Newbie With Numbers & ?'s

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icfbuild

icfbuild

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LifeTime Supporter
Apr 20, 2010
52
Central Kentucky
I'm new here, but have been reading and hopefully learning before registering. This site is the best thing going for newbie's and pro's alike.

I have what I call a beginner pool. It's an Intex above ground 6000 gallon, round pool. I have upgraded from the kit pump/filter to a Hayward sand filter with a Hi-Flo 60 GPM pump. I have this hard plumbed with 1-1/2 PVC pipe.
The pool over-wintered with a mesh cover 2/3 full (current water height.) I made the mistake of removing the cover without having the filter hooked up. At the time I removed the cover the water was clear and the bottom had green algae with no debris such as leaves, etc. The pool sit w/o a cover for 2 weeks not circulating (temps in the 70's low 80's and night temps in 50's-60's.) The water turned green and I could barely see the bottom.
The pump/filter is now hooked up and I added 2- 1.42 gal (182 oz each) of Great Value 6% bleach on Sunday evening. The filter ran overnight, but I didn't feel comfortable leaving it run all day while I was at work. When I arrived home Monday evening the water was clearer with some cloudiness, the water still had some green, especially in the center. I tested the water with our Pentair brand test kit purchased from the local pool store. My numbers were as follows:
Chlorine = 3.0+ (as high as the kit goes)
pH=7.6 to 7.8
TA=60ppm (as far as I can figure it out, it took 6 drops in the test kit)
I cannot test for CYA it's not part of the kit. But I did put about 1 cup of clarifier in last year.
After testing I added Baking Soda about 1 cup (it's all I had.)
I allowed the pump to run all night Monday night and off again during the day today (Tuesday)
Today after work, the pool looked basically the same as Monday night. I tested again and the numbers were also about the same, with the following exceptions:
Chlorine still off the chart 3.0+
pH = 7.4 or slightly lower
TA=50ppm (5 drops)

My wife is convinced that we need to buy those $$$ pool store chemicals, I need your help in proving this BBB method.
I know that I need to run the pump 24/7 until clear, I will start that tomorrow (I had some electrical issues that I corrected tonight)
What else can I do to get my water BBB clear?
Thanks for the help.
 
Keep chlorine in your pool and run the pump 24/7 until the pool is crystal clear.

Without a CYA test result it's impossible to tell you just how much chlorine to put in there. If you ever drop below the 3.0 mark on the tester, put a small jug of chlorine in. Repeat that until your pool clears. If it doesn't show improvement virtually daily, you may have so much CYA in the pool that the FC isw no longer effective.

Sooner or later, you will need to test for CYA and we can get you much better advice.
 
Most pool stores can provide that CYA test for you and I'd get it done and post back with the number when you get it.

The problem with the pool store testing is it's normally kind of a hassle and frequently very, very innaccurate.

I think boosting the chlorine back up (not 'til you see it drop below 3ppm) to around 10ppm will clear your pool pretty soon. If not, you really need that CYA test to see if your pool has too much. 40-50ppm is a good number to be looking for.
 
This is an InteX pool, correct? Make sure you have the correct gallonage, is this an easy set or a metal frame pool?

The fact that you upgraded the filter/pump will be a win-win for you and it should be clear and stable in no time, we'll help you get there! :)
 
For that pool I'm going to suggest you take a good hard look at the TF-50 test kit. Click the link in my sig to take you there.

I do agree with the rest about taking a sample to the pool store and get it tested for as many things as they can test for. Then come back and post the numbers here.
 
I just got home from the pool store.
Here is what they wrote down

CYA = 70
Free Chlorine = Shock level 10.0
PH = 7.3
TA = 60

The pool measures 15' across (round ) and 4' deep.
The water is a cloudy, olive green, I have vacuumed the bottom. visibility is about 12" deep

thanks for any help
 
So does that mean I should add more bleach? The pool calc is telling me to add 66oz of bleach and 22oz of stabilizer. If Im using it correctly. Im not real confident in the pool girl at the store. I was thinking I had to much stabilizer in it. She said 50-100 is normal. She also said that it was FC not just the chlorine that she tested. Does this make any sense at all?

I'm Confused???
 

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My mistake, I was putting in the numbers incorrectly. With my head out of the dirty water and thinking clearer, the NEW pool calculations tell me that I should add 7.6 oz of borax and 25 oz of baking soda. Does this make more sense?
 
I wouldn't add any more stabilizer, at least for now. We recommend CYA be between 30 and 50, but 70 is livable.

It is good that the pool store measured FC instead of TC. FC is free chlorine, which does the actual sanitizing. TC is FC plus CC. CC is combined chlorine, which never helps and can cause problems.

