Green Pool+New Owner=BAD

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EastKYGuy

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Apr 12, 2010
51
East KY
Bought a house with a neglected AG Pool. Went looking online for some help and landed here. Have been through all the pool school articles and some others. I have a TF-100 kit ordered but not arrived yet. Took cover off, scraped all leaves i could out(alot of leaves & green sludge).

The water is dark green and very murky. I got the pump & filter running after some trouble with a leaking lid. Back Washed Filter & tested water with the small kit( only OTO Chlorine & PH).

Will be using the BBB method for clearing & maintaining the pool. 6 large jugs of bleach, 2 big boxes for Baking Soda & 20 Mule Borax, 2 jugs Muriatic Acid. Now waiting for the TF-100 to come in so I wondering is there anything I can do besides running the pump until the kit arrives?

Chlorine = 0
PH > 8.2 That is highest the testor goes, but looked to be much higher by color.
 
Re: Geen Pool+New Owner=BAD

Welcome to TFP!

Keep scooping the crud out of the bottom. The more crud you can get out, the faster you will get your water clear!!

First you will want to adjust your pH down to the 7.2-7.5 range, use Jason's calculator, link in my signature, to determine how much acid you need.

You can also use the calculator to determine how much bleach you need to get your chlorine to 15. I know your little tester does not measure to 15, but that's ok. Your 'real' kit will be there soon enough! Do this in the evening after the sun is off the pool. This will just get you a tiny head start.

When you get your TF100, you will need to shock in earnest. Post back and we can guide you, if you have not figured it out!

While you are waiting for your kit, read everything you can in Pool School (link in my signature and at the upper right of every page) and familiarize yourself with Jason's calculator. It is an invaluable tool!
 
Re: Geen Pool+New Owner=BAD

Welcome to the forum!

Yes, there's some things you can do beforehand.

1. Get your pH down into the lower or mid 7's. Use muriatic and the pool calculator and do it in increments so you don't overshoot.

2. Get some more bleach. 4 times that much won't be too much. No one ever believes just how much it will take until after they get into it.

3. Get enough CYA to get your pool to around 40ppm. You won't use it for a while yet but just pick some up when you go by HD/Lowe's or a pool store. Do you know how to use the pool calculator to make your doses accurate?

4. If there's any more junk in the pool you can scoop out, go ahead. The chlorine will kill it but your filter will get quickly re-clogged from the "carcasses" and it will be mush harder to clean.

5. Re-read the article on how to shock your pool and ask lot's of questions. everyone here will help.

6. Post your test results as soon as your kit arrives and you'll get lot's of help. Have plenty of bleach on hand.
 
Re: Geen Pool+New Owner=BAD

Thanks for the Welcome as well as the advice!

Played around with the pool calc in your sig, it was very informative & not to hard to use.

Pool Calc. said to add 23 oz of Muriatic Acid. So I took your advice and added only about half that for the first attempt. Mixed it in a bucket of water then poured it slowly infront of the return as stated in Pool School. Will retest in the A.M. I have been scooping organic material from the pool since Friday evening when I took the cover off, now when I scrape the bottom I'm not getting anything but the occasional leaf. Pump in running.

How often should I back wash the sand filter?
 
Re: Geen Pool+New Owner=BAD

EastKYGuy said:
Pool Calc. said to add 23 oz of Muriatic Acid. So I took your advice and added only about half that for the first attempt. Mixed it in a bucket of water then poured it slowly infront of the return as stated in Pool School. Will retest in the A.M.

You can re-test the pH about 30 mins. after addition, if you want. MA mixes pretty fast.

How often should I back wash the sand filter?

When your PSI is about 6 higher than your clean-filter PSI.
Click to expand...


Welcome to the forum :wave:
 
So far so good. I tested the ph again was still reading high at 8.2 , but this time the color looked about right for the correct reading. So using the pool calc to get my MA dose went very well. I used the exact amount it stated "BAM" 1 hour later tested ph again, right at 7.2.

Now I'm thinking, "Hey this isn't so Bad"!


Chlorine = 0 ( haven't added any yet, wanted to get the ph right first )
ph = 7.2

Should get the TF100 kit anyday.
 
