Need clarification from the masters

Your pH is a little low, but with your TA of 130, I would just leave it alone and let it climb on its own. Ideally, you want it at 7.2 to do a SLAM, so you're fine.

Most people on here will tell you that when your CYA goes above every line of ten, you should round it up to the the next 10. So, call yours 40 and SLAM at that level with your FC at 16 instead of 12. Depending on how much algae is in your water, the more often you recheck the FC and top it up to 16, the better. The SLAM will go faster this way. It's not just a one time addition and forget it. I would do it at least 3 times a day, if possible, if not more at the beginning of the SLAM. What you'll find is that when first starting the SLAM, the FC will disappear very quickly as it eats away at the algae. Once you get close to being done, the FC will start holding a lot longer and you won't have to top it up as often.

Did you check your fill water's CH. Is it really 0? If so, that's some soft water. Ours here in San Jose is around 300. Are you sure you you did the test right? 25ml sample with 20 drops of first bottle, 5 drops of bottle 2, and only 1 drop to turn it completely blue?

If it's really that low, you should get some calcium in there, especially if you have a plaster pool. I didn't see you specify it anywhere. Plaster needs some, otherwise the water will leech it out of your plaster surface. Vinyl doesn't really need any, but you could still keep just a small amount in (under 200).

Good on the PH i really didn't want to mess with that -

OKay, so I redid the PoolMath with 40 CYA & 16 FC goal and get 443oz now.

Pretty sure I did the CH test correctly - 25ML of water; but I don't even get to the 3rd regent. After the 2nd one; my water is blue/purple; it never turns red first...

I have a vinyl liner - I will add that and update my test kit in my signature
 
Are you on a water softener? That could explain the low CH. Did you do a test on the fill water to double check it? If your test is correct, I would bump CH up to 100 and stick with that. Being low doesn't really matter with a vinyl pool, but too much could lead to scaling.
 
you don't specify what you have... plaster, vinyl, or Fiberglass for your pool surface type.
At this point, I would put 2/3 that much bleach into the pool to start it killing off whatever is causing the green, then test again in 1/2 hr.
Have you read the SLAM methods, and understand them?

Sorry - I updated my signature - I have a vinyl liner.

So if I go off DeanP66 suggestions with my numbers; I am at 443oz of bleach now - so start at 295 oz for now - check after 1/2 and recalculate #s in PoolMath based on new FC levels right?

I did read it - im like 60% there in understanding haha - I messed this up bad last year - like CYA was way over 100 and I had no clue what i was doing. I think i am more just second guessing myself to make sure i do it right this time.

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Are you on a water softener? That could explain the low CH. Did you do a test on the fill water to double check it? If your test is correct, I would bump CH up to 100 and stick with that. Being low doesn't really matter with a vinyl pool, but too much could lead to scaling.

Im sorry - i dont know what you mean by a test on the "fill water"?
 
Are you on a water softener? That could explain the low CH. Did you do a test on the fill water to double check it? If your test is correct, I would bump CH up to 100 and stick with that. Being low doesn't really matter with a vinyl pool, but too much could lead to scaling.

Ahhh like the water i use to fill the pool with...oh man...so i just did that and it turned red! So that reads at 100 CH. Why would my water have CH but my pool doesn't?
 
Once you start the SLAM, you are correct, you retest FC and say it's down to 8. So bring it back up by getting it back to 16 (adding 8 PPM) by using pool math. Just keep repeating the process and you'll see improvement and finally it will start clearing up, but it all depends on how much algae is in the water and how dirty it is.

Regarding the CH test, there may be something in the water interfering with the test. I would just leave the CH alone for now and get the pool clear with your SLAM. Once you pass the OCLT (overnight chlorine loss test, all 3 criteria), let the FC come down on its own to your normal level for CYA of 40. That would be in the 5-7 range and never below 3. Once it's there, run all your tests once again and we'll see what's up. Any pH reading with FC above 10 is unreliable. Let it come down below 10 and go from there.
 
