Opened pool after 3 years of being closed.

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whoozer

whoozer

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Apr 2, 2008
633
Acton Maine
So I moved back into my home that has been empty for 3 years. The pool has been shut down for that long as well. Upon opening it I was greeted to a very foul smelling black pool. I proceeded to drain half of the pool water as it is a fiberglass pool. I then set up a impromptu pump to circulate and dropped 31- 96oz 6% bleach bottles in it and circulated, within a day it went from black to brown. I then refilled the pool hooked up the pump and filter and tested the water.

FC-0
CC-.5
PH-7.4
TA-90
CH-80
CYA-0

So I went to the calculator and it said 4 gallons of bleach as I have a fairly small pool. I put in 4 gallons of 6% and my FC is not holding overnight...big surprise. My question is since I have no CYA should I put some in now. "The Pool Store" says no my pool has to be crystal clear before I add CYA, so I decided to ask the experts instead. Am I fighting an uphill battle if I have nothing to stabilize the chlorine or should I just keep shocking then add CYA?
Please be easy on me I'm sure I'm messing something up I am no expert but I really don't want to fall into buying a ton of chemicals again. fyi- I have a 1hp hayward pump with a small single cartridge hayward filter, which I am rotating frequently to keep psi down.

My FC is now 12 but goes down to about 3 over night.
 
I would say that you would do well to probably go ahead and add enough CYA to get you to 30 ppm. I say this because not only are you going up against some really dirty water that eliminates your FC rather quickly, but to have to battle FC loss to the sun on top of that would make things that much more difficult. So I say go ahead and put some in a sock to start dissolving and continue to shock your pool and use the shock level indicated for a CYA of 30 when you do it. Does this makes sense?
 
Yeah I thought I probably should but I always waffle when talking to the pool store as they want me to buy 300$ worth of chemicals. The stated their cya was granular and needed to be activated by granular chlorine?? Probably I should just buy the powder form and use the sock method right?
 
Your pool doesn't have to be crystal clear before adding CYA but it adds to the shock level so it's kind of a two edged sword while clearing a swamp.

How often are you able to raise the FC back to shock level each day? When first starting, you need to add Chlorine every few hours and even as much as every hour to maintain proper shock level. If you're able to add chlorine (or have someone that can) every few hours I'd wait to add the CYA till you get a little closer, but if you're only able to do it a couple times a day it might be a good idea to add a little CYA in it.
 
Thanks, I'm battling alot of my own frustration I think at this point, I'm glad I started early so when I do finally get it clear it will be swim time :)
I am able to keep the pool at shock level throughout the day around 12-15. I find I'm losing more than half over night right now. It is changing color so I know its working but I wanted to be sure about the CYA right now. The pool store told me if I used it now it would keep the pool cloudy for 2 months? Of course thats why I posted, I may just order the CYA online and stop talking to them altogether.
 
Because we have 3 pool stores within a few miles of each other most of the hardware stores do not sell pool supplies, we just got a superWalmart and Lowes I could check them out. Will it be straight CYA or will it have additives? Also I have a puck chlorinator can I use it for CYA?
 

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That's one darn good looking pool. :goodjob:

Now, I suggest that you stop talking to that pool store. They've told you at least two things that are just ludacris.
They stated their cya was granular and needed to be activated by granular chlorine??
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The pool store told me if I used it now it would keep the pool cloudy for 2 months?
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And probably a lot more that you haven't told us.
 
Yeah, I know better......just never cleaned a pool at this level. A week ago you couldn't even see your hand if you put it in the water, which I didn't recommend :shock:
It is coming along I just need to be consistent with what I've learned from my past at TFP and keep going. Thanks. It's been nice to get back on the site and start researching problems again and find real answers, thanks everyone :-D
 
Looking pretty good if you ask me. :goodjob:

Just say no to pool store advice. You may need to buy something from them at some point, but that doesn't mean you need to talk to them. :mrgreen:
 
Just a point of advice if you buy at a home improvement store such as Lowes or Home Depot. I checked out the stablizer at Home Depot and it was only 96% and had 4% other. So to say the least, check to make sure. I have not checked the stuff at lowes or walmart though. Also on the pool store, if you know what you need walk in there and say I need this. That usually always works for me and they do not try to sell me other stuff.
 
Well I did buy the stuff at Wallys it did say 96%cya and 4% other, gonna give it a shot anyway.
As a side note I was brushing the bottom deep end of the pool and it surely looked like a brown monster was working its way to the shallow now the whole thing is ugly brown :evil:
 
I like the Wally World stabilizer. It dissolves especially fast hanging a stocking (I use a heavy women's tights as they can hold more than a stocking and then I can use them as the Pool Blaster liner bag ) in front of return or two or three. Massage sock/stocking/tight some and you can get it all dissolved in a few hours. Just did that a few days ago. I massaged each tight about four times first day over an hour or so, came in for night, and next morning after a few massages, while I was doing other pool work, and it was all gone. I've used other brands but this one was the fastest dissolving I've ever used.

gg=alice
 
whoozer said:
Yeah, I know better......just never cleaned a pool at this level. A week ago you couldn't even see your hand if you put it in the water, which I didn't recommend :shock:
It is coming along I just need to be consistent with what I've learned from my past at TFP and keep going. Thanks. It's been nice to get back on the site and start researching problems again and find real answers, thanks everyone :-D
Click to expand...

I wish I had taken pictures of my pool when it's gotten black and filled with months worth of forest and other creepy things. One day it will make a drastic change. Gives one a boost. :) Then along the way there will be a few more drastic changes from the night before. It's truly thrilling when you begin to see colors other than black and then at each major stage. :-D

gg=alice
 

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