When I got home from work I started working on the pool. Wanted to test my ph again to make sure it was holding tight. It had risen a bit to 7.5, since that was in range I decided it was time to add a little bleach to get a head start on this green monster.

Added 355oz per pool calc(thanks Jason). Waited about 1 hr then went out to test TC & ph again as suggested in the "Turning Green swamp to a spakling oasis" thread. TC was reading a bit darker that the highest reading which is 3, ph had risen to apx 8.2. (is this normal when adding large amounts of Chlorine?) Back I went to pool calc, got my #'s and added more MA & Chlorine. Hope I am headed in the right direction, hard to tell without the better test kit.
 
First, never add MA and chlorine together. Always wait at least an hour in between.

High FC levels (above 10) will make the PH read false high and you should not try to adjust the PH when the FC is high. Always wait for the FC to drop down to normal levels before attempting to adjust ph.

You can use a dilution method - using distilled water - to test higher on your chlorine OTO test. 3:1 ratio distilled water:pool water and then multiply by four. :)
 
Ah! didn't know about the false reading of ph when you add the chlorine, thanks frustratedpoolmom. More reading to do.

Do you think I droped the ph too low? It's dark here and wouldn't be able to read the test very good or I would go check it. Any chance of damage if left over night?

Dilution method sounds like a good idea I'll give that a go in the A.M.
 

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Sorry - didn't see this till now.... I don't know - its possible but you'll know soon enough and can bump it back up so if it is too low it won't be for very long.

I take a sample of pool water and then I bring it in the house and test inside :)
 
Will do inside next time, thanks FPM. I thought I read somewhere that sunlight was needed because the color temp difference of the indoor lights would cause a bad reading.

I checked the pool this morning, wow, what a difference overnight. The dark green has turned a bit lighter and the pool has a very noticable difference in clarity ( not clear by any means though ). The TC was still above my current tester's range of 3. Didn't test the ph because of the high TC level.

I'll check again this evening after work and adjust levels.

Hope that TF100 arrives soon, I have never owned a pool (as an adult) or good test kit but I feel like i'm working blind without it. Sounds crazy I know.
 
Yes, I know what you mean - about the lighting. Try to find as bright light as possible and then use a white paper as background, hold it back about 1/2-1 inch. (if you ever half to test and its dark out.

You're gonna love your kit. :)
 
I got my kit! Now the real work begins. Tested and got the following results:

FC 1
CC 1
TC 2
ph 6.8 (posibly a bit lower, guess I over did the MA last night)
TA 10
CH 40
CYA 0 (could see the dot easily when tube was full)

From this my plan is to get ph up first to 7.2, Get FC up to 12. Then work on everything else. Does this sound like the right approach? I would like to get this done before night fall.
 
Is the TA really 10? Or is that a typo that should read 100?

If it's really 10 then you need to get the TA up first to at least 60 - Use baking soda. Use the Pool Calc to figure out how much to add (predissolve it in a bucket of water and pour it in front of the return. Brush the pool floor). Allow this to circulate about an hour or two and retest the TA and the PH. See where the PH ends up and then adjust the PH with Borax from there.

Did you purchase CYA yet? You need to get some in there to protect your FC during the day.

Get the PH/TA into range this evening, FIRST...

and then you can put in a large jug of bleach tonight before you go to bed.
 
Added about 8lbs of Baking Soda and brushed the bottom. Will check TA & ph again in a while. Pool calc said to add 12 lbs but don't want to over shoot like I did with the MA. Once I get that in line I'll adjust ph to apx 7.2 and then go back to shocking.

I may be making a few mistakes but what I have done has made a difference in the appearence of the water.


edit; Yes I got some CYA, FPM. Should I go ahead and add some in a skimmer sock?
 
Ok, I worked on the TA and ph last night also added some CYA in a sock. Got TA to 50 and ph to 7.2, by that time it was getting pretty late so I added some bleach and got FC up to 13. Didn't do anything again til after work. FC down to .5, CC was 1. Added more bleach to shock level and of course brushed the pool. It's getting ready to come a frog strangler, so I ran my test again before coming inside.

FC 15.5
CC 2
TC 17.5
ph 7.2 ( this is when TC was low )
TA 50

Will have all day Sat. & Sun. to keep FC at shock level. Hoping to see some serious gain bye monday.
 

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