Need help opening 2

[Samantha_in_AL]

It's nice to know I have so many "neighbors" on this forum. I live in the small town of Altoona, AL not very far from Gadsden.
Split off of Need help opening. JasonLion

I'm glad I found DebStar's question. I came to the site to ask the same thing. I just converted my pool near the end of last summer. This will be my first startup using the BBB method.
(During that time I was posting as samanthadtv but had to create a new username, it wouldn't let me log in with my old one.)

Like Debstar, I have a little bit of algae on the walls (green) but my water is very clear. I was amazed at how good the water looked when I took my cover off! In previous years I uncovered it and found a cloudy mess when I was using Baquacrap. I tested everything last night and had about the same readings as Deb, except my pH was low, I have since brought it up to 7.2. My test also indicated that I had 0 CYA. If cold water temps affect the test I guess I need to test again.

My question is, how long does it normally take to shock the pool? How many gallons of bleach should I have on hand?
My pool is a round, 18', AG, around 10,000 gallons. Will I need to do it for several days like during the conversion? Also, I believe the shock level is 10, is that correct?

I will try to post my conversion pics soon. Even though it was a scary process, I dont regret doing it!

 

[JasonLion]

Welcome to TFP!

Before starting to shock, you should add some CYA to the pool, up to say 30 ppm. Without any CYA you lose so much chlorine to sunlight that it becomes difficult to fight the algae.

It is difficult to guess at the exact amount of bleach you will need. I would buy enough to add at least 60 ppm of chlorine. If you don't use it all you can store it and use it in the next several weeks, and if that isn't enough, well it is still a fairly large amount to have to carry around at one time.

 

[baudilus]

The shock process can't really be pinned down to a certain amount of time because there are too many variables, not the least of which is the amount of organics actually in the water.

A shock level of 10 is correct based on a CYA of 0, but with no CYA in the pool, the sun will destroy a lot of the free chlorine in the pool, causing the process to take longer. In this situation however, I'd recommend beginning the shock process (right at sundown) because CYA is added too slowly and you will lose a lot of ground if you try waiting for that.

There is a tradeoff - you will lose a lot of chlorine to sunlight if you shock now, and you may need to use more bleach if you allow the algae to gain ground by shocking later.

Either way you choose, be sure to keep the chlorine at shock level as often as you can until the indicators say that you are done shocking.

Based on a FC of 0, you would need 2.2 96 oz jugs (or 1.1 182 oz jugs) of 6% bleach to reach a FC of 10. After the initial dose, you will need to use the Pool Calculator to calculate how much bleach you need based on your testing (you do have a good test kit, right?).

 

[Samantha_in_AL]

Okay, I added CYA and started the process of shocking on Tuesday. When I tested my water this morning before sunrise the FC level was 10 and the CC appeared to be 0. The water is sparkling! Should my FC still be that high?
Should I continue shocking until the FC level gets lower, or am I finished? Also, at what number is FC too high to swim in? I've been wondering about that even though our water is still way too cold to jump into at 62 degrees.

I am ashamed to ask these questions and I know the answers have probably been repeated 100 times on this forum, but when I tried to search for it I got a message saying that I was not authorized to use the search option on this site.

 

[JasonLion]

There are no stupid questions. There was a time for each of us when we didn't know anything. The way we learned was by asking questions.

Search should work. Try the search box on the bottom left corner of the page if you are having problems with the other one.

It sounds like you are probably done shocking. To be sure, take a look at the How to Shock Your Pool article in Pool School and make sure you have met all the criteria in step 3 for being done.

I think swimming is fine up to the shock level for your current CYA level. Some other people swim even at higher FC levels.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

I have trouble with the search feature too, I prefer the Google Search feature - bottom left corner.

 

[inbamanow]

I know a lot of people in Alabama are using BBB... because I can't find any bleach or borax during the summer here in Montogmery...

=]