I'm worried that the pool store used an FC test that has an upper limit of 10 and that the FC level may actually be much higher. That makes it difficult to decide how much chlorine to add. This is why you want to have a top quality test kit of your own, you don't need to wonder about how well the pool store did at testing.

I guess the best plan is to add another bottle of bleach. In this kind of situation it is better to add a bit too much rather than too little.

You can also try using your chlorine test that only reads up to 3. The color will be off the chart, so ignore the chart. You are aiming to get a dark orange color on that test. If it is yellow or light orange you don't have enough chlorine, if it is brown you have too much chlorine. That will be rather approximate, but it is better than nothing.

Don't worry about, or do anything about, the PH or TA until the water clears up. So no borax or baking soda for now.
 
Just received my TF-50 Test Kit

Topics Merged by Moderator

In an earlier post I posted numbers that I had from an inferior test kit and from the pool store. I just received my TF-50 test kit and here are my numbers
FC = 7ppm
TC = 1.5
TA = 100
CYA= 32-34 just below the 30 line
PH (from my old kit) 7.8

I have a Intex beginner pool that is, according to the Pool Calculator, 4800 gallons ( I feel inadequate :cry: ) The water was clear when I first removed the winter cover, but I did not circulate the water soon enough and the algae bloomed big time. The water is clearing now (thanks to everyone here :-D ) I have trashed the pump/filter that came with the tiny pool and upgraded to a Hayward 60GPM sand filter. Tim Taylor of Tool Time would be proud- More Power! :cheers:
Like I said the water is clearing now, but slow. The weather has been chilly and cloud covered the last few days, I think this has helped, not to have the bright sunshine eating up my chlorine.

My question is about my numbers. How do they look for a still green, but clearing pool? I want to say I need to add about 1/2 gallon of my favorite wal-mart bleach, but I wanted to seek the advice of you professionals out there.

thanks
ff
 
(Ann, thanks for moving this AS I was hitting the 'submit key' :rant: )

Welcome to TFP!!

Don't sweat the size of the pool... ALL POOLS ARE EQUAL IN TFP'S EYES :angel:

I think you've got a little terminology trouble :wink: I think you mean 1.5 CC not TC (it's cool :cool: )

TC = FC + CC
(Total Chlorine = Free Chlorine + Combined Chlorine)

If you still have that much CC, you are correct that more bleach is the answer! :goodjob:
Click to expand...
 
Yep My bad X 2. I should have posted as a continuation of this original post, Thanks for moving it to this post.
I was wrong on the TC also it was the Combined Chloramines test that was 1.5ppm. So, if I can wrap my brain around this, I would take the FC @ 7ppm and add the CC of 1.5 and have a total chlorine of 8.5???? or am I just a thick head and can't understand.
I have to admit, I never took chemistry in school, but the TF-50 kit has peaked my interest.
 
icfbuild said:
Yep My bad X 2. I should have posted as a continuation of this original post, Thanks for moving it to this post.
I was wrong on the TC also it was the Combined Chloramines test that was 1.5ppm. So, if I can wrap my brain around this, I would take the FC @ 7ppm and add the CC of 1.5 and have a total chlorine of 8.5???? or am I just a thick head and can't understand.
I have to admit, I never took chemistry in school, but the TF-50 kit has peaked my interest.
Click to expand...

If your CC is 1.5 then you need to raise it to shock level with bleach and hold it there until:

your FC holds overnight (follow the instructions for How to Perform the Overnight FC Loss Test)
your CC is .5 or less
your water is sparkly....
(testing with the FAS-DPD means you don't have to wait for the third item....)


waste said:
(Ann, thanks for moving this AS I was hitting the 'submit key' :rant: )
Click to expand...

:slidehalo: :salut: :mrgreen:
 
Thanks everyone.
I added about 1/2 gallon of bleach. Tomorrow when I get home I think I was vac it out now that I am beginning to see the bottom.
I will do the overnight test maybe tomorrow night. Tomorrow morning is going to be an extra early one for me, so Im off to bed before darkness falls tonight.
I think Im becoming a TFP addict! If I get this method down pat, maybe the wife will want to purchase a larger "real" pool. :-D
 
First of all, this site rocks! :party: My pool is almost totally clear. :-D :-D Thanks to everyone that has helped me on it.
:cool: My weekend consisted of 7+ inches of rain, Of course my numbers dropped, but with the help of the pool calculator I am back on track.

For those of you that don't believe this method works, try it once. You will never look back and pay the pool store another dime.
Take the money that you save and contribute to this site, like I am going to do.

Thanks again everyone.
 

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