Newbie needs HELP!

[h2ctpdjl]

I have a friend with a new pool with cloudy water. I used my trusty TF 100 test kit to test her water with the following results:

FC - 0
CC -.5
TA - 40
PH - <6.8
CYA - 0
CH - 140
Her pool size is 18x30, 4 ft deep (AG with vinyl liner).
According to the Pool Calculator her water volume is approximately 14,100 gals.
Since her water is cloudy, i believe she needs to add some bleach ASAP to prevent Algae growth. She also needs to get some CYA in there, but that will take a while to dissolve.According to the Pool Calculator, she needs approximately 75oz of Stabilizer (40) and I suggested she put it in a sock and into the skimmer or tie it in front of one of her inlets until it is dissolved. I also suggested she not backwash for approximately 5-6 days. Any recommendations as to how much Bleach to add right now while waiting for the CYA to dissolve?
We also know her PH is too low as well as her TA

 

[The Mermaid Queen]

First get the pH up with borax. You can worry about TA later.

Then work on the chlorine. For now, since there is already a problem and you have 0FC/0.5CC, you really need to shock. Assume CYA=0, follow the CYA chart, and use Jason's calculator to find the amount of bleach to add. In a day or so, after your CYA is dissolving, you can treat the pool like it has the amount of CYA you are shooting for (is that what the little "40" meant?)

Shock until you have <0.5ppm CCs and the FC holds overnight

 

[h2ctpdjl]

I dont see a shock level for CYA "0" on the chart?

 

[JasonLion]

There are two, depending on the situation. If you have ever had CYA in the water, then shock level is 10. But if there has never been any CYA in the water at any time shock level is 5.

However, unless you are planning to keep the pool CYA free, it is much better to add at least a little CYA before shocking. Otherwise you will lose all of your chlorine to sunlight each day, and it will be much more difficult to kill the algae.

 

[PaulR]

I also suggested she not backwash for approximately 5-6 days.

The no-backwashing advice is really for cases when CYA crystals are likely to become lodged in the filter; if you backwash them out, obviously they can't contribute to the CYA level in the pool. But if the CYA is in a sock in front of a return, that's not a concern, and you can backwash as needed to clear up the cloudy pool.
--paulr

 

[h2ctpdjl]

My friend called me from her office. She put the Borax and Bleach into the pool last night. Her PH went from 0 to 7.2-7.5 and her CL reading went from 0 to 5.2 as of about an hr ago. For now, her shock level needs to be 10, but she said she bought extra bleach and will add more tonight. Wallyworld did not have anything but one of the cheapo test kits but she is going to look more today. She also said there was no Stabilizer there, but she had some one-inch stabilzer tablets left at home and threw all 15 of them into a hose in front of her inlet. I don't have a clue as to how much stabilizer those tablets will add to her water, so asking here. Does anyone know anything about those stabilizer tablets? I certainly don't want her to end up putting too much CYA into her pool. She said her water is already looking better. She does not have any signs of algae growth so far.

 

[JasonLion]

Stabilizer doesn't come in tablets, but stabilized chlorine tablets are common. The tablets are presumably trichlor, which will add CYA to the pool, but only rather slowly.

 

[h2ctpdjl]

Thanks Jason. Trying to help her "long distance" is very frustrating.

 

[h2ctpdjl]

OK, I am sooo frustrated, all I can do is throw up my hands and ask for more help. My friend added the borax and got her PH up to 7.5. Per Jason's advice, we also increased her FC level from 0 to a shock level of 10 until her stabilizer started to dissolve, then increased the Shock level to 15 based on her CYA level of 35. Unfortuantely, she only brings me water samples every 2-3 days. I have stressed the importance of maintaining a shock level of 15, but she is only able to add Chlorine in the AM before going to work and again in the evening after the sun is off the pool. Today, her readings were: FC 6, CC .5, CYA 35, PH 6.8. Why would the PH reading lower then the previous reading of 7.5? Short of camping out in her back yard and adding the bleach and doing the testing, I don't know what else to do for her. I told her to bump her FC level back up to 15, based on the Pool Calculator and do it again in the AM, and again in the evening once the sun is off the pool. She said she is vacuuming and brushing, etc. and that her water looks much better, though not as good as mine (thank you BBB). Trying to clear up a pool long distance is not an easy task. She cannot afford a better test kit.

 

[JasonLion]

If she has been using trichlor or dichlor they will have lowered the PH, especially if using shock level amounts. Hopefully that is not the problem, because enough to lower the PH that much would also have raised the CYA level dramatically.

Other than that, nothing you have described would have caused the PH to fall that much. Of course other things, not mentioned, might have been going on.

 

[h2ctpdjl]

Thank you jason. After further questioning, she told me she found some more "pucks" and threw them in along with the bleach. I had her add more Borax to bring the Ph back up to 7.5. She plans to bring me another water sample Wednesday evening to test it. If I ever get her pool totally cleaned up, it will be a miracle.