You guys - i feel like I am doing something wrong here


I added 242 oz (all i had at the time) at 530PM; tested half hour later and was at 3.6PPM. Redid PoolMath and came up with 387 oz. I had a screw it moment - and added 484 oz. Tested again an hour later and we are at 7 ppm.

Is this normal? I feel like my PPM should be higher with only testing 30-60 mins later? The pool is just a light green; i didnt think there was THAT much algae.
 
You guys - i feel like I am doing something wrong here


I added 242 oz (all i had at the time) at 530PM; tested half hour later and was at 3.6PPM. Redid PoolMath and came up with 387 oz. I had a screw it moment - and added 484 oz. Tested again an hour later and we are at 7 ppm.

Is this normal? I feel like my PPM should be higher with only testing 30-60 mins later? The pool is just a light green; i didnt think there was THAT much algae.

I am at a loss - add 288 more oz and tested again an hour later....1.2ppm. What in the world am I doing wrong?:confused:
 
You must have a lot of algae in there. Can you post a picture of the pool water? What are you using to SLAM with? 6%, 8.25%, or 10% liquid chlorine? By my calculations, it would take 299 oz. of 10% liquid chlorine to go from FC 0 to 16 PPM.
 
You must have a lot of algae in there. Can you post a picture of the pool water? What are you using to SLAM with? 6%, 8.25%, or 10% liquid chlorine? By my calculations, it would take 299 oz. of 10% liquid chlorine to go from FC 0 to 16 PPM.

I thought no one would ever ask about the FC strength the OP is using. I was about to rewind this thread a bit highlighting Demegrad9's post# 15! Also 15k gals maybe off and is throwing PoolMath off the charts.

Here's how to properly calculate pool volume --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZgYxgKNAXA
 
You are not doing anything wrong... if algae has taken hold, it will consume a lot of your chlorine right at the onset... you are going to need a lot more bleach... stay with it, it will get better, and need less, and less to hit your targets as you go, and as you kill it off.
 

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The reason I advised you to only start with 2/3 the chlorine to start with is that you didn't mention your surface type... thank you for correcting that...
AND the fact that most people don't calculate their pool volume properly the first time, and I didn't want you bleaching out your liner by putting in too much until you knew the rate at which it would be consumed by the algae.
Stick with it, and you will get there!
I remember my wife asking me "Just how much bleach are we going to need?!?!?! I am starting to feel like I am getting looked at funny for buying it EVERY time I go into work!" (She works at Walmart)
This was also 3 weeks into the ONLY SLAM that I have had to do on my pool, (I had tad-poles swimming)! That was 3 years ago now.
She now agrees that THIS is the only way to maintain a pool! Easy, cheap, and Nobody else in the neighbourhood believes you!

We will be here to help you out along the way.
We also have one of our guides here doing a SLAM right now that may be of interest to you... First SLAM in 10+ years
She is one of the main people that helped me out all those years ago, and I OWE her big time!

At this point, I would like to mention... WE LIKE PICTURES! .... plus, if you take pictures every day, you can review them and actually see for yourself the transformation as it progresses.
 
/\ what he said and I'm not disagreeing with anyone. But to begin with, entering the correct pool volume in PoolMath will put the OP in the right track!

Multiply the width of the pool by the length, and multiply again by the average depth of the water to find the water volume.
The above calculates only the water surface but missing the amount of water in gallons per cubic foot; surface area x 5.9 (for round or oval shape) or surface area x 7.48 (for rectangle & free-form).
 
I am using 6% bleach - but i have that entered in the PoolMath also so shouldn't it give me the correct amount of that type?

If anything, ive overestimated the size of the pool but i will for sure recheck that and take pictures when the sun comes up more. It is pretty well shaded right now still so I think this pic looks a lot darker than it actually is. '

Could metals be messing with my numbers? When they opened it; we had what looked like a few rust spots that seem to be getting worse. Especially on the steps.

