TA, CH and especially CYA. make sure it's drop based and not strips or anything. I would say the lack of a CH test would be the least problematic, but you definitely need a CYA test.
 
X1088LoD said:
Based on my test strips, my FCl is 10+, my alkalinity is near 0, and I believe my pH is quite high, 8.4+

I may try and go see if I can find a test kit in a local place today
Click to expand...

If I were you, I'd get on order, one of the test kits recommended here. It's pretty difficult to find a good test kit in the stores that will test chlorine above 5 ppm. Though, the rest of the tests aren't inadequate for your current needs. The 6-way at Walmart is decent, but again the limit of 5 for chlorine. Still better than test strips for the rest of the readings.
 
The last step I did based on that pool company was poured that drop off in the pool to increase the clarity, which worked pretty well. Currently my pump is off, they told me to run the filter on "Vacuum to Waste" for a little while.

Should I still do that at this point? Or just forget about that for now?

Looks like all local pool places are closed on Sunday, some I'm gonna head to walmart for that 6-way test kit for now.
 
Vacuuming is always good and will help get the little particles of debris out of the water. You need to get some chlorine in there though to kill off the algae and with out knowing what your CYA level is we cant tell you how much you need to reach your shock level.
I think adding some liquid chlorine at this point wont hurt ... the issue is how much to add. I would suggest 2 large jugs anyway and tomorrow get a water test done at the pool store and post the results here for us to see.
 
Okay, let's review - Your pool store told you to dump in two, 25 lb buckets of Dichlor? :rant: That would raise your CYA level to somewhere in the range of 190 if your pool is in fact 16,000 gallons.

Please tell me you didn't add all of the Dichlor.... :shock:

If you did add 50 lbs of Dichlor, you have to drain your pool and refill with fresh water. If you are fully aware of your water table and aren't concerned about a full drain, I would drain 75% of the water. Replace with fresh, recirculate, refill and retest.

Vacuming to waste drains out a lot of water. I wonder if someone at the pool store realized their error in their recommendation, and they now know that your CYA level is too high to be of any good. I wouldn't trust this pool store at all, I would not purchase anything from them or bother returning. They have taken your money and caused you nothing but trouble, if this is in fact what they advised you.

I would not spend any more time trying to balance the PH/TA or adding chlorine until you confirm the Dichlor addition. If you do have to drain, then you're just wasting chems by doing that first. Drain first, if you used the Dichlor.

The EZ Chlor Floc is useless for you right now. The algae must be dead for it to work, and often even then it doesn't help.

The HTH 6-way drop based test from Wal-mart does have a CYA test but only enough CYA reagent for 2-3 tests. What I would suggest is you dilute the pool sample 50/50 with tap water and then test the CYA level, and multiply the results by 2. You do lose some accuracy with this but the CYA test only goes up to 100.

Or, go back to that Pool Stealer who told you do shock with Dichlor, demand they test the CYA, watch them do it, and when they reveal the CYA test is over 100 (which it likely will be if it was Dichlor) tell them you want them to give you your money back for the Dichlor and you want them to pay your water bill for the refill! :rant: AARRGGH. That just makes me so mad! And it's not even my pool! :grrrr:

Most pool stores do not sell the recommended test kits - so you are better off ordering online. Leslie's does sometimes have it, but often noobs end up with a lesser K-2005 because the pool store tells them that's all they need. Do not accept anything less than a K-2006 with an FAS-DPD chlorine test.

Okay, sorry for the rant, and I know this is alot of info to take in.

I hope this helps, didn't mean to make things worse. :cry:
 
Appreciate any immediate next steps
Click to expand...
Throw the test strips away (or give them to someone you do not like :lol: ) and post your test results with the 6-way kit. We'll really need the CYA test and the 6-way is one of the few cheapo kits that has that test. Post those numbers up and we'll get you headed in the right direction.

Word of caution....disregard any further info from the pool store. They are not helping you. Simple products with simple names that you can get at the grocery store will clear your pool..

Post up your pool equipment in your sig and put the city and state under your username. That'll help us get you going faster.
 
X1088LoD said:
Ouch that doesnt sound good

Does the vacuum to waste empty out the pool? Or would I just be better off getting renting a sump pump or something like that?
Click to expand...

EEEK... I was afraid of that...you did add all the Dichlor? :pale:

Yes, vacume to waste, but then you're limited once the water drops below the skimmer, if you don't have an in-floor drain in the deepend... plus I'm not sure it's such a good idea to use the filter/pump for draining a pool that much at once... Renting a sub-pump would be good if you can get a wider hose - the kind that uses garden hoses drains too slow.

Confirm the CYA level with a drop based kit before you drain....maybe there will be some miracle and it won't be 190 :mrgreen: Maybe the pool has that wonderful mysterious bacteria that converts CYA into ammonia.... :twisted:
 
Unfortunately it did.

I should have done a bit more research before blindly following what those guys told me.

I'm probably gonna run to Home Depot and rent a sump pump and just start from scratch. Walmart didnt hvae the CYA test kit I need (they were out of stock), but I can pretty much bet it is through the roof after 50 lb of Dichlor.
 

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