Resized952018042195061530.jpg

Oh PS

Pretty sure our neighbors think we are burying bodies....had a storm shelter hold dug on Thursday...buy 20 jugs of bleach of the next day...
 
In the OP 3 days ago you said you had a "light green tint". That is far from a light green tint. Have you scooped all the debris you can from the bottom, if there is any?

Re: metals, do you know of any metal in your fill water or have you ever added any algaecides that may have metals (copper) in them? Asking out of curiosity, the algae needs to be addressed regardless.

Also, that ladder needs to come out until your SLAM is done. Lastly, that is a good bit of foaming, are you positive you are adding regular non-scented bleach? Not splashless, not "country fresh" or something crazy like that. Not that a little foaming isn't to be expected but that is rather soapy.
 
So, that is still very green with what looks like lots of algae in it, so it's no surprise that the FC is being obliterated rather quickly. Did you try scooping any thick chunks out from the bottom? Ideally, you don't want to leave anything thick or goopy in the pool. The SLAM works best when it's fighting just the water. You want to get any debris, leaves and other junk out of the pool first. It can be difficult when you can't see what you're doing. Maybe run your leaf back across the bottom a few times and see what you catch.

Just keep pumping in that FC as often as possible. Redose back to 16 everytime and give it some time. Also, back wash your filter regularly because all that algae will build up quickly as the water circulates through. If you run out of bleach, I suggest you go to Home Depot and get the 10% liquid chlorine. Just make sure the date on the box is not too old. You will go through a lot less bottles with the 10%. It only takes 299 oz to raise 15000 gallons from 0 to 16 PPM as opposed to 498 oz of 6%. Don't forget to brush regularly and keep clearing out any loose debris as you see it.
 
Sorry - that was a horrible picture.it really isn't that dark it just gets a lot of shade back there in the morning. You can see the bottom clearly and there is minimal debris in there.

These one should be better.

I doubled checked our volume - 27'9"x13'9" average dept of 4.5. about 13k gallons.

I believe I rounded up to 15k last year because we don't truly know the depth of the deep end.

I rechecked this morning .4ppm...this is going to be a long weekend isn't it?

I looked at the thread you posted for the haven't slamed in 10 years - I'm super jealous of her water right now haha

I'm sure most of that foam is from an algecide - hubs got a little pour happy with that when we first couldn't get the green out.

We are on city water - not sure if there is metal in the fill water? But I noticed the rust spots the day after the Pool company opened it, before we got a hold of dumping anything else in it.

I really appreciate everyone's help in this -

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ahhh... your pool is not THAT bad!

Vacuum it to waste. Brush it a LOT, and may I suggest that you get the 10% stuff in Walmart's pool section, it works out to be cheaper, and you won't need as much.

I see a clear pool within 2 weeks in your future.

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I am planning on opening my pool later today. Last year I bought one of the newer micro mesh winter covers, and am curious as to how well it has worked at keeping the sun out of the water...
I will be taking pictures.
The wife and I have been taking bets, as to whether it open "Clean", or "Green". So far the field has been an even split.

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I buy 55 gallons of 12.5% bleach at a time, and have a fresh barrel loaded, so I am covered.
If I need to, I can set the stenner to working overtime dosing the pool. :)
 
yeah i promise I at least know what color light green it! haha

I'm am burning through these 6% bottles quick so I am about to make a wally world run for some 10% ones. I guess me attempting to be cheap didn't work in my favor at all.

Good thing it is supposed to be a nice weekend - looks like I'll be camped out poolside all day.

Where in the world do you get 12.5% bleach?
 
I work in Gadsden, so I have a 55gal drum delivered to the shop whenever I need it.
Etowah chemical supply is the supplier in that area.
(I asked a couple of local pressure washing places where they got their bleach.)
 

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